In the center of the icon screen are the Royal Doors which open into the Holy Altar. These contain icons of the Four Evangelists: St. Mark, St. Matthew, St. Luke, and St. John. Wood carvings of grapes and wheat, symbols of the Eucharist, also decorate these doors. The writings of the Four Evangelists, the Gospels, bring Christ to us. By following the way of life outlined in these books, the doors to salvation will be opened to us.
These doors are also called “Royal” Doors because through them is carried a King. Jesus Christ is brought out through these doors to be given to the people in the form of Holy Communion.
To the right of the Royal Doors is the icon of our Lord, Jesus Christ. He is holding an open book with the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet inscribed. The alpha and the omega give symbolic expression to the fact that Christ is the beginning and the end of all things. (Revelation 1:8)
The deacon’s door to the right of Christ holds the icon of St. Michael the Archangel, the leader of the Heavenly Angels. St. George is pictured next, ready for battle. One of our Church’s hymns sings of him as telling his torturers that he is “enlisting as a soldier of Christ”. Next is St. Basil the Great, an early Christian scholar and bishop. The Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is celebrated only during the Lenten Season, the Feast of St. Basil, the Eve of the Feast of the Nativity and the Eve of Theophany. The Saint who authored the Divine Liturgy that is used on most days of the year is pictured last. St. John Chrysostom, or the Golden-mouthed, was a patriarch of Constantinople who was well known for his gift of preaching.
The next row of icons pictures the major holydays of the Orthodox Church. Each year, in a set cycle of days, Orthodox Christians re-live the important events in the life of Christ and His Mother. To the left of the Royal Doors and beginning at the top, left to right are: the Dormition or the Falling Asleep of the Blessed Virgin Mary (celebrated August 28); the Nativity of Jesus Christ—Christmas (January 7); the Presentation of Christ into the Temple (February 15); the Entrance of the Blessed Virgin into the Temple (December 4); the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin (September 21); and the Annunciation of Christ’s Birth (April 7).
To the right of the Royal Doors are: the Transfiguration of Christ (August 19); Pascha or the Feast of the Resurrection – the Descent of Christ into Hell and the Raising of Adam; Pentecost – the Descent of the Holy Spirit; Palm Sunday – the Entrance of Christ into Jerusalem; the Ascension of Christ into Heaven; and Theophany – the Baptism of Christ. (January 19)
Above the holyday icons are the Twelve Apostles with an icon of Christ the King in the center. Hanging below this is the icon of the Mystical Supper when Jesus instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist or Holy Communion. This icon reminds us that this event is made present every time the Divine Liturgy is celebrated on the altar below.
