Prayer before Painting an Icon

O Lord Jesus Christ our God, uncircumscribed in Thy divine nature, who for the salvation of men in these last days didst ineffably take flesh of the Virgin Theotokos Mary, and wast thereby pleased to be circumscribed in the flesh; who didst imprint the holy image of Thy most pure face upon the holy cloth, and thereby didst heal the sickness of Prince Abgar and enlighten his soul to know our true God; who by the Holy Spirit didst give understanding to Thy divine apostle and evangelist Luke to paint the image of Thy most holy Mother, holding Thee as a babe in her bosom and saying: “May the grace of Him who was born of me, through my intercession, be upon this image”: do Thou, O Master, God of all, enlighten and direct the soul, heart and mind of Thy servant (name), and guide his hands, that he may depict without sin and most excellently Thy life, and that of Thy most holy Mother and of all the saints, to Thy glory, for the adornment and beauty of Thy holy Church, and for the forgiveness of the sins of all souls who venerate the holy icons and reverently kiss them and give honour to the prototype; deliver him from every temptation of the devil, that he may advance in Thy commandments, through the prayers of Thy most holy Mother, of the holy and glorious apostle and evangelist Luke, and of all the saints. Amen.

The prayer of Hieromonk Dionysius (1707–1733) is taken from the book “The Orthodox Icon: Canon and Style”, compiled by Alexander Strizhev, Moscow 1998. Translated from Russian by Archpriest Teimuraz Chachibaia.