Wood icon, "Saint Elijah", miniature, 7x10cm

Hand-painted miniature wooden icon representing the Holy Prophet Elijah, one of the greatest of the prophets and the first dedicated to virginity in the Old Testament, whose feats day is July 20. Original artwork signed by Ana Drăgan ("DAM").

Saint Elijah lived in the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab. He was the son of the priest Sovac from Tishba, of the lineage of Aaron, and lived more than 800 years before Christ. The Old Testament recounts his wondrous deeds in the Books of Kings. He was chosen by God to rebuke King Ahab and those who followed him on the pagan path of worshiping Baal.

Saint Elijah was miraculously fed by ravens while he was in retreat at the brook Cherith, and later by an angel on his journey to Mount Horeb. Through his prayer, God withheld rain for three and a half years; he multiplied the flour and oil of the widow of Zarephath and raised her son from the dead; he called down fire from heaven that consumed the sacrifice he offered to God; he brought an end to the worship of Baal; he beheld God in silence, in the gentle breeze; he was taken up into heaven in a fiery chariot; and he appeared at the Transfiguration of the Savior on Mount Tabor.

In iconography, Saint Elijah is most often depicted either at the mouth of his cave (being fed by a raven) or ascending into heaven in the fiery chariot. He is also regarded as the forefather of Christian monasticism.