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Annunciation Moscow: Kremlin Saints Boris and Gleb Mosaic icon of Jesus Christ as Pantocrator with a halo, right hand raised in blessing, and left hand holding an inscribed book, set against a gold background in Monreale Cathedral, Sicily. The Transfiguration
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Annunciation
Annunciation Reverse of a two-sided icon featuring the Annunciation, tempera and gold on wood by an unknown Byzantine artist, beginning of the 14th century; in the Icon Gallery, Ohrid, North Macedonia.

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religious art
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•History

Icon, in Eastern Christian tradition, a representation of sacred personages or events in mural painting, mosaic, or wood. After the Iconoclastic Controversy of the 8th–9th century, which disputed the religious function and meaning of icons, the Eastern Orthodox Church formulated the doctrinal basis for their veneration: since God assumed material form in the person of Jesus Christ, he could be represented in pictures. Icons are considered an essential part of the church and are given...

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