Description
Saint Sophia with Faith, Hope, and Love icon
This icon portrays Saint Sophia standing behind her three daughters, the martyrs Faith, Hope, and Love. Each daughter carries a small cross, the conventional attribute of martyrdom, while their red, light, and green garments create a clear visual rhythm beneath the mother's protective presence. The inscription naming the three virtues identifies this as Sophia of Rome with her daughters, not the separate iconographic subject of Holy Wisdom.
In Christian hagiographic tradition, Sophia raised Pistis, Elpis, and Agape, whose Greek names mean Faith, Hope, and Love, in the Christian faith. Their witness and suffering under Emperor Hadrian are commemorated together, with the feast observed on September 17 in the Eastern tradition. The composition brings the theological virtues into a family narrative: faith, hope, and love are not decorative words but habits formed, tested, and handed on. It is consequently meaningful for family prayer, Christian education, and remembrance of mothers and daughters.
Art Christiana makes this icon in Poland on a carefully prepared linden wood board. The surface receives two primer coats, hand-applied metal leaf, and a directly transferred image. A certificate and hanging fixture are fitted on the reverse, and the icon arrives in a protective presentation box. It is a thoughtful religious gift for Sophia, Faith, Hope, or Charity, and for families seeking an icon whose figures and symbols can be explained clearly.