Serbian Orthodox iconographer creates Icon “Holy Martyrs of Libya”

Serbian Orthodox iconographer creates Icon “Holy Martyrs of Libya”. HT: Aleteia.org.

The 21 Coptic Christians beheaded by the Islamic State group in Libya had been dead only weeks when the Coptic Orthodox Church declared them martyr-saints.

The images released of their beheadings on the Mediterranean Coast of North Africa shocked the world. It deeply affected a Serbian Orthodox iconographer living in Germany, and now the icon he has written—that is, painted—is being auctioned off so the proceeds can help the families of the 21 victims.

Nikola Sarić also says he hopes that through viewing the icon, titled “Holy Martyrs of Libya,” people will pray for the conversion of the terrorists.

Sarić, born in 1985 in Bajina Bašta, Serbia, studied at the Academy of Serbian Orthodox Church for Arts and Conservation in 2014.

Since 2011 he has lived and worked in Hannover, Germany. He spoke with Aleteia by Skype.

How did you come to write an icon about these martyrs?

I saw these photos and this story on the internet, and of course, like many other people, it touched me. I was thinking about them, and the idea came spontaneously.

I think it was also out of respect and love for them. It was something personal. I had it in my thoughts and developed it over time, like any other ideas in my work. I think about it and it constructs itself over time. Read the full story here.