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Father Basil welcomes you to our church! |
St. Luke Orthodox Church is a vibrant, spiritual home to a growing community located in Anniston, Alabama, serving all of Calhoun County and East Alabama,
Everyone is welcome to visit, pray and worship at our parish.
1415 Woodstock Avenue
Anniston, AL. 36207
Upcoming Services
Saturday, January 17th
Great Vespers, 4 pm
Sunday, January 18th
St. Athanasius the Great
Divine Liturgy 10 am
Saints Athanasius and Cyril were Archbishops of Alexandria. These wise teachers of truth and defenders of Christ’s Church share a joint Feast in recognition of their dogmatic writings which affirm the truth of the Orthodox Faith, correctly interpret the Holy Scripture, and censure the…
Saints Athanasius and Cyril were Archbishops of Alexandria. These wise teachers of truth and defenders of Christ’s Church share a joint Feast in recognition of their dogmatic writings which affirm the truth of the Orthodox Faith, correctly interpret the Holy Scripture, and censure the…
Saint Athanasius of Synadem and Vologda was a disciple of Saint Alexander of Svir (August 30). After the death of his mentor, he established the Dormition hermitage in the forests of Karelia, not far from the city of Olonets, on an island of Lake Synadem. The slander and pettiness of the local…
Righteous Athanasius of Navolotsk went at the end of the sixteenth century from the Kargopol region to the Olonets land, where he founded a monastery 78 versts from what later became the city of Petrozavodsk. The saint died at a Verkholedsk suburb not far from Shenkursk.
Saint Marcian of Cyrrhus lived in the desert near the city of Cyrrhus. He built a small hut and settled in it, passing his time in prayer, singing Psalms and reading spiritual books. He ate very little food, just enough to keep him alive. Reports of his holy life attracted to him many zealous…
Saint Cyril and his wife Maria were the parents of Saint Sergius of Radonezh (September 25). They belonged to the nobility, but more importantly, they were devout and faithful Christians who were adorned with every virtue. When the child in Maria’s womb cried out three times in church during…
No information available at this time.
No information available at this time.
Saint Maximus the New was the son of King Stephen of Serbia (December 10). He became a monk at Manasija, but had to flee into a mountainous region of Romania because of the Moslems. He was consecrated as Metropolitan of Wallachia. After a life of great spiritual endeavors, he fell asleep in the…
Today little is known about the life of venerable Ephraim the Lesser, the great 11th-century writer, translator, philosopher, and defender of the Georgian Church. His work Reminiscences and other sources, however, provide us with the means to speculate about the major periods of his life and…
Saint Alexi (Shushania) was born September 23, 1852, in the village of Noqalaqevi, in the Senaki district of Samegrelo, to a pious Christian couple. His father died in 1868, after giving the sixteen-year-old future hieromonk his blessing to care for the family. In the same year that his father…
This icon presents St. Athanasius the Great, Archbishop of Alexandria (†373), one of the central fathers of Orthodox dogma and the great defender of the full divinity of Christ against Arianism. Like all Orthodox icons, it is not a portrait but a theological proclamation in color and form.
At the top you can see the Greek inscription:
Ὁ Ἅγιος (“The Holy” or “Saint”)
Ἀθανάσιος (“Athanasius”)
This confirms that the icon depicts St. Athanasius, not merely as a historical figure, but as one who now lives in the communion of saints.
St. Athanasius is seated frontally on a throne, a posture reserved in icons for:
bishops,
teachers of the Church,
and judges of doctrine.
This emphasizes his role as:
a successor of the Apostles,
a guardian of the faith,
and a pillar of Orthodoxy.
The throne is not about earthly power, but about spiritual authority grounded in truth.
He is clothed in full episcopal vestments, each carrying meaning:
Omophorion (the wide band over his shoulders):
Symbolizes Christ the Good Shepherd bearing the lost sheep, and the bishop’s responsibility to guard souls.
Sakkos or Phelonion-style vestment:
Indicates his liturgical role as one who presides at the Eucharist.
Epigonation (the diamond-shaped cloth at his side):
A sign of spiritual authority and the “sword of the Word”, fitting for a man who fought heresy with theological precision.
In his left hand, St. Athanasius holds an open Gospel book. The visible text (often drawn from Christological passages) points to his lifelong defense of the truth that:
The Son is “of one essence (ὁμοούσιος) with the Father.”
This is not accidental. Athanasius was exiled five times for refusing to compromise this teaching. The open book shows:
that the faith he defended is public, proclaimed, and scriptural,
not secret or philosophical speculation.
His right hand is raised in a teaching/blessing gesture, indicating that:
he speaks with the authority of the Church,
his doctrine blesses and gives life,
and he continues to teach the faithful even after death.
This gesture visually echoes his famous role as “Athanasius contra mundum” (“Athanasius against the world”).
St. Athanasius’ face is:
elongated,
severe yet calm,
marked by deep lines.
This is intentional. It reflects:
his ascetic life,
his years of persecution and exile,
his unwavering clarity of mind.
Icons show holiness not as softness, but as purified humanity—a man transfigured by truth and endurance.
The gold background signifies:
the uncreated light of God,
that Athanasius now lives in eternity,
and that his teaching is not merely historical but eschatological, belonging to the Kingdom.
The absence of natural scenery reminds us that the icon is not set in time, but in liturgical now.
This icon proclaims, without words:
Christ is truly God, not a creature
The Church guards truth through faithful bishops
Orthodoxy is preserved through suffering, exile, and confession
The saints continue to teach and intercede for the Church
In short, this icon is a visual confession of the Nicene Creed.
St. Athanasius stands as a warning and encouragement:
truth is not determined by consensus,
unity without truth is false peace,
fidelity may cost everything—but it leads to glory.
As the Church sings on his feast:
“Champion of Orthodoxy, teacher of piety,
the trumpet of theology…”