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Heavenly splendor

In icons the saints are depicted in their glorified state. That is, they are depicted as they are at this moment, namely with God in the heavenly, eternal world. The faces show no more human suffering, no more imperfections; they are renewed. Even the clothing is glorified, just as the clothing of Christ at the Glorification on the mountain radiated a light, whiter than the whitest white. The conclusion is that matter also participates in glorification.

But then surely it is impossible for the icon painter to depict that? Because we cannot know what the glorified man looks like. Fortunately, the tradition has emerged, going back to the evangelist Luke who painted the Mother of God with Child. According to this tradition, one paints the faces with a lighting that seems to come from within and the clothing as a mosaic of angular shapes.

The gold on the icon indicates the divine light. The golden halo around the saint's head means that he shares in the divine light.