Are you allowed to sign icons?
We live in a strange country. Some icon painters think they should design their own icons, while the painting book of Dionysius of Fourna, whose icon prayer everyone uses, describes tracing old icons. I think designing icons myself is like trying to draw a circle freehand.
Also strange is that painters in the Russian style take Greek icons as examples and execute them in the Russian technique. So what kind of style do you get? Fusion of Russian and Greek?
But most disturbing of all, everyone, painters, experts, laymen and icon traders think that you should not sign icons. It is taboo in these circles. Have these people ever been to Greece? Do they ever look at a Greek icon in a book or in real life? Then they will see that their power does not reach Greece. Then shouldn't these Greeks listen to the Morsinks and the Krikhaars? Greeks are pious, venerate icons and are careful in matters of faith, and also orthodox I must say, Morsink and Krikhaar are not.
Greek painters do not listen, no. Anyone who looks around Greece must find that icon painters sign their icons. Usually it then reads “By the hand of ...” (dia cheiros) with sometimes by ancient custom “by the servant of the Lord” (tou doulou tou Theou if it is a man) and first and last name . Or it says “monk/nun” (monachos/monachi) or just the place as “Holy Mountain” (Agion Oros) (image) or “Holy Monastery ...” (I.M. ...) and the adopted name. The adopted name begins with a syllable of the old one, but is given a different ending. Theophanes could become Theophylaktos or Theodoros. The principal may also be named, and then it reads “Prayer of ...” (deësis tou/tis) and then a person or family follows. And there is always to mention a year in ancient Byzantine or New Greek numerals on the icon. Of these we recognize above the beta, which is 2000. The cluster above the figures, by the way, incorporates tou doulou and Vatopedi (monastery). The most famous painters Vranos and Bamboulis sign, as well as priests and the monks of the monasteries.
This is custom in Greece. It is not common practice, as there are more unsigned than signed icons. There are reasons for this. But signed ones hang in stores, homes and churches. It is allowed.
Sometimes modesty gets out of sight. In the chapel of St. George on Lipsos (Dodecanese) hangs an icon with “Prayer of Konstantinos Gryllis” (fictitious name) followed by “from the motorboat Paradisos.” So Konstantinos thinks everyone is now running to the harbor looking for his boat to book an excursion.