The Icon Museum and Study Center

06/18/2026

06/17/2026

Old Books Need to Rest 📖

From time to time old books need to be closed and placed in storage to rest their spines. Come see the Lankton Codex by July 27 before it is taken off view!

This remarkable copy of the Orthodox spiritual classic, "The Ladder of Divine Ascent," was hand-copied by a Russian Monk named Joseph in the year 1837. The original text was composed roughly 1200 years earlier by St. John of the Ladder (d. 649) at St. Catherine's Monastery at Mount Sinai.

Image: The Lankton Codex of the Ladder of the Divine Ascent, Joseph, the monk, 1837, ink on paper, Russia.
An open book with aged pages. One page features an image of monks trying to ascend to heaven via a ladder, and the other page contains Church Slavonic text.

06/11/2026

These four intricately painted icons depict the Hymn of Axion Estin, a powerful homage to the Theotokos.

🎼"It is truly meet and right to bless you, O Theotokos, Ever-blessed and most-pure mother of our God.
More honorable than the Cherubim, And beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, Who without corruption gave birth to God the Word, True Theotokos: we magnify you."

Images: The Mother of God Hymn of Axion Estin, early 17th century, egg tempera on wood with silver basma, Russia

06/04/2026

After the success of last month's Old Believers and Their World Tour with the Curator, we've received a lot of requests for another tour. We're thrilled to announce that Elliot will be leading another tour in July! Stay tuned for more details as we finalize the plans. To be the first to know when the tour is officially added to our calendar, don’t forget to join our bi-weekly e-newsletter. Sign up and stay connected! 🗓️

Images: Elliot guiding visitors around the Icons: Old Believers and Their World exhibition.

05/31/2026

Today is the Great Feast of the Holy Pentecost, a significant celebration that takes place fifty days after Pascha (Easter).

This feast commemorates the moment when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles as they celebrated the Feast of Weeks. It also signifies the beginning of the Church, highlighted by the Apostles' preaching.

In this icon, we see the twelve apostles arranged in two rows, with the Holy Spirit represented as a star above them. At the bottom center, an older figure is adorned in royal attire, wearing a crown, and holding a cloth. This figure symbolizes the Cosmos, representing the old pre-Christian world that has now passed.

The Feast of Pentecost, late 16th century, egg tempera on wood, Russia

05/28/2026

We're excited for tomorrow! 🎹 🎉 See you there!

🎹 Hidden Treasures: Founder's Day at the Icon Museum | Clinton, MA

On Friday, May 29, the Icon Museum and Study Center and the Clinton Historical Society come together to honor Gordon and Janet Lankton, founders of the museum and beloved champions of the Clinton community. Both were deeply committed to local organizations and charities, and this special day celebrates their lasting legacy.
The Icon Museum will offer free admission all day with extended hours until 5:30 PM, plus a one-day-only display on loan from the Clinton Historical Society highlighting Gordon's contributions to the community. At 5:30 PM, the museum auditorium will be formally named in Janet Lankton's honor, followed by a free piano recital by returning museum favorite Ekaterina Willewald.

The evening wraps up at the Clinton Historical Society for refreshments, conversation by the fireplace, and special displays celebrating the Lanktons' legacy.

📅 Friday, May 29
⏰ Museum: 10 AM to 5:30 PM | Auditorium naming ceremony & recital: 5:30 PM | Reception: 6:30 PM
📍 Icon Museum, 203 Union Street, Clinton, MA
📍 Reception at Clinton Historical Society, 210 Church Street, Clinton, MA
🎉 Free and open to the public
📷 Photo courtesy of the Icon Museum and Study Center

Part of the Hidden Treasures Festival of Nature, Culture & History. Find more events at freedomsway.org
https://freedomsway.org/event/founders-day/

05/27/2026

Thanks, Dr. Alice Isabella Sullivan, for the wonderful write-up! We look forward to your lecture in June, Spatial Icons: The Communion of the Apostles in Medieval Art and Ritual.

The idyllic town of Clinton, in the heart of Massachusetts, is home to The Icon Museum and Study Center, one of the largest and most significant collections of Eastern Christian icons in the United States. I highly recommend a visit to this jewel of a museum to immerse yourself in the complex histor...

05/21/2026

The Ascension is described in a Bible passage from Acts of the Apostles, in which Christ ascended to Heaven from the Mount of Olives 40 days after his resurrection. Though icons of the Ascension depict the events described in the passage, they are meant to be a theological image of the Church.

This image is split into two realms, Heaven above and Earth below. Christ is inside a mandorla carried by angels, blessing all with his right hand at the top. Mary stands calmly just below Christ, flanked by two angels and the disciples. Her calm dedication represents the Church faithfully awaiting Christ's return.

This image is one of the intricately painted Feast scenes that surround an Anastasis icon, seen in the Old Believers and Their World exhibition.

Images:
1. A detail from the Anastasis with Feasts icon showing the Ascension.
2. The Anastasis with Feasts, end of the 18th century, egg tempera on wood, gold leaf, Palekh, Russia. On loan from the Oleg Kushnirsky Russian Icon Collection.

05/20/2026

Earlier this month, our Icon Museum team had an amazing time visiting the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston! We came away inspired by the new, captivating, and beautifully curated exhibition “Framing Nature: Gardens and Imagination”, as well as their incredible collections and galleries.

A huge thank you to Elizabeth Dospěl Williams, who generously shared her time to show us around and give us a personal tour of the exhibit, plus some behind-the-scenes viewings of various icons in the collections' storage. We can’t wait to go back!