Iconography is the art of visualization holy persons and religious scenes • representation is painting religious subjects. The paintings draw their themes from the life and miracles of mostly men and women canonized by the Church. Iconography is central to Orthodox tradition and less on Western Christian traditions such as the Roman Catholic and Anglican.
  According to Orthodox tradition, hagiographic image does not target a realistic representation of a person, but is primarily spiritual symbology since through it to achieve a living relationship with God and His saints. The image creates a sense of living presence and brings the believer into a personal relationship and contact with the essence of the sitter. The iconography is not so simple as a piece of art or a religious painting is but a means by which man can reach in holiness.
  The ecclesiastical tradition says that the first image, the concept of representation, made by Christ himself and even without hands. The story of this picture is summarized as follows: Aygaros, king of Edessa in Mesopotamia, suffered from leprosy. He wrote thus to the Lord a letter in which he begged to go to Edessa to cure him. The letter was brought to Palestine by his servant Ananias. He tried to paint the Lord but did not succeed. The Lord who noticed the effort of Ananias, asked for water to niftei and wiped his face with a handkerchief. The divine form of the Lord miraculously imprinted and this handkerchief is known as the Holy Cloth. Even the tradition as the first painter Luke the Evangelist. The Evangelist painted the first three pictures (of wax, gum and color) of the Blessed Virgin holding in her arms the Lord Jesus Christ. Then he offered the same in wanting to know if they liked it. The Mother of the Lord accepted with love and said: "The grace of the one who drew me goes through me to them." Of these three icons, one located in the Peloponnese at the Monastery of the Great Cave, the second in Russia and the third image is in Cyprus to the Holy Monastery of Kykkos. Also according to tradition the Evangelist Luke painted and images of Apostles