Is the Dog-Headed icon of Saint Christopher canon in the Orthodox Church?
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I have seen icons of St. Christopher (Αγιος Χριστοφορος) with a Dog-Head and wanting to know officially if somewhere the Orthodox they see this as canon. It's something that has come up multiple times in orthodox groups where I am discussing icons.
I understand why the icon may depict him this way as it's explained in many places, but my question is rather if the Orthodox church or church leaders recognizes that depiction as canon for his icons.
On the OrthodoxWiki page for this is says the following:
> ....There are some rare icons that depict this martyr with the head of a dog. Such images may carry echoes of the Egyptian dog-headed god, Anubius; and Christopher pictured with a dog's head, is *not generally supported* by the Orthodox Church. However, these images have made him especially popular among the Roman Catholics who have created many stories to explain his "cynocephalatic" appearance. [citation needed]
But of course there isn't really a citation. Since it says not generally supported it doesn't really explain.
Asked by KonstantineV
(45 rep)
Mar 31, 2022, 03:40 PM
Last activity: Apr 20, 2022, 04:25 PM
Last activity: Apr 20, 2022, 04:25 PM