Melbourne · Victoria
Sacred icons hand-painted in Italy for Melbourne
Melbourne is home to the world's largest Greek population outside Greece: almost two hundred thousand people of Greek ancestry live in Victoria, as the State government notes. Here the icon is not a furnishing but the heart of the home, before which the lamp is lit and name days are celebrated. A Greek icon hand-painted in Italy, with Greek inscriptions, enters this tradition.
The Christian East in Melbourne
- In East Melbourne the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady, the "Evangelismos": its foundation stone was laid in 1900, on the feast of Saint Nicholas, and it is the second Greek Orthodox church built in Australia after Holy Trinity in Sydney.
- In North Melbourne the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, seat of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy covering all of Australia, New Zealand and Oceania; it was blessed at Easter 1963.
- In the city centre the Hellenic Museum, in the former Royal Mint, which holds on loan from the Benaki Museum in Athens a collection that includes Byzantine icons and manuscripts.
- The Greek, Serbian, Russian, Coptic and Antiochian parishes of Victoria, where icons accompany baptisms, weddings and name days.
For Melbourne families
The Annunciation, feast of the city's oldest Greek church and of 25 March; the name saint for a name day; Saint Nicholas, Saint George or Saints Constantine and Helen for a baptism; the Mother of God for a wedding; Saint Michael for a Ukrainian family: every icon is painted entirely by hand in Sicily, with Greek inscriptions and 23¾ karat gold leaf.
Deesis triptych
Christ between the Mother of God and Saint John the Baptist.
Christ Pantocrator
Round panel with Greek inscription.
Saint George
The holy horseman who defeats the dragon.
Saint Michael the Archangel
The patron of Kyiv, dear to Ukrainian families.
Commissioning and shipping
Consultations take place online, in English or Italian. During the work you receive photographs of every stage; the icon arrives with protective packaging and, on request, insured shipping, together with its certificate of authenticity on real parchment and its explanatory booklet. Shipping conditions and any customs formalities are checked case by case at the time of commission.
Frequently asked questions
Can I commission hand-painted Greek icons from Melbourne?
Yes: consultations take place online, in English or Italian, by writing to Concetta Basile on WhatsApp or Telegram. The inscriptions are in Greek, with traditional monograms such as ΜΡ ΘΥ and ΙϹ ΧϹ.
Which icon to give for a Greek name day?
The icon of the name saint, with the name and date on the back of the panel: in Greek tradition the name day counts as much as the birthday, and the icon of the saint is the gift that lasts.
An icon for a Greek Orthodox baptism in Melbourne?
The child's name saint or the Guardian Angel, often given by the godparent: an icon that will accompany the child for life.
An icon for a Ukrainian Greek Catholic family?
Saint Michael the Archangel, the Mother of God or the name saint, with Greek or Latin inscriptions, painted according to the Byzantine canon shared by the Ukrainian tradition.
How does the icon reach Melbourne?
With protective packaging and, on request, insured shipping, together with the certificate of authenticity on real parchment and the booklet. Conditions and customs formalities are checked at the time of commission.