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Saint Christopher- The Martyr that Barked

Saint Christopher- The Martyr that Barked

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Saint Christopher

The icon of St Christopher is one of the most astounding images found in the Orthodox Tradition. Showing a dog-headed warrior saint, it conjures fantastical stories of werewolves or of monstrous races from Pliny’s edge of the world.

He met a hermit who instructed him in the Christian faith.

Christopher asked him how he could serve Christ. When the hermit suggested fasting and prayer, Christopher replied that he was unable to perform that service.

The hermit then suggested that Christopher could serve Christ because of his size and strength by acts of charity such as assisting people to cross a dangerous river where they were perishing in the attempt. The hermit promised that this service would be pleasing to Christ.

One day, when trying to help a child cross, St Christopher noted that the boy was getting progressively heavier. He felt that as they were facing the treacherous currents of the river.

He had to use all his inner strength to finish the crossing. When he arrived at the other side of the river, he noticed that the child was one of the manifestations of Christ.

Saint Christopher

The Dog’s head; The Church Explanation

To finish up the many stories about the Dog-man saint, The Catholic church explained that the selfless acts from Christopher purified his soul.

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In doing such acts, he ended up cleansing himself of what they called the curse of Canaan.

This way, he supposedly got a human face, a pure spirit, elements enough to get himself canonized on the XV Century.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, specific icons covertly identify Saint Christopher with the head of a dog. Such images may carry echoes of the Egyptian dog-headed god, Anubis. Christopher pictured with a dog’s head is not generally supported by the Orthodox Church, as the icon was proscribed in the 18th century by Moscow.

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