An Orans icon shows someone standing in prayer with their arms raised. That’s it in simplest terms. The word comes from Latin (orans means “praying”), and it’s one of the oldest prayer postures in Christian art.
You’ve probably seen this without knowing what to call it. The most famous Orans icon is the Theotokos of the Sign, where Mary stands with her hands lifted and Christ Emmanuel appears as a small figure in a medallion on her chest. It’s a striking image. She’s praying, but she’s also showing us something: the Word made flesh, God dwelling within her.
The Posture Itself
The Orans posture is simple. Arms raised to about shoulder height, elbows slightly bent, palms facing forward or slightly turned out. It’s the way Christians prayed in the early Church, the way you still see priests pray at certain moments in the Liturgy. When you see someone painted this way in an icon, they’re interceding. They’re standing before God on behalf of the Church.
This isn’t just artistic convention. The early Christians in the catacombs painted figures praying this way. They understood something we sometimes forget: prayer is work. It requires your whole body, not just your head bowed. The Orans posture shows that openness to God, that active reaching toward heaven.
The Theotokos of the Sign
When we talk about Orans icons, we’re usually talking about Mary. The most important type is called the Sign, or in Russian, Znamenie. The name comes from Isaiah’s prophecy: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son” (Isaiah 7:14). The icon is that sign made visible. Mary with her hands raised in prayer, and there on her chest is Emmanuel, God with us.
The feast of this icon falls on November 27 (Old Calendar) or December 10 (New Calendar). It commemorates a 12th-century miracle in Novgorod, Russia, when the icon wept during a siege and the city was saved. Archbishop Elias established the feast day, and it’s been kept ever since. The Novgorod icon became famous, but there are other ancient examples too. The Kursk-Root icon is one of the oldest in the Russian Church.
Where You’ll See It
Walk into most Orthodox churches and look up at the apse, that half-dome above the altar. You’ll often see the Theotokos there with her arms raised. Sometimes this is called the Platytera, which means “more spacious than the heavens.” It’s the same basic image as the Sign, but it emphasizes something slightly different. The Platytera shows Mary as the one who contained the Uncontainable, the living throne of God. She’s painted large, looking down the nave, reminding everyone who enters that this is where heaven meets earth.
The Sign icon, by contrast, is often a smaller, portable icon associated with specific miracles. Both show the Orans posture. Both show Christ on her chest. But the Platytera is architectural, permanent, liturgical. The Sign is often tied to a particular story of intercession.
What It Means for Us
When you venerate an Orans icon, you’re not just honoring a prayer posture. You’re entering into the reality it depicts. The Theotokos stands before God, interceding for the Church. She’s doing now what the icon shows. The saints do the same. They’re alive in Christ, and they pray for us.
This can be hard for folks coming from a Baptist or non-denominational background. We’re used to thinking of prayer as something we do alone, directly to God. And yes, we do pray directly to God. But we also ask others to pray with us. The Orans icon shows that the Church’s prayer isn’t just horizontal (us asking each other) or vertical (us asking God). It’s both at once. Mary stands with her arms raised, and Christ is right there on her heart.
If you visit St. Michael’s during a service, pay attention to when the priest raises his arms during the anaphora. Same posture. Same meaning. The whole Church, living and departed, stands before God in prayer. The Orans icon is a window into that reality, a reminder that we’re never praying alone.
