Icon of the Samaritan Woman at the Well – CF762

Description

This icon was originally found with others in ?Palea Chora’ of Amanda in Mylos, Greece and then transferred to the Church of the Holy Trinity at Adamontos.  The Lord is teaching Saint Photini (Saint Svetlana in Slavonic), the Samaritan Woman, at Jacob’s Well, and Saint Peter has come up to question why He is speaking with this foreign Samaritan who were heretics to the Jews at that time, and also why He was speaking alone to a woman.  In the background two other Disciples are enroute back to the well after seeking provisions in the nearby town of Sychar, which is depicted in a stylized way as a fortress.
 

What is wonderful here is the sweet expression on the face of Saint Photini as she has put down her water jar next to the bucket for hauling water out of the well.  She is looking at Christ with tenderness and wonder as she is opening up to the mystery of God Incarnate as Messiah or Christ the Annointed One Who is speaking to her ears and her heart.  All of her interior secrets and life are open to Him, and although at first defensive and then philosophical, she leaves her water jar in just a few moments by the well and goes into the town of Sychar to announce that Christ has come to visit them in truth.