ⲙⲉⲧⲟⲩⲣⲟ [ᴋɪɴɢᴅᴏᴍ]

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
- Matthew 6:33

What does the Kingdom of God look like? Throughout the gospel of Matthew, Christ describes to us this Kingdom and how we can enter it. In the chapter following the above verse, He tell us that "narrow is the gate", this is what I decided to emphasize as the depiction of the Kingdom of heaven, the narrow gate.

I have cut out the center slit of the gate so that when held up to a light source, we can get a glimpse of Who awaits us beyond the narrow gate. In the Orthodox faith, we refer to Panagia Theotokos as the gate to heaven, as she was the channel through whom Christ entered the world in order to die on the cross for our salvation. This is why I have carved "ΜΡ ΘΥ" on either side of the the icon.

The Holy Body and Blood of our Lord are depicted on the top and bottom of the gate, in the wheat stalk and chalice. This cross set is going to a priest in the Coptic Orthodox church, it was requested from me to carve symbols in the hilt of cross for his intercessors St. Mina the Wonderworker & St. Abba Kyrillos VI, which are illustrated as a shield with his monastery and a censer, respectively.