This icon is a reproduction of an original piece of artwork by "K.Mucha". It represents the biblical scene of the Crucifixion of Jesus which is detailed in all four of the New Testament Gospels. Not only do these four accounts accurately portray this historical event, they graphically depict a Roman practice, though similar methods were invented in the ancient culture of Persian Empire. Crucifixion was used by the Romans until about AD 313, when Christianity was legalized in the Roman Empire and soon became the official state religion. The goal of Roman crucifixion was not just to kill the criminal, but also to mutilate and dishonour the body of the condemned. In ancient tradition, an honourable death required burial; leaving a body on the cross, so as to mutilate it and prevent its burial, was a grave dishonour. Since Jesus Christ was the most notable figure to be crucified, a crucifix, often bearing an icon of Christ, became the main symbol of most Christians. Some denominations or individual churches prefer to use only a cross without crucified body, or corpus.
