This course is dedicated to icons of the Holy Land. Making and venerating icons is absolutely essential for liturgy and devotion within the Orthodox Christianity, which continues this practice since the early Byzantine Period. In the last decades the phenomenon of icons takes an growing part within the Catholic church as well. These two traditions co-exist, side by side, also in the local Christian visual culture. The course will examine what place takes the icon in the local Christian cultures of the Holy Land, ways of their making and veneration. A special attention will be given to specific icons, that have a special meaning for local Christian congregations of the Holy  Land and for pilgrims who come from all around the world. The course is based on a weekly reading in English (home reading is obligatory). The course includes tours within Israel.