An antique 19th-century Russian Orthodox icon of Saint Christopher with the dogs head. Mixed media painting: egg tempera, gesso, and levkas on a wood board. Gilt accents. Titled in Church Slavonic in the upper part. Saint Christopher is a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century AD. The Byzantine iconography of St. Christopher as dog-headed have resulted from a misreading of a Latin hagiographic script. This type of depiction was popular in the Eastern Orthodox Church, especially among the Old Believers. Russian Christian Religious Items and Collectibles.