The Russian "I AM"

Russians believe that the Apostle Andrew, one of the 12 disciples of Jesus, came through their nation in 55 A.D. He carried with him the good news of the existence of Jesus.

In 988 A.D., Vladimir the Great installed Christianity as the state religion after leaving paganism for Christ. Idolatry was abolished and Byzantine missionaries were allowed in. The Slav tribes were uniting as the Kievan Rus—a federation of Christian states, now known as Russia, the Ukraine, and Belarus.

Christians in the highest levels of government are good for a nation. This is biblical:

“Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king, that they would be the Lord’s people.” (2Chronicles 23:16)

Vladimir had been influenced for Christ by his grandmother, Olga of Kiev, who was first baptized in about 955 A.D. She began the building of churches in the region.

Believing grandparents make a spiritual difference in the lives of their grandchildren. (2Timothy 1:5)

The modern church in Russia, the Ukraine and Belarus are the descendants of one early church. They are one people in Christ.

The Kiev Rus first received Scriptures translated from the Koine Greek and written in Glagolitic script, which was developed by two devout believers in 862 A.D. for the purpose of bringing the Slavic peoples the written Word of God. “Glagolitic” means “utterance” or “word.”

Glagolitic script was the precursor of the Cyrillic alphabet, named for Cyril, one of the two believers. Many of Cyrillic’s letters are rooted in the foundational languages of the Scriptures, coming from Hebrew and Greek. A few are Aramaic.

Jesus is a part of every word of Scripture, even the very letters. Three times he stated, “I AM the Alpha and the Omega.” (Revelation 1:8, 21:6, 22:13) These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Written language is extremely important to the Lord. Its fundamental purpose is for the spreading of the Gospel, as seen historically in Russia.

Cyrillic was used to unite the Russian people to the faith in Jesus.

Cyrillic is the alphabet for 50 different languages. God has used two men to reach generations of believers across Eastern Europe and into Asia.

The Cyrillic alphabet is now used in the Church in the Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. The Gospel is the foundation of literacy and culture throughout Eastern Europe and into Russia.

The modern church in Russia, the Ukraine and Belarus are the descendants of one holy Scripture and one early church. They are one people in Christ.

In 1054, the Great Schism occurred, dividing the Catholic Church in Rome from the Orthodox Church in the East. Though all believed in Jesus the Christ and though all were descendants of the early church, receiving the Scriptures from the same original Greek source, the two sides held to political disputes, theological differences and cultural obstacles.

The church has a history of division. Jesus stated, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and no city or house divided against itself will stand.” (Matthew 12:25)

The Russian Orthodox Church has been historically united to the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople. In 1996, it split. Political differences regarding the Orthodox Church in Estonia were reconciled, and the two reunited.

In 2018, a similar split occurred again between the Russian Orthodox Church and Constantinople. This political difference involved the Ukraine. “Relations soured after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.” (BBC)

The church cannot allow other powers to divide it.

Paul wrote, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Every part of the church is necessary to the other parts.

“For just as we have many parts in one body and all the body’s parts do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually parts of one another.” (Romans 12:4-5)

These parts are to build the church up to unity in the faith. (Ephesians 4:11-13)

The Russian Orthodox Church numbers approximately 112 million globally. Eastern Orthodox members constitute 300 million worldwide. These believers are all united in Christ since they received the Gospel, and should remain so.

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6)

To honor the Lord and the Orthodox Church in Russia, the Russian words “It’s me,” meaning— “I AM” from John 18:5 have been embroidered in this artwork titled “I AM.”

Listen to the Lord’s Prayer, spoken in the beautiful Russian language:

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More about the art piece: “I AM”

(C) Kelly Jadon 2025

The Ukranian "I AM"

Ukrainians believe that the Apostle Andrew, one of the 12 disciples of Jesus, came through their nation in 55 A.D. He carried with him the good news of the existence of Jesus.

In 988 A.D., Vladimir the Great installed Christianity as the state religion after leaving paganism for Christ. Idolatry was abolished and Byzantine missionaries were allowed in. The Slav tribes were uniting as the Kievan Rus—a federation of Christian states, now known as Russia, the Ukraine, and Belarus.

Christians in the highest levels of government are good for a nation.

Vladimir had been influenced for Christ by his grandmother, Olga of Kiev, who was first baptized in about 955 A.D. She began the building of churches in the region.

Believing grandparents make a spiritual difference in the lives of their grandchildren.

The modern church in Russia, the Ukraine and Belarus are the descendants of one early church. They are one people in Christ.

The Kiev Rus first received Scriptures translated from the Koine Greek and written in Glagolitic script, which was developed by two devout believers in 862 A.D. for the purpose of bringing the Slavic peoples the written Word of God. “Glagolitic” means “utterance” or “word.”

Glagolitic script was the precursor of the Cyrillic alphabet, named for Cyril, one of the two believers. Many of Cyrillic’s letters are rooted in the foundational languages of the Scriptures, coming from Hebrew and Greek. A few are Aramaic.

Cyrillic is the alphabet for 50 different languages. God has used two men to reach generations of believers across Eastern Europe and into Asia.

The Cyrillic alphabet is now used in the Church in the Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. The Gospel is the foundation of literacy and culture throughout Eastern Europe and into Asia.

The modern church in Russia, the Ukraine and Belarus are the descendants of one holy Scripture and one early church. They are one people in Christ.

Approximately 41 million Ukrainians are of the Orthodox Church, but are divided by political problems and war, yet they are one people, one body, one language, one faith in Jesus Christ.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, while the Lord sweated blood, he prayed:

“ I am no longer going to be in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, so that they may be one just as We are.” (John 17:11)

Belief in Jesus and the Scriptures unite nations, the church, and the family.

To honor the Lord and the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, the Ukrainian words “This is me,” meaning— “I AM” from John 18:5 have been embroidered in this artwork titled “I AM.”

Listen to the “Lord’s Prayer” being sung in the beautiful Ukrainian language:

Please share!

More about the art piece: “I AM”

(C) Kelly Jadon, 2025

The Armenian "I AM"

Bartholomew and Jude, two of the 12 apostles of Jesus, went to the land of Armenia with the good news of Jesus and his resurrection. By the year 301 A.D., Armenia declared Christianity its state religion. The first Christian nation was officially born.

How did this happen? Early Armenian Christians were first persecuted by their kings. Then came Gregory the Illuminator. As a child, he was saved from death during a political conflict between his own father and the king of Armenia. Gregory survived after being taken away from Armenia to the Roman Empire by his nurse. There Gregory was raised as a Christian.

As an adult, he returned to Armenia. After enduring torture and prison himself by the king of Armenia, Gregory persuaded him to receive Christ, baptizing him in the Euphrates River.

Gregory, the first head of the Armenian Church, built churches and schools for the study of Syriac and Greek— Scriptural languages.

By 405 A.D., Mesrop Mashtots, who was an Armenian theologian, created an Armenian alphabet for the purpose of translating the Scriptures from Greek into Armenian. This solidified the Christian faith across the nation.

God uses language, both spoken and written, to unify his church, even nations.

During the 5th Century, the Persian Shah used Zoroastrian priests to coerce Armenians into renouncing Jesus and accepting the pagan religion. The Armenian Church held fast to Christ.

The Armenian Church has stood for close to 2000 years and continues to do so, despite persecution even into modern times.

As Jesus is alive, so too has he kept his church alive.

“Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.” (Isaiah 9:7)

In 2016, “The Catholic Thing” publication reported that approximately 9 million people are members of the Armenian Apostolic Church, while 750,00 belong to the Armenian Uniate Catholic Church.

Listen to liturgical Armenian prayer:

To honor the Lord and the Armenian Church, the Armenian words of the Lord, “It’s me,” from John 18:5 have been embroidered in this artwork titled “I AM.”

Please share!

More about the art piece: “I AM”

(C) Kelly Jadon, 2025

The Latin "I AM"

At the cross, a placard written in three languages (Hebrew, Latin, and Greek) was nailed above the Lord, naming him as “King of the Jews.”

There was a divine reason for the Latin inclusion on the sign placed above the Lord. It read: “Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum,” or “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” Today, the abbreviation “INRI” is still written above crosses as a reminder.

Latin was the tongue of the immense Roman Empire, which ruled over the Holy Land. It was used in the areas of administration, legislation, and for military matters.

After persecution in Jerusalem, the early church spread westward, even into Rome, where Latin was spoken. By the third century, it was the dominant tongue. In the fourth century, St. Jerome translated the Bible into Latin, now known as the Vulgate from the early Koine Greek New Testament. The title, “Vulgate,” is similar to the English word, “vulgar,” referring to Latin as the common language of the people. God’s hand was at work, bringing his word to his people.

The Vulgate influenced translations of the Bible into the Romance languages, daughter languages of Latin, like French, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Though Rome fell, Latin remained in use for church liturgy, scholarship and communication among the clergy. It is still the official language of the Roman Catholic Church today. At the Roman Catholic headquarters, in Vatican City, Latin is continues to be utilized for mass.

For 2,000 years, the Catholic Church has maintained the Latin vernacular. This is important, simply because the placard above the Lord was written in Latin. The Roman Catholic Church has continued to honor the Lord.

Their work has affected billions of people. Today, their descendants are 1.39 billion baptized individuals (2024).

Embroidered above in the artwork, “I AM,” are the words, “Iesus ego sum,” or “Jesus I AM” from John 18:5 in the Vulgate.

Listen to the “Pater Noster” or the “Our Father” prayer in Latin. Many of the first believers heard and memorized these words as the Gospel moved across Europe.

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More about the art piece: “I AM”

(C) Kelly Jadon 2025

The Spoken "I AM"

Jesus spoke more than one language. The common tongue at his time in the Holy Land was Aramaic. From the cross, the Lord cried out loudly in Aramaic, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) He wanted listeners to know what was happening.

Jesus also used Aramaic to raise a small girl who had died, “Talitha koum,” or “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” (Mark 5:41) Though she was dead, he spoke to her in her native tongue.

Mark 7: 32-34 records that Jesus spoke Aramaic when he healed a deaf man. “They brought a man to him who was deaf and had a speech impediment. They pleaded with Jesus to place his hand on him.  Jesus took him aside in private, away from the crowd. He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue.  After he looked up to heaven, he sighed and said, ‘Ephphatha!’ (which means ‘Be opened!’)” The man hadn’t been able to hear any language, but the first word he ever heard was Jesus speaking the Aramaic, “Ephphatha!”

Language is important to God. He communicates with his people through words. Even, his Son is called The Word. (John 1:1)

The Old Testament was written primarily in Hebrew, but during the exile of the Israelites to Babylon, parts of the books of Daniel, Ezra and Jeremiah were recorded in Aramaic.

Over time, Aramaic displaced Hebrew as the everyday language of the Jewish people. The precedence of Aramaic continued until the rise of Islam, when Arabic replaced Aramaic in the Holy Land, approximately 600 years after the Lord ascended.

Aramaic is still used today by small groups of Christians in northern Syria, Iraq, Iran, southeast Turkey and in diasporic communities of Armenia, Georgia and Russia.

The Syriac Bible, a dialect of Aramaic is still used today by the Syrian Orthodox Church, whose headquarters are in Syria, where we were first called “Christians.” This branch of the church was the second established after that in Jerusalem. After 2,000 years, these believers are the physical and spiritual descendants of the early church. They have kept the holy places and the living language of Christ.

Jesus also used Aramaic for teaching, “raca” or “fool,” and “mammon” meaning “wealth.” He wanted the people themselves to know and understand him, the Father and the kingdom of heaven. For that, they needed to hear in their own tongue. The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. They learned “The Lord’s Prayer.”

Listen to Jonathan Roumie pray “The Lord’s Prayer” in Aramaic. It is quite moving.

To honor the Lord and the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Aramaic word “Jesus” has been embroidered in this artwork titled “I AM.”

Please share!

More about the art piece: “I AM”

(C) Kelly Jadon, 2025

The Great "I AM"

Jesus spoke more than one language. His biblical language, the Old Testament, was primarily Hebrew, which He could read and speak as Scripture has shown.

One Sabbath Jesus entered Nazareth’s synagogue and then stood up to read from the scroll of Isaiah, which was written in Hebrew. (Luke 4:16-21)

“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO BRING GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” (Isaiah 61:1-2a)

In the book of Exodus, Moses saw a burning bush which did not burn up. A voice, God’s voice, spoke to him from the burning bush, instructing Moses to return to Egypt and help free the Hebrew people from slavery. Worried, Moses inquired of the Lord, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?'” (Exodus 3:13)

And God answered Moses in a very specific way: “‘I AM WHO I AM’; and He said, “This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:14)

Jewish people don’t say this word, because it is very very holy. Gentile believers know it as “Yahweh,” meaning, “I AM.” God is stating that he is the Existing One. He was, is and always will be. He lives outside of time. He is the Creator, even of time.

This is God’s name. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. And this is why Jesus said, “I AM.” (John 18:5) Jesus also is saying that he was, is and always will be. He was with God before descending to earth. (John 8:58) He is the Creator, even of his own body.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:1-3)

God’s name in the Hebrew of the Old Testament is embroidered on the curtain of this artwork in gold, signifying his beauty, his worth, his royalty, his power, and his holiness.

Moses went on to write down the first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch or the Torah—the Law. Moses gave us the Law, but truth and life have come through God’s Son, Jesus.

From the beginning, Moses indicated that God is plural, yet one.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” God is the Hebrew word “Elohim,” which is plural. Jesus was indeed present at the beginning of creation.

Listen to Hebrew, the foundational language of the Scriptures, which were carried to believers by the Jewish people.

Please share!

More about the art piece: “I AM”

(C) Kelly Jadon, 2025

"I AM"

I am a Christian artist, inspired by the wrapping of the tabernacle of the Old Testament and the words of the Lord, "I AM."

Several months ago I was inspired during my morning reading of the Scriptures to begin a large artwork incorporating the method of wrapping. The tabernacle in the Old Testament was wrapped in specific layers of protection. Each one had a purpose and symbolic meaning.

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“I AM” in progress. Note the Arabic for “I AM” within my embroidery hoop—top left of photo.

About that time, my pastor read from the book of Genesis about creation. At God’s Word, the oceans teamed with sealife. (Genesis 1:20) In the past, I have worked prolifically with layered glass, creating sealife mosaics, highlighting their beauty and variety.

With prayer, I began there. At the bottom of the artwork, I formed the coral reef.

Taking recyclable materials, I stuffed, wrapped, knitted and sewed the coral. With sequins, ribbons and beads, I gave it great beauty, just as the reefs themselves are gorgeous, just as the tabernacle was very beautiful.

Wrapping in layers shows depth. The sea turtle is polyfil stuffed cardboard, glued and sewn shut. Then it is bound with green fabric, decorative mesh, green fishing cord, strung beads, and finally gold pieces from disassembled jewelry. Between the gold are green “sequins,” created from plastic beverage bottles.

Within the ancient tabernacle was a first covering of violet, purple, and scarlet material, embroidered with cherubim, a type of angel.

Above and around the sea turtle are embroidered on similarly-hued tulle, the powerful words of the Lord from John 18:5 in many languages. Each spoken tongue proclaims the divinity of the Lord as Creator—the great “I AM.”

At this time, December 2024, there are 26 languages recognized, including Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin and Greek, even Chinese, Russian, Arabic and Kurdish. As this is a work daily in progress, more languages will be added. As I work, I pray.

As Christ calls us to carry forward the Gospel across the waters into all the world, so I hope to send this piece of art to cities around the United States and even abroad to open eyes to the truth of the Creator, our Savior--"I AM.”

Would you please share in this joy of reaching others who will recognize their own tongue and ask “What is this?” and then they will be told, “They are the words of Jesus, the Creator, the One Who Is.”

Every bit helps.

(C) 2025 Kelly Jadon