When the Rev. James Shadid decided it was time for his Houston church to add new art to the sanctuary, he turned to the search tool so many people use for so many products: Google.

He typed in “orthodox mosaic of Christ” and dozens of images filled his computer screen. In brilliant golds and cobalt blues, with contemplative eyes and small gestures that conveyed deep messages of faith, the images showed the center of Shadid’s faith in full color.

But one stood out — work by renowned British iconographer and artist Aidan Hart.

“When his popped up, I said ‘whoever did that one is the guy who needs to do ours,’” said Shadid, the priest at St. George Orthodox Christian Church on Mercer Street in West U. “When I started emailing him, I thought ‘Maybe he needs the work.’”

What Shadid soon discovered was that Hart is fairly famous throughout Europe for his liturgical artwork that can be found in churches, cathedrals and monasteries in more than 20 countries. Also, he’s been hired by Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, now the Duchess of Cornwall, for sculptures and portraits as well as iconography for the chapel at their private residence, Highgrove House and Gardens.

Now, Hart’s work is on grand display in two 16-feet by 12-feet mosaics that were added to the sanctuary in 2016 and two dome-shaped mosaics installed in July over the Mercer street entrances.

Shadid, 44 and a native of Oklahoma City, moved to Houston seven years ago to become the priest at St. George. His wife, Gigi, is a Houston native and grew up attending church there.

The church’s location in West U makes it difficult to grow, because every inch of the church’s lot is valuable. When it came time to expand for a growing congregation, they built additions onto each side of the sanctuary to accommodate seating for about 250 more people, also necessitating remodeling the front of the church.

Some 600 families are members at St. George, founded here in 1928, and on any given Sunday, about 500 people attend services there. There are a number of Orthodox Christian churches in Houston, generally connected to the country where they originated, such as Greek Orthodox or Russian Orthodox. Many of St. George’s founders some 90 years ago came to America as Christian immigrants from north Lebanon. Influxes of immigrants from Syria, Palestine, Russia and Romania added to the local Orthodox Christian community through the years.

Three church members -- Nijad Fares, Jamal Daniel and the Levant Foundation -- made donations totaling $1.8 million to launch the $2.3 million campaign that paid for the expansion and Hart’s large mosaics, which cost $150,000 each. The two newly installed pieces were the result of two more recent donations of $20,000 each.

Hart, 61, came to art in a round-about way. As a young man he converted to Orthodox Christianity and sought to be a priest. He was a novice monk for 12 years, more than six of which were spent living as a hermit in the hills of Shropshire, England, but he never took his final vows.

Art seemed to be his calling throughout his life, and ultimately he believed his life would be better spent devoted to liturgical art rather than the seclusion of a monastic life. He spent time as a sculptor, but also became known for his vivid glass mosaics and beautiful painted frescoes.

In addition to working full time in his studio, Hart teaches at the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts in London. He employs a full-time assistant, and their work is so in demand that he has a two-year backlog of projects.

His work is drawn from Byzantine, Russian and Romanesque icon traditions and includes symbols found in icons, frescoes and mosaics. For example, Christ’s halo is always golden and includes the letters “O,” “W,” and “N,” which represent God, or “the ever existing one,” Shadid noted.

“That’s why you see the letters in the halo of Christ, it’s to remind us that he was there when the world was created. There is no time when Christ was not and that’s what is preached inside the doors of this church,” Shadid said.

At the front of the church, the vibrant mosaic murals depict different scenes with Christ, one is the crucifixion, the other the resurrection. The murals were created in Hart’s studio in Shrewsbury, England, then brought to the U.S. in smaller pieces that were put together like a jigsaw puzzle.

Color and detail come through in hand-blown Venetian glass hand cut into tiny pieces no larger than a quarter of an inch, and each of the large murals has some 200,000 pieces of glass.

In the crucifixion mural, Christ is in the center, nailed to the cross, with blood spilling from his feet onto a small grave with a skull which represents Adam. Longinus, the Roman centurion who converted at the scene of the crucifixion, is depicted, as are Mary Magdeline, Virgin Mary and St. John the Apostle.

On the opposite side of the sanctuary is the resurrection mural, with the risen Christ in white robes, holding onto the arms of Adam and Eve. King David and John the Baptist peek from the background. Opened locks scattered beneath Christ’s feet represent the belief that death used to hold us in, but that with his resurrection we are united with him in eternal life.

The smaller domed pieces over the doors — 6 feet wide and 3 feet tall — depict Christ and St. George, the saint after whom this Antiochian church is named.

St. George, a Christian and Roman soldier who was executed for refusing to worship Roman icons, is shown as a soldier on his horse, with a cross in one hand and a spear killing a snake in the other, representing his faith and conquering death. Mountains, trees and flowers not only create a frame around St. George but also demonstrate how sanctity is about the whole of creation.

As a saint, George is shown with a simple halo, round and green, while Christ is always shown with a large golden halo. George’s importance in the Roman army is shown in his regal uniform and his horse’s colorful embellishments.

The domed piece installed over the doors to the sanctuary show Christ blessing guests with his hand gesture (thumb and ring finger pressed together), and welcoming them with a bible verse from the gospel of John that reads: “I am the way, the truth, the light.”

Religious art comes in many forms — mosaics, sculptures, paintings, even tapestries — and in Orthodox Christian churches, traditional iconography is considered a door through which you meet a saint, a pious person who is revered but not worshipped.

Shadid said the new artwork creates a beautiful welcome to anyone entering his church, but they serve as a reminder of the true call to Christians to serve others.

“I tell everybody that we’re thankful for the icons, but they can be used against us on the day of judgment. If I spent $20,000 to put the image of Christ above the church while I had better be serving the poor and helping those in need … ,” Shadid said. “All of these things are supposed to make us focus on the kingdom of heaven and … loving our neighbor. On the day of judgment God’s not going to ask ‘how pretty were your icons?’ He’s going to ask ‘Did you learn from the icons to take in the stranger?’”