it's not an icon. the orthodox churches have the habbit of painting their main contributors on the walls. as a tribute. as in, if the king x built a church, the church will aknowledge him as its founder by painting him on the wall. icons are of saints.
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Icons are of Christ, and only as long as somebody [a saint] or an event becomes a recognizable "image" of Christ it becomes an icon.
Icons aren't only of saints but of holy "acts/events" as well, for example a Holy Synod/Council of the Church. Not all the participants are saints. Even the central figure can be an Emperor that is not a saint. The ACT of giving/dedicating a church/synod to God is an ICON of holiness; this is why it is acceptable within the iconography. When a saint dedicates his whole life to Christ, even his torture and martyrdom becomes an icon of the Crucifixion, and you can see many acts of torture on church walls [in the pro-naos or exonarthex].
In the Orthodox Church we believe that God has “come down” to us to GIVE us the chance of deification as long as we become icons of that GIVING. The church itself is a complex icon.
The main theme in an Orthodox Church is God coming down, working and GIVING Himself among us. Building/GIVING a place fit for the Liturgy within a community, fully decorated with the complete iconography, entitles the donor eternal remembrance in the Liturgy and a place in the iconography [even if at the "end" of it], even if that person is not a saint. This is why donors and kings have special places to sit during the Liturgy and why they can be buried within the church.
You must also remember that every church has as historical/symbolical model the Synagogue. The Synagogue has as historical/symbolical model the Temple of Solomon. And, not surprisingly, the temple of Solomon is similar to Egyptian temples. If you remember, almost all temples in Egypt are built by kings/pharaohs. Initially they were the only intercessors between Egypt and the gods. The priests were only substitutes for the king. You must also remember that in the Orthodox Church to this day an anointed king has the right to enter the altar of the church during the Liturgy passing the Imperial doors. The king giving to the gods is a prominent fixture of the "iconography" of a temple. Even if this theme has diminished in importance in a church it is still there, and rightfully so.
You may say “we pray before an icon, and I cannot pray before somebody who is not a saint!” If you say that you forget that the donor gives his gift/prayer to Christ, and that Christ is the main element there, and because of that it becomes an icon [not as important as all the rest in the church, but nevertheless an icon]. When we pray we become icons of Christ praying to God in the garden of Gethsemane. When a king GIVES a church to God for a community he becomes an icon of Christ GIVING Himself on the Cross to God for the world.
