Cut out the wrong

This is the version of the Icon of the Baptism of Christ put together by one group at last Sunday's First Sunday Thing. The person who did the research and led the group could follow all the symbolism except for one detail. 'Why is there always an axe at the extreme bottom left of the picture?', she asked. It appears that an axe at the foot of a tree is a symbol for John the Baptist, and it is John next to whom the symbol appears. John preached that an axe was ready to cut down the tree of people's sin.