Three separate scenes occupy the center square of this multi-faceted icon. At the top is the graphic representation of Christ's descent into Hell (Anastasis). Below, he ministers to His kneeling disciples, surrounded by a glowing nimbus. In a touching scene Jesus preaches to a follower at the Sea of Galilee, while two others sit listening in a boat. The other scenes, depicting the 16 major feast days, from upper left clockwise, are-- Birth of the Virgin Mary; presentation of Mary to the temple; the Holy Trinity; the Annunciation; the Nativity; Baptism of Christ by St. John the Forerunner in the river Jordan; Christ's Transfiguration; exaltation of the Holy Cross; Dormition ('falling asleep') of the Virgin Mary; the beheading of St. John the Baptist; the vision of God in the flames of fire; protecting of the Virgin Mary's veil; the Ascension of Christ to Heaven; the Holy Trinity in the form of angels; Jesus' entry into Jerusalem; His presentation as an infant to the temple. Though such icons were intended, in part, to promote Russian Orthodoxy as the basis for the power of royal Russian dynasty; the sheer weight and power of the collected images overshadows worldly concerns, emphasizing the most beautiful aspects of Christianity.
- (PF.5262)
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