Description
As the hymns of Pascha or Easter proclaim, “This is the Chosen and Holy Day, the Feast of Feasts.” This Russian icon is a compilation of Festal and Paschal scenes. In the four corners are the Four Evangelists (clockwise from upper left: St. John, St. Matthew, St. Luke, and St. Mark). The outer ring of sixteen icons includes the Great Feasts of the Church and several other scenes: Nativity of the Theotokos, Entrance of the Theotokos, the Holy Trinity, Annunciation, Nativity of our Lord, Theophany, Transfiguration, Dormition of the Theotokos, Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Protection of the Virgin, the Prophet Elias, Beheading of St. John the Baptist, Raising of Lazarus, Ascension, the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and the Meeting of the Lord.
The inner ring of twelve icons depicts the events of Holy Thursday and Friday: the Mystical Supper, Washing the Disciples Feet, Agony in the Garden, Judas conspiring with the High Priest, Arrest of Jesus and the Kiss of Judas, Mockery of Christ, Entombment, Descent from the Cross, Crucifixion, Bearing the Cross, Scourging, and the Trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin.