Mother of God Hodigitria

One of the earliest surviving Ukrainian icons, Mother of God Hodigitria holds a revered place in Eastern Orthodox iconography and is one of the most frequently depicted iconographic types of the Virgin Mary.

Hodigitria is typically portrayed holding Jesus and pointing to him. The two figures are often set against a gold or earth toned background. The unusual green in this example is found in other icons from the 14th and 15th centuries painted in this same village in Western Ukraine.

Savior Not Made by Hands

A common theme of Ukrainian iconography of the 15th and 16th centuries, this image is based upon the legendary story of Abgar, King of Edessa in Syria. Suffering from leprosy, the King was healed by a cloth with which Jesus had wiped his own face. The fabric retained an imprint of Jesus’ visage, resulting in the name “Not Made by Human Hands.” In Ukrainian iconography, depictions often show the Archangels Michael and Gabriel holding the cloth.

Descent of the Holy Spirit

This icon depicts one of the most significant Feast Days on the Orthodox calendar when the Holy Spirit bestowed upon Jesus’ disciples the ability to speak foreign languages, enabling them to preach to all people.

Beneath the Apostles is the figure of “Kosmos” who symbolizes the pagan world awaiting the enlightenment of Christianity. Most of the Apostles hold a scroll or book, emblematic of the Gospel they would preach.

The Transfiguration

In areas under Byzantine influence The Transfiguration is a frequently depicted subject, although representations of it vary greatly. This example contains traditional elements including the blue almond shape, or mandorla, surrounding Christ, the seven rays of light that emanate from him, and the halo that encircles his face.

Atop a mountain, Christ reveals his divine glory to three of his disciples, John, James, and Peter, who have thrown themselves to the ground. Christ is flanked by the prophets Elijah and Moses.

Royal Doors

Royal Doors, also known as Holy Doors or Beautiful Gates, are the central gates of an iconostasis that lead to the altar in an Orthodox church.

This early pair of Royal Doors is exceptional among Ukrainian iconography because it features only the four Evangelists, each of whom is seated with a book nearby, and does not include the typical Annunciation on top. The architectural details, among which, the benches and easels, are traditionally Byzantine in style.

Old Testament Trinity

This scene represents the story in Genesis in which Abraham and Sarah are visited by three mysterious guests, later identified as angels. They promise Abraham that the following year Sarah will give birth to a son, even though she is well beyond child-bearing age. The three angels reflect the Christian concept of God as “One in Three Persons.” As in some other renderings of this subject, neither Abraham nor Sarah is depicted here.

The Entry Into Jerusalem

This version of Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem follows the Byzantine tradition of portraying Jesus seated sideways on a donkey with his Apostles behind him and the Jerusalemites awaiting his arrival. The bowed head of the donkey is also typically Byzantine. The clothing of the Jerusalemites mirrors that of 17th century Ukrainian burghers and the tiered gables of Jerusalem are rendered in the style of Western Ukraine.

Descent Into Hell

One of the most significant scenes in Eastern Orthodox iconography, the Descent into Hell symbolizes the Resurrection, the feast of greatest importance in the Church.

This depiction shows Christ after his Resurrection, holding a cross and leading the Just into the proverbial light. The sarcophagi are full of righteous figures, including Adam, whom Christ pulls out of Hell by the wrist. Hell is depicted here as the darkened areas at the sides of the mandorla.

Flight Into Egypt

This icon depicts the events surrounding the birth of Jesus. The upper portion of the panel shows an angel warning a sleeping Joseph to take his wife and son to Egypt to escape King Herod’s violence. The central scene depicts Joseph leading his wife and infant son out of Bethlehem on a donkey. The lower portion of the panel, set in a Ukrainian landscape with spruce trees typical of the Carpathian Mountains, portrays Herod’s soldiers leaving Jerusalem to slaughter the children.

Saint Paraskeva

Shown here being crowned by two angels, Saint Paraskeva is said to have been martyred in the 3rd century. Legend states that at the moment of her death a voice was heard from heaven proclaiming, “Rejoice believers, as martyr Paraskeva is being crowned!” It is this moment that is being depicted.

The Savior Enthroned

This icon is inspired by early portraits of Roman emperors. As seen here, Christ is often pictured flanked by Peter and Paul, yet within Byzantine iconography this example is unusual because of its full-length, rather than half-length portrayal of Christ.

More typical, particularly in Eastern Orthodoxy, is Christ’s right hand raised in blessing and the Gospel book he holds. The text in this icon is written in Old Church Slavonic.

Three Scenes:
The Ascent of the Prophet Elijah; The Presentation of Mary in the Temple; and Selected Saints

In the upper right panel one sees The Presentation of Mary in the Temple, the name of a church in Nizhyn, while in the upper left Elijah ascends to heaven in a chariot. In the lower panel, Saints Alexander Nevsky and Barbara are depicted alongside patron saints of the donor’s family and the Metropolitan of Kyiv. At the bottom of this scene is the Church of the Prophet Elijah, the main church of the convent in Nizhyn, destroyed by fire in 1756.

Saint Nicholas

Nicholas, shown in bishop’s robes, is flanked by Christ with the Gospel and the Mother of God who holds an omophorion, or bishop’s vestment. As well as being the protector of children (like Paraskeva), Nicholas is the guardian of mariners and travelers.

The Dormition of the Mother of God
of Kyiv-Pechersk

This icon, portraying Mary on her deathbed, was placed above the Royal Doors of the iconostasis of the Dormition Cathedral, the main church in the Lavra complex. While the original icon vanished during the German occupation of Kyiv in 1941-1943, this example is among the oldest copies of many that were made over the centuries in the Lavra studios.

Saints Anthony and Theodosius of Pechersk

This icon depicts the Dormition Cathedral roofline and façade altered by a fire in 1718. Western artistic influences, seen here in the representation of the caves and the Dnieper River, became common in paintings produced at the Lavra studios from the second half of the 17th century onward. Italian art reached Ukraine through engravings and painted reproductions, and inspired Lavra icon painters who incorporated or transformed some of these stylistic elements into their own iconography.

Congregation of All the Saints of the Pechersk Lavra

This icon honors the 118 saints of the Monastery of the Caves who were officially canonized in the 18th century. The Dormition Cathedral features prominently in the center of the composition and a miniature icon of The Dormition of the Mother of God (also in this exhibit) is being held by two angels above.

The Adoration of the Shepherds

In this icon Mary, Joseph and the Infant Jesus are visited by the shepherds whom the angels had summoned to Bethlehem to worship him. By the 18th century, The Adoration of the Shepherds became the privileged scene in altarpieces of the Nativity, which also often featured depictions of the Magi at Christ’s manger. This panel comes from the Festive Tier of an iconostasis and shows Western stylistic influences similar to those seen in The Annunciation (also in this exhibition).

Christ the Almighty

Icons created on copper plate were relatively rare in Ukraine and often came from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Most of the Lavra churches were redecorated in the 17th century and their façades adorned with pictorial compositions on metal. Iconostases in the cave chapels were also made of metal, since wood would have quickly deteriorated in such underground conditions.

The Mother of God of Kyiv-Bratsk

The prototype of The Mother of God of Kyiv-Bratsk was carried down the Dnieper River from Vyshgorod, a city ravaged by the Tatar invasion of 1662. The miracle-working icon was found opposite the Bratsk or “Brotherhood” Monastery in Podil. It was especially venerated in the 17th and 18th centuries, with days devoted to its celebration in Kyiv as late as the 19th century. Numerous copies were made of the icon, including this one.

The Mother of God of Pochaiv with Miracles

The composition, with its multiple scenes, is based on an 18th century engraving done at the Pochaiv Monastery. The crowned miracle-working icon is in the center surrounded by its best known miracles on either side.

Pochaiv, founded in the 14th century in Western Ukraine, is one of three monasteries in Ukraine that has the title of Lavra – denoting a complex of monastic structures in Orthodox Christianity.

The Passion of Christ

Christ the Vigilant Eye

A popular image both in homes and churches in 18th and 19th century Ukraine, Christ the Vigilant Eye depicts the Infant Jesus, who, while seemingly asleep, sees everything in the present world and in the future.

The rosebuds are a Ukrainian folkloric motif, while the objects surrounding the cross are the instruments of Christ’s Passion. The three crosses of Golgotha appear in the background.

Cross of Mark the Cave-Dweller (Encolpion)

An encolpion is a reliquary cross worn on one’s chest. Such crosses from the 11th to 13th centuries are an important part of Eastern Orthodox heritage because they are closely connected with holy relics in Byzantium and the Orthodox world. In this period in Kyivan Rus’, encolpia were manufactured from copper alloys. According to legend, this 11th century cross belonged to a monk, the Reverend Mark Pechernik, who was responsible for the burial of monks. For his noble, ascetic life, God gave Mark the ability to perform miracles. The front panel of the cross depicts Christ in the center flanked by the twelve Apostles. Saints Theodore and George, the latter having been largely erased, appear on the vertical bar.

Blessing Cross

Like the slightly earlier example, this cross was made for the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery, although in this instance by Vicar Basil in 1736, according to an engraved inscription on the edge of the cross handle.

Chalice

The Chalice, according to Eastern European Orthodox symbolism, consists of a bowl that symbolizes the Mother of God (the vessel in which Jesus was placed before his birth), a high stand that signifies the Church, and a wide base representing the firmness of the earth. The vessel holds wine transformed by the sacrament of the Eucharist. It calls to mind the cup that Jesus gave his disciples at the Last Supper.