Greek Icon Of The Dormition Of The Virgin - Late 18th Early 19th Centuries

This subject is represented in Christian iconography under the term "Dormition of the Virgin" (or "Assumption"). It is the end of the earthly life of the Virgin Mary, when she is taken to heaven. In the foreground of the icon, we see the All-Holy lying on her deathbed, surrounded by the saddened apostles, holy women and three bishops: Saint James, "the brother of the Lord" and first bishop of Jerusalem, and two disciples of the apostles: Hierotheus and Dionysius the Areopagite. Behind the All-Holy stands Christ, who carries in his arms the soul of his Mother in the form of a little child. The Lord, in his mandorla, is surrounded by angels and a cherub, who accompany Him. The apostle Peter is incensing, and in front of him stands the apostle Paul. In the background, there are buildings representing Zion, where the All-Blessed One fell asleep. In the background, above, we contemplate the Mother of God, in her body, carried to paradise by the angels. The apostles arrive miraculously on the clouds, from the ends of the earth. We also see - which is much rarer - in front of the stretcher an episode with a Jewish high priest named Athonius, who had both hands cut off by an angel for having dared to touch the funeral couch of the Mother of God. Later, he was healed after his conversion. "The audacious hands of the impudent one were quickly cut off by the justice of God in order to preserve the honor of the living ark, glory of the divinity, where the Word had taken flesh." Dormition, Matins, ode 3