The composition ‘Nativity of Christ’ of the Akathist to the Blessed Virgin Mary (Ikos 4) is presented on the fresco and it starts with the lines: « While the angels were chanting, the shepherds heard of Christ’s coming in the flesh, and having run to the Shepherd, they beheld Him as a blameless Lamb that had been pastured in Mary’s womb, and singing to Her, they cried…’ A half-turned Virgin Mary with the Baby Christ in her arms is depicted under a cave roof, on a red bed. On the sides of Her there are angels singing doxology, the righteous Joseph, wisemen or Magi, shepherds and animals welcoming the Savior of the world.

General information:
The Akathist Hymn is one of the most well-loved services of devotion in the Orthodox Church. The Akathist to the Holy Virgin is a praise hymn in Her honor, composed in Byzantium between the 5th and 7th centuries. In the Russian tradition of authorship is attributed to Venerable Roman the Melodist (6th century). The cycle of illustrations of Akathist is traditionally included in the decoration system of the Virgin temples and temples dedicated to other people and events. In ancient Russian monumental painting of the 16th–17th centuries, it is often adjacent to the cycle of the Protoevangelium of James.

Full title: Akathist to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Ikos 4
Time of creation: 1641
Technique: Fresco, tempera
Location: North face of the south-west pillar