The scene illustrates lines of the Kontakion 4 of the Akathist to the Blessed Virgin Mary: « Having within a tempest of doubting thoughts, the chaste Joseph was troubled. For knowing Thee to have no husband, he suspected a secret union, O blameless one. But having learned that Thy conception was of the Holy Spirit, he said: Alleluia! » The fresco depicts a meeting between the Virgin Mary and the righteous Joseph, who returned home from carpenter work and was initially confused, seeing Mary. However, an angel announced to Joseph about the conception of the Virgin by the Holy Spirit and the righteous elder sang praise to the God.

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. Kontakion 4
Time of creation: 1641
Technique: Fresco, tempera
Location: East face of the south-west pillar