The altarpiece “Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, and Holy Empress Alexandra” was painted in a Moscow icon workshop to commemorate the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna in 1896. The icon depicts the imperial family’s heavenly protectors — Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker and Holy Empress Alexandra — against a blue background, with Jesus Christ seated above them on a cloud.
Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker is one of the most revered saints in the Orthodox Church. He lived in the Lycian city of Myra in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries AD. For some time, Nicholas served as the Bishop of Myra of Lycia (Byzantium). He is said to have taken part in the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Saint Nicholas died and was buried in Myra. In 1087, his relics were removed by Italian monks and brought to the Italian city of Bari where they are kept nowadays.
Saint Alexandra of Rome is a Christian martyr who lived in the 4th century AD. In the hagiography of Saint George the Victorious, the Great Martyr, she is mentioned as the wife of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Because of her faith in Christ, she was sentenced to be beheaded by sword. In the 19th century, the wives of the Russian Emperors Nicholas I and Nicholas II converted to Orthodoxy and were each named Alexandra after the Holy Empress who became their patron saint.
The heads of the saints are surrounded by golden halos. Above them, there are plaques with inscriptions in Old Church Slavonic that read “Saint Nicholas” and “Holy Empress Alexandra“. Saint Nicholas wears a red phelonion with gold crosses and a blue sticharion — a symbol of wisdom. His shoulders are covered with a white omophorion. In his left hand, he holds an open Book of the Gospels. The saint makes a cross sign with the fingers of his right hand. Saint Alexandra is depicted wearing royal robes and a crown. The icon is painted on four linden boards. It is framed by a brown rectangular frame with a carved floral pattern. The upper semicircular part is gilded and decorated with a relief floral pattern.
Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker is one of the most revered saints in the Orthodox Church. He lived in the Lycian city of Myra in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries AD. For some time, Nicholas served as the Bishop of Myra of Lycia (Byzantium). He is said to have taken part in the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Saint Nicholas died and was buried in Myra. In 1087, his relics were removed by Italian monks and brought to the Italian city of Bari where they are kept nowadays.
Saint Alexandra of Rome is a Christian martyr who lived in the 4th century AD. In the hagiography of Saint George the Victorious, the Great Martyr, she is mentioned as the wife of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Because of her faith in Christ, she was sentenced to be beheaded by sword. In the 19th century, the wives of the Russian Emperors Nicholas I and Nicholas II converted to Orthodoxy and were each named Alexandra after the Holy Empress who became their patron saint.
The heads of the saints are surrounded by golden halos. Above them, there are plaques with inscriptions in Old Church Slavonic that read “Saint Nicholas” and “Holy Empress Alexandra“. Saint Nicholas wears a red phelonion with gold crosses and a blue sticharion — a symbol of wisdom. His shoulders are covered with a white omophorion. In his left hand, he holds an open Book of the Gospels. The saint makes a cross sign with the fingers of his right hand. Saint Alexandra is depicted wearing royal robes and a crown. The icon is painted on four linden boards. It is framed by a brown rectangular frame with a carved floral pattern. The upper semicircular part is gilded and decorated with a relief floral pattern.
