In the displayed icon, Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker is shown holding a Book of the Gospels in his left hand and making a blessing gesture with his right hand. His halo is flanked by images of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. In the outer borders of the icon, there are full-length depictions of the holy martyrs — Theodore Tiron and Agatha.

Saint Nicholas (whose name is translated from Greek as “victory of the people”) is one of the most venerated saints in Russia. Alexander Guagnini, an Italian writer and traveler who visited Russia in the mid-16th century, wrote in his book “The Description of Muscovy” that Russians,

This image was created by Vetka artists in the 18th century. Saint Nicholas is painted in the manner typical of traditional Orthodox art. Most often, he is depicted as an elderly man with a high forehead, wearing a bishop’s robe and holding a Book of the Gospels in his left hand. An example of this is the first known image of the saint in Ancient Rus, a 12th-century fresco from Saint Michael’s Monastery in Kiev, which is now kept in the State Tretyakov Gallery.

In the left outer border, there is an image of Theodore Tiron, a holy martyr who lived in the 3rd and 4th centuries. He was a legionary in the Roman army during the reign of Emperor Galerius. He converted to Christianity. Legend has it that Theodore Tiron and other soldiers were obliged to make a group of Christians perform pagan sacrifice. However, he refused and instead set fire to the altar of a pagan temple. For this act, he was imprisoned and sentenced to death by burning. Before being executed, Theodore prayed to God, and his body was unharmed by the fire.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, Theodore Tiron was often depicted in church paintings along with other holy warriors. In some icons, Theodore appears unharmed in a fiery furnace.

Saint Agatha, depicted on the right, is a 3rd-century Christian martyr. Legend has it that she was a member of a noble Sicilian family. She converted to Christianity during the reign of Roman emperor Decius. She suffered a martyr’s death after refusing to worship pagan gods.