Icons called “All of Creation Rejoices in Thee” appeared in Russia in the late 15th century. This type of icon was designed by Russian painters as an illustration of a liturgical hymn. It is based on a troparion glorifying the Virgin Mary,

The troparion was written by St. John of Damascus, a famous hymnographer who lived in the second half of the 7th century and the first half of the 8th century.

Each element of the icon corresponds to a certain image mentioned in the hymn. In the center, there is a mandorla — an almond-shaped aureole of light — with the Virgin Mary seated on a throne with the Christ Child. The throne is surrounded by archangels, with humans depicted below them. Among the saints, there is a person wearing red clothing — this is John of Damascus, placing a scroll with the text of the hymn at the feet of the Virgin Mary.

The human race is represented by saints: prophets, Old Testament kings, archpriests, venerable saints, hermits, Church Fathers, apostles, and male and female martyrs. Angels, people of all ages, trees, and birds all rejoice, praising the Virgin Mary.

“All of Creation Rejoices in Thee” features an elaborate composition that consists of traditional motifs. It represents a complex theological concept of the Incarnation of God. The concept refers to God the Word being conceived in the womb of a woman, the Virgin Mary, and arriving in our world to save humanity and atone for original sin. In the light of this concept, all events in the world gain meaning and are filled with content.

Churches in such icons usually feature different architectural details. They have white or pink walls, with domes covered in dark, polished tiles above the arches and the altar, a patterned frieze on the outside wall dividing the surface, windows, and relief images on the walls between them. In depicting this scene, icon painters could draw inspiration from any architectural prototypes, but all such images featured details and decorations of expensive church buildings. These details symbolize paradise as a place where religious services take place constantly, which corresponds to the ideas of the Orthodox Church and other Christian denominations about the Kingdom of Heaven.