The icon portraying the most Orthodox Saint Princess Fevronia was painted by an unknown artist in the late 16th century. The literary source for the image is the Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom written by Hermolaus-Erasmus in the time of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. Hermolaus-Erasmus was a prominent church and public writer. Metropolitan Macarius asked him to write a story of the Murom saints, because the church council of 1547 started preparation for their canonization. The story was originally conceived as a devotional reading for the festive vigil on the Murom miracle makers’ day.
The iconography of Peter’s and Fevronia’s imagery changed from the 16th through the 18th century. In his story, Hermolaus-Erasmus mentions the fact that the saint couple decided to admit monastic vows before they died, therefore the icon shows Fevronia wearing a nun’s cloak and a schema nun cowl on her head. She stands looking at the sky. Her hands are raised in prayer to God. She is depicted against a yellow-ochre background in a maroon cloak.
It is not known when or how Peter and Fevronia’s relics were found. Even before they were canonized in 1547, the spouses were venerated as saints. In the 15th and early 16th century, church service guides began to mention their names. In the 15th century, they became known outside the city of Murom. Peter and Fevronia were thought to be the patron saints of the ruling dynasty. In the early 16th century, Mikhail Mnikh wrote a canon to the Murom saints: “Give us joy, luciferous day of the wisest Peter and Fevronia, since those praising them in faith will be granted a great favour”.
In the 1550’s, the Murom saints were mentioned by the Chronicler of Kingdoms Beginning. The Chronicle writer says that Ivan the Terrible made an act of worship to their relics in Murom prior to the Kazan campaign on July 13, 1552: ‘So the sovereign came to the Nativity Cathedral of that city, visiting his great miracle making kin, Prince Peter and Princess Fevronia… with a prayer’.
The iconography of Peter’s and Fevronia’s imagery changed from the 16th through the 18th century. In his story, Hermolaus-Erasmus mentions the fact that the saint couple decided to admit monastic vows before they died, therefore the icon shows Fevronia wearing a nun’s cloak and a schema nun cowl on her head. She stands looking at the sky. Her hands are raised in prayer to God. She is depicted against a yellow-ochre background in a maroon cloak.
It is not known when or how Peter and Fevronia’s relics were found. Even before they were canonized in 1547, the spouses were venerated as saints. In the 15th and early 16th century, church service guides began to mention their names. In the 15th century, they became known outside the city of Murom. Peter and Fevronia were thought to be the patron saints of the ruling dynasty. In the early 16th century, Mikhail Mnikh wrote a canon to the Murom saints: “Give us joy, luciferous day of the wisest Peter and Fevronia, since those praising them in faith will be granted a great favour”.
In the 1550’s, the Murom saints were mentioned by the Chronicler of Kingdoms Beginning. The Chronicle writer says that Ivan the Terrible made an act of worship to their relics in Murom prior to the Kazan campaign on July 13, 1552: ‘So the sovereign came to the Nativity Cathedral of that city, visiting his great miracle making kin, Prince Peter and Princess Fevronia… with a prayer’.
