Saint Nicholas of Mozhaysk is one of the most common images of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Rus, associated with the miraculous liberation of Mozhaysk protected by the saint.
This icon is attributed to the “orans” iconographic type (“one who is praying”) due to the hands of the saint outstretched sideways. The image of a sword and a church (the conventionally depicted town) presents the miracle he performed.
Legend has it that in the 13th or 14th century Mozhaysk was besieged by enemy, presumably Tatar, troops. The residents prayed fervently to their patron saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, and he appeared in the sky above the enemy, clutching a sword in one hand, holding the town on the palm of the other hand and protecting it. Terrified by the awesome vision, the enemy fled.
At that time, residents of Mozhaysk installed a sculpture carved from wood in the Kremlin depicting St. Nicholas exactly as he appeared in the vision. It gave rise to the iconographic image.
On this icon, Nicholas of Mozhaysk appears in the holy vestments: a phelonion with crosses and an omophorion.
The combination of yellow-gold, red, white and green shades in iconography symbolizes Divine grace, holiness, harmony, and a feat in the name of Christ. On both sides of the saint are the Savior, holding the Gospel, and the Mother of God, extending the omophorion; They are depicted in red medallions.
According to the diaries of Count Yury Alexandrovich Olsufiev, an outstanding researcher in the field of museum studies, preservation and restoration of artifacts, the presented icon was brought to the Balakhna Monastery in 1474, possibly by exiled Novgorodians, as evidenced by the features typical of Novgorod iconography. Contemporary art historians also favor this hypothesis and believe that the oldest icons of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, dating from the 15th century, were painted in Novgorod.
In 1538, on the territory of the Balakhna fortress, the Church of the Ascension of the Lord was erected with three chapels consecrated in honor of the Life-Giving Trinity, the Beheading of John the Baptist and St. Nicholas. It is possible that before being received for permanent storage in the museum in 1948, the icon was located there.
Between 1963 and 2015, the icon underwent restoration at the Andrei Rublev Museum of Ancient Russian Art. The masters had to work on numerous areas: the paint layer swelled up and was peeling off, the left corner was broken off, the boards were separated at the joint, and the surface was covered with cracks. The procedures were carried out by a group of restorers, including Alexander Vasilievich Kirikov and Kira Georgievna Tikhomirova (who worked on strengthening the icon).
This icon is attributed to the “orans” iconographic type (“one who is praying”) due to the hands of the saint outstretched sideways. The image of a sword and a church (the conventionally depicted town) presents the miracle he performed.
Legend has it that in the 13th or 14th century Mozhaysk was besieged by enemy, presumably Tatar, troops. The residents prayed fervently to their patron saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, and he appeared in the sky above the enemy, clutching a sword in one hand, holding the town on the palm of the other hand and protecting it. Terrified by the awesome vision, the enemy fled.
At that time, residents of Mozhaysk installed a sculpture carved from wood in the Kremlin depicting St. Nicholas exactly as he appeared in the vision. It gave rise to the iconographic image.
On this icon, Nicholas of Mozhaysk appears in the holy vestments: a phelonion with crosses and an omophorion.
The combination of yellow-gold, red, white and green shades in iconography symbolizes Divine grace, holiness, harmony, and a feat in the name of Christ. On both sides of the saint are the Savior, holding the Gospel, and the Mother of God, extending the omophorion; They are depicted in red medallions.
According to the diaries of Count Yury Alexandrovich Olsufiev, an outstanding researcher in the field of museum studies, preservation and restoration of artifacts, the presented icon was brought to the Balakhna Monastery in 1474, possibly by exiled Novgorodians, as evidenced by the features typical of Novgorod iconography. Contemporary art historians also favor this hypothesis and believe that the oldest icons of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, dating from the 15th century, were painted in Novgorod.
In 1538, on the territory of the Balakhna fortress, the Church of the Ascension of the Lord was erected with three chapels consecrated in honor of the Life-Giving Trinity, the Beheading of John the Baptist and St. Nicholas. It is possible that before being received for permanent storage in the museum in 1948, the icon was located there.
Between 1963 and 2015, the icon underwent restoration at the Andrei Rublev Museum of Ancient Russian Art. The masters had to work on numerous areas: the paint layer swelled up and was peeling off, the left corner was broken off, the boards were separated at the joint, and the surface was covered with cracks. The procedures were carried out by a group of restorers, including Alexander Vasilievich Kirikov and Kira Georgievna Tikhomirova (who worked on strengthening the icon).
