On the fresco there is the seventh scene from the Protoevangelium (VII). It illustrates one of the most important moments of the Sacred history — the entry of three years old Mary into the Temple in Jerusalem and her consecration to God. The iconographical type of this scene formed in the 9th century and later had no significant changes. Accompanied by pious parents and young maids with lighted candles, the Virgin enters the open doors of the Temple in Jerusalem. Priest Zechariach meets her with the sign of the cross. On the background the Virgin is depicted for the second time.  She is sitting on the steps of the altar, which is the most sacred place in the Temple in Jerusalem.

General Information:
Protoevangelium of James is early Christian apocrypha about the life of the Virgin Mary and the Nativity of Jesus Christ. Apocrypha became the basis for a comprehensive narrative cycle, traditionally included in the decoration system of the Virgin’s temples. In ancient Russian monumental painting of the 16th-17th centuries the Protoevangelium cycle is often adjacent to the cycle of the Akathist to the Virgin Mary.

The full name: The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple
Time of creation: 1641.
Technique: fresco, tempera.
Location: The Western slope of the Northern arches.