Nativity of Christ
Icons
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The temple icon is composed of two parts. The upper part of the icon represents a scene of the Nativity of Christ, the lower part depicts an image of St. Basil the Great. -
The icon represents a scene of the Nativity of Christ with 20 border panels showing other scenes from his life. The mullion depicts the Nativity of Christ. The upper field of the icon (above border panels 01 through 06) and the lower part (under border panels 15 through 20) contain brief descriptions of of the events depicted in the panels. Similar descriptions are presented on the icon (near the panels 17 through 14). -
The icon depicts the Nativity of Christ. In the center lies the Holy Virgin, next to her is the Infant Christ, with an ox and a donkey bending over him. To Mary’s right are the Magi with the offerings – gold, frankicence and myrrh. One of the Magi is depicted as an old man, the second one as a middle-aged man, and the third one as a young man. To left an Angel is telling a good news to a young shepherd. Saint Joseph sits in the lower right corner, before him stand an old men wearing animal skins. To left is a scene of the ablution of the Infant Christ. -
In the centre, near the manger is lying Virgin Mary. The ox and the donkey bend over the Divine Child lying in the manger. -
Annunciation. Nativity of Christ. Presentation of Our Lord. Baptism of Our Lord
The icon from the festival tier. -
The icon represents four scenes: the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, the Nativity of Jesus Christ and the Nativity of St.Nicholas. -
The icon represent the Gospel scene of the Nativity of Christ. -
In the upper part of the icon, in the center, angels and the shephersds are venerating the Child in a cave, with some ruins in the background; below, to the left, St. Joseph is sitting, listening to an elderly shepherd. Next to the upper border there is an angel with the star of Bethlehem, on both sides of him – the riding magi, heading for Bethlehem and returning to Babylon; to the right there is a scene of an angel appearing before the sleeping magi. Next to the left border, the scene of the magi venerating the Virgin and the Child, below – St. Joseph’s dream, symmetrically, next to the right border – the Flight into Egypt. In the lower part of icon, to the left, King Herod is asking scribes and high-priest about the place of Jesus’ birth; to the right – the massacre of the innocents; above – the mourning mothers and the escape of Elizabeth with the infant John into the mountains; in the right bottom corner - the murder of Zachariah, father of St. John the Baptist, in the Jerusalem Temple. -
The icon from the festival row. In the center of the icon stands a manger with the Infant Christ, behind it sits the Holy Virgin To Mary’s right are the Magi with the offerings – gold, frankicence and myrrh. One of the Magi is depicted as an old man, the second one as a middle-aged man, and the third one as a young man. To left an Angel is telling a good news to a young shepherd. Saint Joseph sits in the lower right corner, before him stand an old men wearing animal skins. To left is a scene of the ablution of the Infant Christ. -
Dormition of the Holy Virgin, the Theophany. The Appearance of the Angels to the Myrrh-Bearing Women
The scenes of the four festivals on the icon obviously represent a program suggesting different interpretations. In the upper left part of the icon is the scene of the Nativity of Christ, in the right part is the Dormition of the Holy Virgin. In the bottom part are the scenes of the Theophany and the Appearance of the Angels to the Myrrh-Bearing Women. -
At the top, against a cave, is the figure of the Mother of God sitting above the manger with the Infant Christ. Next to the Mother of God is the scene of the washing of the child. To the right of the cave are the angels worshipping the Child; below, on either side of Christ lying in the manger, are the figures of the shepherds listening to the angels announcing the Good News, and Joseph speaking to a shepherd. The story of the magicians following the Bethlehem star is depicted in great detail. The star itself is completely lost; according to the Gospel, it would have had to be above the cave, that is “above the place where the Infant was”. Below is the scene depicting the magicians worshipping the Infant Christ; the other side of the icon portrays the magicians returning into their own country another way after being warned by God in a dream that they shouldn’t return to Herod. The lower part of the composition depicts the scene of Herod talking to the Pharisees and scribes, the slaughter of the innocents and the killing of Zachariah, John the Baptist’s father. The scene of the slaughter of the innocents is closely associated with a symbolic image of Rachel lamenting her children and illustrating Jeremiah’s prophecy. In the same row, above the slaughter scene, is the scene of the flight of St. Catherine, mother of John the Baptist, to the desert, and a rarer scene of the rescue of the infant Nathaniel (Apostle Bartholomew) left under a fig-tree. The story of the rescue of Jesus Christ is represented in two Gospel episodes – The Appearance of the Angel to Joseph and The Flight to Egypt. They are placed symmetrically, against each other, at the side icon borders, thus making these two stories look more dramatic. A complex multi-figured composition of the icon is set against a hilly landscape, complemented by architectural details. On the borders are the traces of surviving inscriptions that commented, in accordance with iconographic traditions, the key episodes of the icon. -
Unusual interpretation for Orthodox iconography of the evangelic scene of Nativity.The icon has the form of a circle. In the centre is the Mother of God with the Divine Child in Her arms. To Her right are three kneeling angels and to Her left – kneeling Joseph. -
The icon of the Nativity of Christ depicts the scenes of the Nativity of Christ; Joseph’s Doubt; the Angels worshipping the Child; the Shepherds worshipping Jesus; the Magi following the Bethlehem star; the Gift-giving; the Angel appearing to the sleeping Magi; the Angel appearing to St. Joseph in a dream; the Flight into Egypt; the Assassination of Zachariah; King Herod ordering to massacre the innocents; the Massacre of the Innocents and the crying mothers; the rescue of Nathaniel under a sycamore; the rescue of St. Elizabeth by John the Baptist.
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In the central part of the icon is the manger with the Infant Christ. To the right of Him is the Mother of God and Joseph, to the left are the magi with the gifts. -
Above against the background of the cavern is represented the Mother of God sitting near the manger with Child Jesus, the ox and the donkey bend over it. To Mary’s right are depicted the riding Magi. To the left the angel announces the good news to the shepherds. Below Joseph is sitting. The elder dressed in furs stands before him. In the lower part of the composition are the scenes of bringing the Gifts and the flight into Egypt. -
In the lower tier is shown the full-length depiction of John “The Goldenmouth” in a three-quarter turn. In the upper tier is represented the Nativity of Christ. -
The icon from the Festival row of iconostasis. The centre of the composition shows the cavern with the manger where lies Child Jesus, the ox and the donkey bend over Him. The angel standing to the left also bends over the Divine Child and the shepherd painted at the same level attends unto the angel’s annunciation. Before the cavern is represented the Mother of God. In the upper left part of the composition are depicted three Magi, riding. Below to the left is represented Joseph talking to the shepherd, to the right Salome and the maid are washing the Divine Child. -
The centre of the composition depicts the caver with the manger where Child Jesus is lying and before the cavern is represented the Mother of God on the bed. Here are also depicted the ox and the donkey bending over the Divine Child. To the left are represented the three Magi with the Gifts, to the right – the shepherds attending to the annunciation of the angel. Above the cavern is depicted the quadrant with the ray emanating from it. In the lower tier are represented Joseph talking to the shepherd and the two women washing the Divine Child. -
The icon represents the Nativity of Christ. In the centre of the icon lies the Mother of God, close to Her is the manger with the Divine Child, the ox and the donkey bending over Him. To Mary’s left are the Magi with the Gifts – gold, incense and very precious ointment, to the left are shepherds attending to the annunciations from one of the angels represented in the upper part of the composition. In the lower part of the icon, to the left against the background of the cavern is seated Joseph. The elder dressed in the furs is standing before him. To the right is represented the scene of washing the Divine Child. -
The centre of the composition depicts the cavern with the manger where lies the Divine Child and before the cavern is shown the Mother of God on the bed. The ox and the donkey bend over the Divine Child, according to the prophecy of Isaiah they symbolize the baptized pagans. Above the cavern is depicted the quadrant, the ray emanates from it, with the star of Bethlehem and the dove (symbol of the Holy Spirit) inside. In the lower part of the icon are represented Joseph talking to the shepherd, the two women washing the Divine Child and the other shepherd attending to the angel’s annunciation. The scene of washing shows the Child Jesus in the hands of Salome who according to the Apocrypha doubted the virginity of Mary and was punished for that – her hand was scorched (as if it was put in fire). After repenting she was healed through the prayer to the Mother of God. The specific feature of the icon is the depiction of Salome with the halo around her head. But the main peculiarity is the bright red celestial semi-circle depicted above the rocks with the eight “immaterial” angels (painted with the white pigment) inside it. -
From the Festival row of iconostasis. The centre of the composition depicts the caver with the manger where Child Jesus is lying and before the cavern is represented the Mother of God on the bed. Here are also depicted the ox and the donkey bending over the Divine Child. To the left are represented the three Magi with the Gifts, to the right – the shepherds attending to the annunciation of the angel. Above the cavern is depicted the quadrant with the ray emanating from it. In the lower tier are represented Joseph talking to the shepherd and the two women washing the Divine Child. -
Inside the Bethlehem cavern where Jesus was born are depicted both the manger with Child Jesus and the Mother of God in a reclining position on the bed. The images and the scenes usual for the Nativity iconography are not linked and are located contrary to the tradition. Joseph seated on a stone is represented to the right of the Bethlehem cavern. By tradition he is represented in the lower left corner of the centerpiece where in this case instead of this scene is represented the episode of the angel announcing the Nativity of the Divine Child to Joseph. To the left of the cavern are depicted the three riders. These are the Magi being led by the star of Bethlehem who arrived from the East to welcome the King of the Jews. The icon has a specific feature: their names are inscribed on it: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. In the lower right corner of the composition is depicted the Adoration of the Magi of the Holy Virgin on the throne holding the Divine Child. In the centre of the lower part of the icon is shown the scene of washing the Divine Child. Christ is sitting in the hands of midwife Salome and the maid servant (in the inscription she is referred to as a “slave”) pours the water into the bowl. Two shepherds are depicted behind the riding Magi and seated Joseph. The figure of the third one is shown in the upper part of the icon to the right of the host of angels glorifying the miracle. In the lower part of the icon are represented half-figures of saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, priest-martyr St. Clement of Rome, prophet Elijah (all depicted frontally) and also Sts. Cosmas and Damian (in a three-quarter turn). -
The center of the composition depicts the Mother of God with the Divine Child on Her knees, nearby is the empty manger, the ox and the donkey bend over it. To the left are represented the Magi with the Gifts, to the right is the shepherd listening to the angel’s annunciation. In the upper right corner is shown Bethlehem. In the lower part of the composition is Joseph talking to the shepherd and the scene of Washing the Divine Child. -
The icon is painted in compliance with the explicit iconographic variant of “Nativity of Christ”.
