Barbara, St, Parasceva and Juliana, St, with the scenes of the lifes of Barbara, Juliana of Heliopolis and Juliana of Nicomedia, St.

In the center of the icon are three female martyrs that were particularly venerated in Pskov. In the center is the figure Barbara, the saint patroness of the church, where the icon comes from, flanked by Parasceva Pyatnitsa and Juliana. The icon belongs to the “zhitiyny” (hagiographic) type of the icons, in which the scenes of the saint’s life go one after another without being strictly divided into panels, with one theme smoothly following another. The scenes are dedicated to the lives of SS Barbara and Juliana. The accompanying titles, partially lost, were read and restored by A.N.Ovchinnikov in accordance with the Life of the Saints texts.

Savior of Smolensk

The icon from the Deesis row. In the center of the composition is the full-length figure of Christ Pantocrator. His halo is surrounded by angels. By his feet stand little figures of attending Juliana and Alexis, the man of God.

Selected saints: Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, Barbara, Juliana

The full-length figures of three martyrs. In the center is St. Barbara standing in a frontal pose with a black martyr’s cross in her right hand; her left hand is raised at the breast level, the palm is open. To her right is St. Paraskeva, standing in a three-quarter turn to Barbara; to her left stands St. Juliana, her head is turned to St. Barbara. Both martyrs hold white eight-pointed crosses with their right hands. Above Barbara, in a semi-circle of heaven, is Christ Emmanuel in a red vestment, blessing with both hands. To either side of a semi-circle of heaven, between the martyrs’ haloes, are two half-figures of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel.

Juliana, St.

Saint Juliana is represented in a frontal pose attired in green clothes holding a cross in her right hand. The right and the left borders of the icon still show waist-length depictions of the two saints – John the Baptist (?) and unknown martyress and also parts of the inscription made of the white mineral pigment on the red edging of the upper border. Perhaps the inscription might have contained information on how the icon was painted and the saints represented on the borders were the patrons of those who had ordered this icon.