Murom’s Wonderworkers, with scenes from the life of Sts. Prince Peter and Princess Fevronia

Council of Murom’s Wonderworkers

The icon represents six praying wonderworkers – Murom’s Princes Constantine, Michael and Fedor, Peter and Fevronia dressed in clerical clothes, and the righteous Juliania Lazarevskaya. All the saints look in the direction of Christ in the clouds. On either side of Him are the images of the sun and the moon. The composition includes an image of Murom’s kremlin with a five-domed Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God, a tent-roofed bell-tower and the river Oka flowing under the wooden walls. This sort of panoramas, widespread in the Russian iconography of the 17th – 18th centuries, symbolized the patronage and protection the saints extended to the city or the hermitage by eternally praying to the Lord for them.

Saint princes Constantine, Michael and Feodor of Murom, with scenes from their lives

In the center, under a segment portraying the Holy Trinity, are the figures of Constantine with his sons Michael and Feodor (Theodor). Prince Constantine is portrayed in a strictly frontal position. He is taller than his children but not significantly. The princes Michael and Feodor are also represented en face, but their figures are slightly turned to the father. Constantine is shown as a gray-haired long-bearded old man, while his sons are portrayed as young identical twins. The saints are shown wearing princely hats and fur-coats, with swords in the left hand. Michael is holding with his right hand a palm branch, Constantine holds a globe, and Feodor holds a cross. The centerpiece is surrounded by 87 border scenes in ten tiers. Each border scene has captions. The bottom margin carries the date and the names of the icon-painters.