An ancient icon brought from Solovki once, has been offered to our church by a family parishioners . It’s quite a large icon, about 40 by 50 cm , written on a blackboard in the middle or end of the19th century. The icon represents Deisus ( which means ” petition “, ” prayer ” in Greek ): in it center, Jesus Christ is depicted. On His right and left are John the Baptist and the Godmother represented in a traditional gesture of prayer intercession. Behind the altar of Jesus are two angels. The Apostles Peter and Paul are also depicted with St. Nicholas and the founders of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Solovetsky monastery – Sts. Savvaty and Zosima. The icon was not painted in the artistic style common to the iconography of the 19th century , but in the manner of 16th-century painters .
Unfortunately, the icon was brought to the temple in disrepair. Paint and gilding faded from time, but more importantly, the icon was broken in half and reconnected at the back with iron clamps. The clamp screws struck through messing up the image of the icon even more.
Among our members, there is a professional restorer Galina. She undertook to restore the icon and thank God, brilliantly coped with this work. On October 14, at the Protection of the Virgin, the Solovki icon appeared before the congregation in its original form. Galina managed to restore the board and the image completely. The restored icon was consecrated.
The choir and congregation sang “Many Years ” to Galina and her family. The priest thanked her for her work and invited the congregation to donate for the manufacture of a kiot for the Solovki icon.
