Second half of the 13th century
Tempera on wood
Left leaf – 137 x 35; right – 139 x 32

The holy doors from the pogost Krivoye are the oldest surviving Russian monuments of this type. The painting of the left leaf is nearly entirely lost; only small fragments of the depiction of John Chrysostom (Zlatoust) and the Archangel Gabriel have been preserved. Holy doors were a mandatory appurtenance of an Orthodox church and are located in the centre of an iconostasis. The liturgical symbolism of the holy doors has many aspects. During the Divine service the Holy Gifts are borne through the Holy Doors. The Holy Doors are sometimes called “doors of paradise” insofar as the altar is a symbol of paradise. In the carinate top of the holy doors there is necessarily a depiction of the Annunciation. Below the figures of the evangelists or, in the given instance, John Chrysostom and Vasily Veliky, authors of liturgical texts.

at 10, Lavrushinsky Lane, Hall 58