1. The Guardian Angel with Selected Saints

Details

Russian, first half 19th century
31.5 x 25.4 cms
The icons is enriched with a metal basma.

Provenance:
Private collection, Germany.

Description:
The Guardian Angel is depicted full-length in the centre of the icon. With his wings spread wide, he offers protection to the four saints beside him. On the left side, he is flanked by the Saint Moyses and Bishop Charalampos. On the opposite side we see Bishop Sadoth and Saint Boniface.

The Guardian Angel, ‘Angel Chranitel’, is the personal guardian angel for every believer. The angel, standing on the clouds, is dressed in an elegant light robe. He holds a red cross in his right hand and a sword in his left. These attributes relate to his function of protecting the believer and keeping the devil at a distant and driving him away. The cross refers to the suffering of Christ and His victory over death. The cross gives also protection at night, and the sword protection by day.

In the green circle, resting on clouds, the archangel is depicted handing a white scroll to Christ, who is seated on His Byzantine throne. The angel acts here as the heavenly guide or guardian who brings the souls, names, and deeds of the righteous to the throne of God, where Christ sits ready with an open book to receive and protect them. The text on the angel’s white scroll symbolizes the names of the righteous to God.

The red text in the upper part of the icon is a troparion from the Canon to the Guardian Angel. The remaining four texts below relate to the depicted saints standing next to the Guardian Angel.