Icon - Wood - SAN ALEJANDRO DE SVIR

Saint Alexander of Svir

The saint appears as a monk, wearing a dark habit and a long beard. In his hand he holds a scroll with a Slavic inscription, a common attribute of monastic saints. In the background there is a detailed depiction of a monastery, something especially significant in the images of Saint Alexander, founder of the Holy Trinity Monastery of Saint Alexander of Svir. At the upper left, a celestial appearance can be seen, which seems to include the Virgin and Child. The life of Saint Alexander precisely relates an apparition of the Mother of God with the Child and other supernatural manifestations. Saint Alexander is particularly well known in Russian iconography for his visions of the Holy Trinity and of the Mother of God.

The composition is a narrative scene of the life of Saint Alexander of Svir,

The monastery depicted in the background may be the Holy Trinity Monastery of Saint Alexander of Svir, which he founded on the banks of the Svir River. In icons dedicated to the saint, the monastery is frequently shown behind him.