The Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox Church (corresponding to the Western feast of the Assumption) that commemorates the "falling asleep" or death of the Mother of God, and her bodily resurrection before being taken up into Heaven. The Theotokos is depicted lying on a bier, surrounded by the twelve Apostles. At the center, Jesus Christ is shown in a golden mandorla, swaddling the soul of the Virgin Mary. To either side of him are depicted the Hieromartyrs Dionysius the Areopagite and Ignatius the God-Bearer, who, according to sacred tradition, are responsible for transmitting the account of the dormition. The buildings in the background represent Mary's house and the Temple of Jerusalem. On the lower center, the assault of the High Priest is depicted in which the Jewish priest's hands were cut off by the Archangel Michael after he unsuccessfully tried to overturn Mary's brier.
With St. Phillip the Apostle and St. venerable Anastasiya border saints. The icon is covered by a fine oklad revetment cover of thick silver with hallmarks ИВ and Moscow town marks dated 1861.
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