Holy wives

Righteous wives, prophetesses, equal apostolic wives, noble princesses and queens, deaconesses, great martyrs, martyrs, venerable, blessed - holy wives are glorified in various ranks of holiness. They were honored not only as guardians of the family hearth, chastity, but also showed state wisdom, personal courage and firmness in defending the faith and their fatherland, preserving the memory of the dead husbands, glorified as patrons of cities, trade, as intercessors in adversity and disease.

The most ancient monuments presented at the exhibition include an icon of St. Kyriakia by a Bulgarian master and a Leaf with the Service of the Great Martyr Barbara from the late 15th to the first half of the 16th century. The icon "Olga to the Russian family" from the 1830s is considered to be a copy of a work in the possession of the Beloselsky-Belozersky princes. The exposition includes icons with scenes of the life and martyrdom of the Venerable Anastasia the Roman, the Great Martyr Marina, the Venerable Eudocia, the Martyrs Vera, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia.

Iconic images, works of fine plastic art and graphics allow us to understand what female names were preferred in the princely and peasant environment, which were used in Russia before the XVII century and which became popular in the XVIII-XIX centuries.

The curator of the exhibition is N.V. Gerasimenko, Head of the Storage Department (scientific-fund), Candidate of Art History.