Diskos

The diskos is made of gold-toned metal, in the form of a rounded plate with a wide rim on a shaped stand with a round base. On the well of the plate is a depiction of the Infant in the manger, with a cruciform halo around his head, flanked by figures of angels seated on clouds. The angels are dressed in long robes, their hands folded in a gesture of prayer, round halos above their heads, and lowered wings on their backs. Above is a depiction of clouds and the shining Star of Bethlehem. The whole composition is set within a round frame with four diamond-shaped figures. Around the rim of the plate is the Church Slavonic inscription "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world" (the text separated by four "diamond with a slanted cross" figures). The plate is attached to a stepped foot, decorated around its circumference with a geometric ornament of triangles and cup-shaped figures, underscored at the top by a band of vertical notches.

The diskos belonged to the pre-war collection of the Sloboda Ukraine Museum named after H. S. Skovoroda. During the Second World War it was evacuated and returned to Kharkiv in November 1944.

Note: the diskos is a liturgical vessel on which the portions of the prosphora are arranged for Holy Communion (the sacrament of the Eucharist). It is a round metal plate with a wide flat rim (it may have a low foot). During the Liturgy, the diskos is covered with the star (asterisk) and a veil.

The diskos represents the vessel from which Jesus Christ, at the Last Supper, took bread, broke it, and distributed it to his disciples with the words: "Take, eat; this is My body." The diskos is a symbol of the manger of Bethlehem, in which Jesus was laid after his birth. It is also a symbol of the Holy Sepulchre, since the Body of Christ rests upon the diskos.