Icon \"Saint Great Martyr \[Barbara]\"

The icon belongs to the so-called "folk" type.

The icon shows a three-quarter-length image, in a three-quarter turn to the left, of a young female saint with large dark eyes and long dark hair, wearing a dark-blue chiton with a yellow border and a red maphorion. The saint's arms are bent at the elbow and raised to chest level; in her right hand she holds a four-pointed cross and a green palm frond (a symbol among saints of unshakeable faith and immortality). In the upper left is the inscription: "MARTYR...." The background of the icon is brown.

The icon was donated to the museum in 1958 by residents of the village of Yefremivka, Vovchansk district, Kharkiv region — M. I. Lebedenko, [A. N.] Poliakova, Z. V. Komyshanchenko, and M. F. Neviashvatchenko.

Legend: Saint Great Martyr Barbara was born in the city of Heliopolis into a noble pagan family during the reign of Emperor Maximian (305–311). Her father, Dioscorus, wished to shield his daughter from contact with Christians and, to that end, built a tower and confined Barbara in it. This did not, however, prevent her from receiving the Holy Sacrament of Baptism. When Dioscorus learned of this, he brought her before the city governor and disowned her. Barbara was imprisoned, and after terrible torture Dioscorus himself beheaded his daughter. Soon afterward he was struck dead by lightning.

In Ukrainian Christian culture, Barbara is one of the most venerated female saints. It is believed that a portion of the Great Martyr's relics was brought to Kyiv as early as the medieval Rus era and placed in the newly built St. Michael's Cathedral. Barbara has long been regarded as a protector against sudden death.

Orthodox believers pray to Barbara for protection from sudden death, deliverance from illness, and the softening of a father's anger. Prayers to Barbara are read during fearsome thunderstorms and lightning. Saint Barbara is the patroness of ordinary people, of miners, and of craftsmen and soldiers.