Dear friends! We present to your attention an embroidered veil for the liturgical chalice dating of the middle of the 17th century, a fine example of the artistic heritage of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Preserve (KPL-T-978, 52.0×53.0 cm).

Veils in the form of a Greek cross, intended for covering the chalice during the liturgy, have become widespread in the liturgical practice of the Ukrainian Church since the middle of the 17th century and gradually supplanted the old rectangular shape. The conditional name of figured veils, which has become entrenched in modern museum terminology, is “cross-shaped”. Instead, in the descriptions of church utensils of the 17th-18th centuries they were called “winged” or “complex”. The decoration of the cross-shaped veils provided for the placement of the plot composition in the middle part, which had a square shape. Usually, these were plots on the theme of Christ's atoning sacrifice. In the 17th century, the images of archangels have been usually embroidered on the edges of the cross-shaped veils, and since the 18th century, they were replaced by cherubim images.

The cross-shaped veil from the Preserve collection is made of dark pink satin and lined with crimson silk fabric. A throne with the Infant Christ in a liturgical chalice, surrounded by four angels, is embroidered with gold, silver, and silk threads in the center. Two angels hold ripids (liturgical fans) with endings in the form of cherubim. Above the throne are depicted solar segments with rays. Such a composition was formed in Byzantine art and symbolized the vision of the Lamb, symbolically sacrificed during the liturgy in the Sacrament of the Eucharist according to the prophecy of Isaiah [57: 7]. Such images are called the “Lamb of God”. Figures of the archangels Gabriel, Michael, Uriel, and Raphael with raised hands are embroidered at the ends of the veil. The archangels are dressed as deacons: in sticharions, tied crosswise with orarions. This is associated with the descriptions by the saints of the miraculous visions of angelic forces participating in the liturgy.

A unique feature of this monument from the Preserve collection is an embroidered inscription on the lower edge: “Remember your servant, nun Theodosia, in your Kingdom of Heaven”. Such a prayer is a traditional Christian practice that mystically testifies to the participation of the contributor of the liturgical object in the liturgy. It is possible that the mentioned nun Theodosia was not only a donor but also a performer of the work. The veil, which is distinguished by its extraordinary craftsmanship, belongs to a small group of the ancient Ukrainian embroideries that have been preserved to this day. The monument was made in the middle of the 17th century in one of the Kyiv centers of goldwork.

The text was prepared by Alina Varyvoda, Cand. Sc. History, the leading research worker of the Research Division for the Study of Artistic Heritage

Picture captions

Fig. 1. Cross-shaped veil. The middle of the 17th century.

Fig. 2. Lamb of God Composition in the middle of the cross-shaped veil.

Fig. 3. Image of the Archangel Michael and a fragment of the inscription on the edge of the veil.