Saints Prokopius and John of Veliky Ustyug
Veliky Ustyug
1677. Cover – 1679
At the back in a mark an inscription: “…YEAR OCTOBER IN 20TH IS PAINTED THIS ICON ON CEDAR ANNUNCIATION OF OUR LADY WITH SAINTS PROKOPIUS AND JOHN OF USTYUG AS A PRAY OF GODLOVING PETER LUKIANOV KUCHUKOV”
Wood, gesso, tempera. Silver; carving, enamel on filigree, gold-plating
35 x 30 cm
Acquisition: from the collection of A.S. Uvarov
Showcase 16
The icon is painted “as a pray” of a faubourg man of Veliky Ustyug Peter Kuchukov.
Faubourg men were artisans and traders, who bared all taxes and were the majority of population in towns.
Saint blessed Prokopius and John were honored as patron saints of the town Veliky Ustyug.
Prokopius (? – 1303) was a merchant of Hansa, who adopted orthodoxy in Veliky Novgorod and became a monk of Khytun Monastary of St. Varlaam. Then he went to Veliky Ustyug and became one of the first “fools in Christ”. He always brought three rakes with him, and it was a symbol of his “foolishness for Christ”.
John of Ustyug (? – 1494) was born in Veliky Ustyug. His mother was a Mother Superior of Orlovsky Monastery, and after her death John inhabited a hand-made hovel next to Prokopius’s grave and also became a “fool in Christ”.
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