Diskos

The diskos is made of gray-toned metal, in the form of a plate with a flat base and shaped edges curved outward. On the well of the diskos, at the center of triple and double concentric circles, is a schematic depiction of city towers, between which are the instruments of Christ's Passion: an eight-pointed cross with a spear and a reed. On either side of the cross, at the top, is the Church Slavonic inscription: "Jesus Christ." Above the slanted crossbar of the cross are the letters "K" and "T" ("spear" and "reed").

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.