Gospel cover, lower leaf

The base of the lower leaf of the binding is wooden, covered in metal, with a multi-tiered composition and three ball-shaped feet with a four-petaled rosette (one foot is lost). The composition consists of two parts: an upper (divine) and a lower (earthly) tier. At the top of the upper composition, at the center, is placed a depiction of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. She is shown full-length, within a mandorla, arms outstretched, holding an omophorion. The Mother of God is surrounded by angels, two of whom hold a crown above her head. To her left, in rows, are ranks of the heavenly host: angelic, apostolic, hierarchical, and of the venerable saints. To the right of the Mother of God's figure, in rows, are further ranks: angelic, prophetic, martyric, and of the righteous. In the lower part of the composition is a depiction of the witnesses of the miracle inside the Blachernae church. At the center, on an ambo with a scroll, stand Romanos the Melodist, Andrew the Fool-for-Christ of Constantinople, the patriarch, the emperor, and hierarchs.

The lower leaf of the Gospel belonged to the pre-war (pre-1941) part of the collection of the Historical Museum. It was evacuated in 1941, and returned to Kharkiv in November 1944.