Icon. Images of Saint Martyr Larisa and Saint Martyr Eugenia

The icon shows full-length figures of Saint Larisa (left) and Saint Eugenia (right). The icon has painted "flesh" areas, while everything else is embroidered with golden metal thread. Saint Larisa is shown in a three-quarter turn to the right, with hair escaping from beneath her headcloth; her left hand is pressed to her chest, her right hand lowered. Saint Eugenia is shown in a three-quarter turn to the left; in her raised right hand she holds a cross, and in her lowered left hand an Orthodox prayer rope. The saints wear long tunics and himations; around their heads are applied radiant halos. The cross and prayer rope are worked in beadwork, and the edges of the saints' garments and their halos are also trimmed with beads.

Above the saints' heads are white plaques with black-lettered inscriptions, "Saint Martyr Larisa" and "Venerable Martyr Eugenia" (in Church Slavonic). The icon is set in a wooden case; it is embroidered on cotton fabric stretched over a panel. The reverse and edges of the panel are covered with pink cotton fabric.

The icon belonged to S. I. Hryhorieva of Kharkiv and was donated to the museum by V. I. Kreider in 1966.

Legend: Saint Larisa lived in the 4th century in the land of Gothia (present-day Ukraine and Romania), at a time when Christians suffered fierce persecution by pagans. One day, when the faithful had gathered for common prayer in the church, pagans, acting on the order of the Gothic ruler Athanaric, surrounded the building and set it on fire. Larisa, like the other faithful, faced a choice: leave the church and save her life, or remain in prayer and give her life for the faith. She chose the latter and died with a prayer on her lips. Thus Saint Larisa became a symbol of unshakeable faith in the face of death; she and the other martyrs accepted a martyr's end while remaining faithful to the Lord. Their sacrifice became a living testament to the strength of the Christian faith, which yields to no earthly threat.

Saint Larisa is regarded as a special patroness for those who seek spiritual strength and endurance in difficult moments of life. Her example teaches that no hardship of life can break a person who relies on the Lord. The faithful pray to Saint Larisa for the strengthening of faith and for help in overcoming fears and trials.

Eugenia of Rome is an early Christian saint of the 2nd–3rd centuries. According to her life, Eugenia was the daughter of Philip, a high-ranking official whom Emperor Commodus (180–192) appointed prefect in Egypt. There she converted to Christianity. Wishing to live a Christian life, she fled her home, disguised herself in men's clothing, and was received into a monastery under the name Eugenios. After the death of the monastery's abbot, Eugenia was chosen as his successor. She later had to leave the monastery, and during a renewed persecution of Christians she was captured, tortured, and executed on the feast of the Nativity of Christ in the year 262.

The faithful turn to Saint Eugenia for spiritual blessings, for deliverance from grave sins, and for support in loving one's neighbor and being grateful to God for His blessings.