Icon "Resurrection. Descent into Hell" (In the center - Jesus Christ extending his hands to Adam and Eve)

At the center of the icon is a full-length image of Jesus Christ, in a three-quarter turn to the right, amid rays of radiance. He stretches out his right hand to Adam, who kneels in a tomb on the left, and his left hand to Eve, who kneels in a tomb on the right. Behind Adam are the forefathers. The one farthest left is shown almost full-length (to the feet), in a three-quarter turn to the right, stretching his right hand toward Christ. The middle figure is shown three-quarter length, in a three-quarter turn to the right. The figure farthest right is shown half-length, in a three-quarter turn to the left. The forefathers wear chitons and himations, with halos above their heads. Behind Eve are the prophets. The one farthest right is shown half-length, in a three-quarter turn to the left, his right hand pressed to his chest, a small cap on his head. The middle figure is shown knee-length, in a three-quarter turn to the left, his left hand stretched toward Christ, a crown on his head. The one farthest left is shown half-length, in a three-quarter turn to the right, his left hand pressed to his chest, a crown on his head. The prophets wear chitons and himations, with halos above their heads. Above Christ's head is a red eight-pointed cross, flanked by an angel on each side, each holding an omophorion. At the upper right is the gate of Paradise. Christ's feet rest on the cross; beneath him is a black abyss — Hell, against which the leaves of Hell's gate are shown, broken chains, and, rising to the upper left, three figures of the righteous. At the lower right is another image of Christ amid rays of radiance; he is shown knee-length, in a three-quarter turn to the left, wearing a chiton and himation, with a cruciform halo above his head. Christ blesses with his right hand. Below, before him, soldiers rise up from Hell. The icon is painted within a shallow recessed "ark" on a panel; yellow-brown tones predominate. The field of the frame is covered with a metal riza decorated with a floral ornament. Around the perimeter of the riza is a dotted ornament. On the reverse, the panel is reinforced with two inset horizontal battens.

The icon belonged to the collection of the Sloboda Ukraine Museum named after H. S. Skovoroda.

Legend: the Resurrection of Christ is a symbol of Christ's victory over death, which brought humanity deliverance from the bondage of sin and opened the way to spiritual renewal.

The Evangelists left no description of the moment of the Resurrection itself, since no human being directly witnessed the event. For this reason, in Orthodox iconographic tradition, the Resurrection is conveyed through the image of the "Descent into Hell," grounded in Holy Scripture and Tradition. Jesus Christ, in the radiance of the mandorla, appears as the Victor, who has destroyed the gates of Hell and broken its chains. Stretching out his hands to Adam and Eve, he opens the way to the salvation of all humankind.