Icon "Saint Venerable Stylianos of Paphlagonia"

At the center of the composition is Saint Stylianos of Paphlagonia, praying before an icon of the Mother of God with Christ, holding an infant in his left arm and pointing to the icon with his right. The saint is shown full-length, in a three-quarter turn to the right, wearing monastic dress: a cassock, mantle, and paramand; around his head is an aureole of radiance and, in a semicircle, the Church Slavonic inscription: "Saint Venerable Istilian." The infant is shown full-length, in a three-quarter turn to the left, wearing a belted yellow garment and wrapped in a yellow cloth; it lies half-reclined on the saint's arm, its right hand pressed to its chest. The icon before which the saint prays hangs on the wall, set in a wide frame draped with green fabric with a yellow fringe. Before the icon is a lit lamp; beneath it stands a table bearing an open book and a lit candle. Along the lower edge of the icon is a black-lettered inscription: "This Venerable Saint is prayed to for the birth of children and their growing up." The background of the icon is dark brown. Around its perimeter is a thin yellow frame. On the reverse, the panel is reinforced with two horizontal inset battens.

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

In 2013, the Venerable Stylianos was officially added to the calendar of saints of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Although his veneration was restored relatively recently, Stylianos of Paphlagonia had long been honored together with Saint Julian, Bishop of Le Mans, patron of children and infants. In icon-painting tradition the two were even often confused with one another — as in one 19th-century illustration that conflates the images of Saints Stylianos and Julian, evidenced by the inscription "Istilian." The same confusion arose on this icon, where the icon painter depicted Stylianos of Paphlagonia but labeled him "Istilian."

Legend: the Venerable Stylianos was born in the city of Adrianople in Paphlagonia in the 5th century. He came from a wealthy family. On reaching adulthood, he distributed his property to the poor and received monastic tonsure. Stylianos withdrew into the desert, where he spent many years in prayer and the glorification of God. News of Stylianos's holiness spread to the surrounding towns and villages, and parents began coming to him asking for the healing of their children. When Stylianos of Paphlagonia took children into his arms and prayed to the Lord for their healing, they recovered. Stylianos's prayers also helped barren women conceive. The Venerable Stylianos died at a great age. He is regarded as the patron of children and is depicted in icons with an infant in his arms. The faithful pray to Stylianos for the healing of children and for deliverance from infertility.