Border scenes:
- Emperor Julian the Apostate sends St. John to kill Christians;
- St. John orders the Christians to flee;
- Christians hiding in the mountains;
- St. John beaten by the guards;
- St. John’s imprisonment;
- The death of St. John;
- The translation of St. John’s relics;
- St. John appears to a pious woman and tells the story of his life;
- St. John returning the runaway slaves to their masters;
- St. John exposes thieves and returns stolen goods.
The icon depicts St. John with scenes from his life. The saint is portrayed frontally, wearing military attire and a red cloak, with a lance in his left hand. 10 subsidiary scenes surrounding the centrepiece portray key episodes of St. John’s vita, emphasizing his role as the protector of the oppressed and unjustly imprisoned.
St. John was a Byzantine warrior, who served in the army under Emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363) during the persecution of the Christians. Being a Christian himself, St. John instead of carrying out the orders, helped his brethren in faith to escape. When this became known to the Emperor, St. John was imprisoned and tortured. But in a short while, Julian was killed in a battle and John regained his freedom. He left the military service and devoted his life to God. The year of his death is unknown. The relics of St. John were miraculously uncovered when the saint appeared to a pious woman in a dream and told her the place of his burial. The relics were transferred to the Church of St. John the Theologian in Constantinople and soon became famous for performing miracles and healing.
