A traditionally painted icon depicting the Archangel Michael on a winged pink horse, hurtling across a mountainous landscape. The saint is represented as Archistrategos (“chief commander” Greek) or heavenly warlord. Depicted winged and crowned, the Archangel wears a suit of golden armour, in his left hand he holds a censer and a Book of Gospels – a symbol of the fulfilment of the New Testament; in his right, he holds a long bugle to his lips. He also holds a long lance, topped with a crucifix and lancing down into the flaming underworld. Visible behind the flames are a series of buildings, symbolising the fallen cities of the world.
Christ is depicted in the top left corner of the composition, surrounded by billowing clouds. The upper border bears a calligraphic inscription in Old Slavonic reading: “Saint Archangel Michael Archistrategos” (“chief commander” in Greek). The inscriptions on the background read: “from the trumpet came forth a voice upon the whole world” (left), “from the Gospel came forth the Word of God into all the world” (upper right), and “from the censer came forth a fragrance upon the whole world” (lower right).
The Archangel is described in the Christian tradition as the Captain-General of the Host of Heaven. The Book of Revelation describes a war between the heavenly host led by the Archangel Michael and the satanic host: “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him?” (Revelations, 12:7–9). For this reason, the Archangel Michael is considered to be the patron of the “militant church”, i.e. all those loyal to God who fight against evil.
In Russia, St Michael is one of the most venerated saints, for he is a protector of warriors and a patron saint of the Russian Tsars. The feast of St Michael is celebrated on November 8th.
