This sacred image is dated back approximately to the 18th century, but its value is not in its age, but in its plot. It depicts the Last Judgment, a topic that is well-understood to any Christian. Because the Bible says that if people always keep their final day in mind, they will never sin. However, the specialists cannot explain why the icons depicting the Last Judgment have disappeared from churches. Namely they, starting with the 15th century, together with the Holy Passion and iconostasis created a triune ensemble and were an integral part of the church interior. The icon depicting the Last Judgment, which was presented on October 22 at the 22nd International Scholarly Conference “Volyn Icon: Research and Restoration,” was found in unsatisfactory condition back in 1998 in the attic of St. Trinity Church in Lutsk. After the restoration, the icon remains cut on the sides, because no one can improve what human hands had done.
The Museum of Volyn Icon, which hosts the traditional annual scholarly conference, always pleases the participants with exclusive items from its depositories. These days they have brought from Kyiv the restored interesting icons of St. Onuphrius, Crowning of the Mother of God, and others, but Last Judgment is simply unique both in terms of its plot, and in terms of its importance. It shows an altar prepared with an open book, based on which the Judgment will be held, kneeled Adam and Eve, the images of the Truth and the Sin, and, of course, the Paradise and the Hell. The Paradise was given a modest place with a gate, an image of six-winged Seraphim, and the righteous above it headed by Apostle Peter, who’s holding the keys, are heading towards him, the guardian angel with a flag in his hand is pointing at the Road to Heaven. Next to him the resurrected souls rising from graves are depicted. Further there stands a church with cupolas. On a bench in front of it a priest is hearing out the confession of sinners. Next to him a person is lying, in the thematic books he is described as being too lazy to go to church, and there is a demon standing near his feet.
In the past, a traditionally large icon depicting the Last Judgment was placed either in the western or the eastern side of the church, so that the believers, who came out of the church, remembered about their last hour and the Judgment that couldn’t be avoided. The employees of the Museum of Volyn Icon hope that the specialists from entire Ukraine, Belarus, and Poland who were present at the conference, will express their thoughts about the presented sacred image and why the icons with this plot have disappeared from the church interior.
