The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra National Reserve presented a unique relic - the early 18th-century shroud, which comes from Mariupol. The shrine was preserved only because it was undergoing restoration in Kyiv at the time of the full-scale Russian invasion.
According to the National Research Restoration Center of Ukraine, the first mention of this shroud dates back to 1706. It dates back to the period of the Crimean Khanate and is evidence of the spiritual life of the Greeks in the Sea of Azov. The date of creation was established by a signature indicating the year, donors, and church.
At the end of the 18th century, the shroud was kept in the Church of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene in Mariupol. However, in the early 1930s, the Bolsheviks destroyed the church, and the relic was transferred to the funds of the local history museum. Before the war, it was transported to Kyiv for restoration, which actually saved the monument from destruction.
The shroud depicts the scene of the "Deposition in the Tomb": the Virgin Mary, John the Theologian, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, and the myrrh-bearing women stand near the body of Christ. On either side of the composition are two angels, and above Christ is a domed ciborium.
Restorers Maria Bukharina and Irina Yeliseeva said that the condition of the fabric was critical: numerous wax stains, dirt, deformations, tears and loss of satin and lining. During the restoration, the fabric was cleaned, the embroidery was restored, the threads were fixed and the inscription was recreated. The shroud is made of silk, gold, brocade, pearls, braid and lace - all this testifies to the exceptional skill of its creators.
A leather insert with a Greek inscription, dated to the same time, was preserved with the shroud. Historians suggest that both artifacts were brought to Mariupol by Greek Christians during their migration from Crimea in the 18th century.
