Anna Sviridetskaia

In the western part of the Temple, it is customary to depict, in addition to the Last Judgment, compositions from the Old Testament. Therefore, scenes of martyrdom from the Old Testament and a little from the New Testament (namely, its beginning) are depicted here. Thus, the continuity of the martyrdom of the Old and New Testaments is emphasized, there are also prototypes of martyrdom (as the sacrifice of Isaac).

The plots themselves are as follows (by sector, by chronology, from left to right)
1. The sacrifice of Cain and Abel. Abel's murder. Exile of Cain.
2. The sacrifice of Isaac.
3. Three youths in the cave.
4. Daniel praying. Slanderers. Daniel in the lions' den. Slanderers are thrown into the ditch.
5. The Seven Martyrs of Maccabees.
6. Massacre of the Bethlehem babies. Joseph and the Mother of God go to Egypt. Elizabeth with the birth of John hides in a cave. Issuance of inscriptions.
7. Feast at Herod's. The beheading of John the Baptist.

The compositions themselves by sectors chronologically begin with the death of Abel (No. 1) and are read from left to right, counterclockwise. In the center is the Cross. That is, everything converges to the Cross. The compositions flow into each other, separated by trees, above each explanation.