The scene of the Transfiguration is based on an excerpt in Matthew 17:1-9. In the upper part of the icon, Christ is transfigured in glory, flanked by Moses and Elijah, the geometric shapes around him represent his shining glory (the attributes of his divinity). Below, Peter, James and John are shown in disarray before the moment Christ tells them to ‘be not afraid,’.

The feast of the Transfiguration gained a special status after the 13th and 14th centuries, after the events of the Palamite controversy.[1] Spiritual commentators identified the light that transfigured Christ as being the divine ‘uncreated light’. We see on the mountains the sharp edges of rock have been depicted with fine delicate strokes: Лещадка (leshchadka) meaning 'split or bevelled rock', an ancient icon painting technique. The two scenes on this icon are linked as the feast of the Transfiguration falls within the fast of the Dormition.

On the side that depicts the Dormition, we see the Mother of God lying on her deathbed surrounded by three apostles to which four bishops are added. Behind the Virgin, Christ is depicted in a mandorla signifying heavenly glory, this is topped by a seraph, the highest of the angelic orders in Christianity. Christ receives the soul of his mother, represented as a small child or eidolon (here, the imagery reverses the traditional picture of mother and son.) At the top of the icon, a bright semicircle denotes the opening of Heaven, where the Virgin shall be received and enthroned in glory.

Such double-sided icons are suspended from the candelabra (polycandelion) of Orthodox churches in the Balkans and Greece. During the liturgy the candelabras are swung by the clergy.

[1] Saint Gregory Palamas (1296-1357/9) was the great mystic and theologian who revived the practices of contemplative prayer of the Desert Fathers known as hesychasm. This was condemned as heresy by Barlaam of Calabria. A great controversy ensued involving the Patriarch, Byzantine Emperor John VI and his consort Irene Asinina who took opposing sides. The issue was finally resolved and the Feast of the Transfiguration created in honour of its orthodoxy.