DEEISIS (CENTER APSE)
Our first icons from iconographer Fr. Andrew Tregubov are installed in the upper apse.  The set of three together form a Deesis setting, which means 'prayer' in Greek.  In the middle is Christ Enthroned in Glory, with the Theotokos and St. John the Forerunner on his right and left respectively.  The Theotokos and St. John are turned toward him in prayerful supplication. 

The following features can be noted in the icon of Christ Enthroned:

* He is surrounded by an almond shaped area depicted in blue.  This is called a mandorla, and indicates that what is show is not perceptible to the eyes.
* Throughout the mandorla the six-winged seraphim can be seen.  See the Prophet Isaiah (Chapter 6).
* Christ's feet rest upon a footstool upheld by the cherubim, depicted in red as wheels, each with two wings.  This calls to mind the image of the Lord's chariot throne as described by the Prophet Ezekiel (Chapter 9).
* Barely perceptible is the outline of the throne upon which Christ sits.
* Our Lord's right hand is raised in blessing.
* The text of the Gospel Book in his left hand reads: "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life."
* Within the field of red at each of the four corners can be seen the "four living creatures" from Ezekiel and The Apocalypse.   Christian tradition has often associated this image with the writers of the four gospels: St. Matthew (the man - upper left) who begins with the human geneology of Jesus; St. John (the eagle - upper right) whose gospel soars to eternity in its opening lines ; St. Mark (the lion - lower left) who begins with the voice roaring in the wilderness; St. Luke (the ox - lower right) who beings with the sacrifice offered in the temple.