Work to make the mosaic compositions that will adorn the walls along the cathedral’s perimeter is nearing completion at the Annunciation Cathedral of the Hoy Trinity St. Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery.

According to Anatoly Alyoshin, the head of mosaic work at the cathedral and the instructor at the icon-painting school at the Moscow Theological Academy, their team is currently completing the installation of the mosaic panels depicting the Royal Passion Bearers on the southern wall of the choir balcony. That’s where they are also about to finish the installation of the mosaic panel of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God. “The composition of a major theme at the panel is ready but we still have to work at the depiction of the apostles on clouds. I should specify that there is a particular iconographic detail there: the apostles gathered after being as if flown in from the various parts of the world to be present at the Dormition of the Mother of God,” explained Anatoly Alyoshin.

The mosaic panels in the altar are also getting finished. Before they are going to be installed, the builders will have to perform a minor space transformation by rounding the altar wall. “When this church was built, it wasn’t supposed to be decorated with the mosaics. Its eastern wall in the altar was faceted. But the mosaic looks best on curved spaces, either spherical or cylindrical. In the days ahead, certain specific construction techniques will be used here to round out the wall. After that, we will mount the mosaic that is practically finished now,” Anatoly Alyoshin said.

Several professional groups of artists from different Russian and Belarusian cities are working at the Annunciation Cathedral’s decoration project.  The compositions were made all over the church interior instead of separate sections that allowed the master mosaicists to work more efficiently and to save time. The ornamental décor adorning the walls throughout the church interior complements the biblical stories and the compositions dedicated to the history of the Diveyevo monastery.

The mosaic décor of the Annunciation Cathedral was inspired by the ancient Byzantine examples of the 14^th century, as well as the church art of Rus of the second half of the 14^th century and first half of the 15^th century, the times of Venerable Andrey Rublev.

The crown jewel of mosaic-laid Annunciation Cathedral will be the mosaic icon of the Mother of God of the Sign in the conch of the main altar. The altar mosaics will be visible from the central part of the cathedral.

The Annunciation Cathedral has seven altars, whereas the Dormition Church in its lower part has another five. The cathedral’s mosaics will cover a total space of 4500 square meters.