The icon depicts prophet and Prophet and Mystic Elijah surrounded by the vignettes with scenes of his life and his fiery ascent into Havens. Saint Elijah was a prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of king Ahab (9th century BC). According to the Books of Kings (17-19), Elijah defended the worship of Yahweh over that of the Phoenician god Baal, he raised the dead, brought fire down from the sky, and was taken up in a whirlwind. In the Book of Malachi, Elijah's return is prophesied "before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord," making him a harbinger of the Messiah.
* rare subject *