one of the standard portrayals of the Virgin Mary in iconography. The orant is portrayed standing, with hands raised to the level of the face and palms turned toward the viewer. Orant representations go back to early Christian images of praying figures, such as those portrayed on the walls of the Roman catacombs. Orantes were depicted during the ninth to 13th centuries in monumental paintings and in the icons of Byzantium and Ancient Rus’. In the wall paintings of domed cathedrals, the orant is located on the concha of the central apse. Other saints were also depicted in the orant pose.