The Hodegetria is being held up by two angels while to the left stand Empress Theodora and her son Michael III, who were responsible for ending Iconoclasm in 843. To the right of the Hodegetria are Patriarch Methodios, Bishop Theodore and two monks. Beneath them are 11 saints and martyrs. Just below the Hodegetria are Theophanes the Confessor and Theodore the Studite jointly holding an image of Christ. To the far left is Saint Theodosia, the only female saint, holding an icon of Christ-Emmanuel. She is depicted wearing a skepe, a veil with a squarish top, typical of Byzantine nuns. The fourth figure from the left, right behind Theophanes the Confessor, is identified as Saint Ioannikios. On the right, behind Theodore the Studite, stands a bishop identified by his garb while right behind him stand the brothers Theodorus and Theophanes Graptoi. The last two figures are identified as Saint Theophylaktos and Arsakios. Though they are all depicted together, many of them were not contemporaries.
