The Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary appears here as the Queen of Heaven. She is enthroned who once enthroned Christ God in her womb and on her lap as a small child. It is known as “Cyprus,” “Cypriot” or “Kiprskaia,” because it was in Cyprus that this pattern type was first established. The Theotokos is flanked by the Archangels Michael (right) and Gabriel (left). This icon is placed in the apse of the church. Architecturally, the apse is the meeting point of the roof and the floor and symbolically, the meeting point of heaven and earth. The Theotokos is considered the heavenly ladder by which God descended to earth. Her prominently placed icon reminds us that she is the “example” and not the exception” of how we should live a life well pleasing to God.