The Heavenly Forces are Serving with us invisibly (Easter Night)

The painting was created in the Himalayan valley of Kullu, India. This was the period when the Roerichs wrote one of the Living Ethics books - “The Fiery World”, and the essay by Helena Roerich “Reverend Sergius of Radonezh” was created. In this essay dedicated to the conscious labor of Saint Sergius in the name of the Hierarchy of Light, Helena Roerich wrote: “Indeed, the whole life of Reverend Sergius of Radonezh could be expressed with the words – “the Heavenly Forces are serving with us invisibly”. The same lofty idea was expressed in the painting by N. Roerich. He depicted a Cross procession – a mandatory ritual of the Orthodox Easter service. Over the wide open gate of a Temple we can see an enormous image of the Virgin and Child. People with lighted candles are coming out from the Cathedral built in the Pskov architectural school tradition. They are moving like a fiery river carrying Holy Banners and candles, their light merging with that of the stars above. The Temple is brightly illuminated inside, and particles of this light are brought out by the Cross procession. The intensity of this light is emphasized by the thick shadows covering the constructions depicted in the foreground. It is not only the light of candles that illuminates this painting but the light of human hearts that were opened on this night to receive the idea of the Highest World. It is shining all around, bringing people closer to Heaven and bringing the Highest World closer to the Earth.