The unusual combination of rare iconographic images points to the 'Raskol', the schism in the Russian Orthodox Church following the reforms of the Patriarch Nikon, in which the patriarch brought local practices in line with the Greek Church in the late 17th Century. Representations of the Apocalypse were frequently used by the Old-Believers in opposition to the changes, referring to them as heralding the end of the world, the Tsar Peter the Great as the Anti-Christ. Their strict conformity to their beliefs angered the Church, and many died for their faith, some immolating themselves in their churches, while others withdrew into the forests in isolation to avoid persecution.