The Sarov Monastery was a customer and distributor of printed products, which were purchased by thousands of pilgrims who came to the Monastery from all over Russia. The images usually depicted the faces of saints. The printed icon on display shows Isidore of Yuriev, a presbyter and holy martyr.

Father Isidore was a priest of the Church of St. Nicholas in the city of Yuriev (now Tartu, Estonia). On the day of the feast of Epiphany in 1472, he went to the Omovzha River to bless the waters. There, he was arrested upon the order of the local Catholic bishop and imprisoned. All of his parishioners, including women and children, were arrested along with him. The authorities tried to force them to renounce their Orthodox faith, but they held firm in rejecting the demands.

In prison, Father Isidore administered the sacraments to all who were with him by using the reserved Gifts he carried with him. At dawn, they were executed together with their priest. Experiencing spiritual joy, they suffered for Christ without wavering or renouncing their Orthodox faith. Every one of them was pushed through the hole in the ice following their priest.

The cruel execution of the Christians by the Livonians was remembered for a long time in Yuriev and the surrounding areas.

When spring came, the Omovzha River overflowed its banks. Several kilometers upstream from Yuriev, the incorrupt and fully vested bodies of the holy martyrs were found beneath a tree by a hill. It seemed as though they had been placed there intentionally. Among them was Father Isidore, fully dressed, as he had been thrown under the ice. In this way, the Lord glorified His saints. The Orthodox Christians lovingly buried their bodies near the Church of St. Nicholas in Yuriev.

The Holy Martyr Isidore and the 72 other martyrs who suffered with him are particularly revered in Estonia, where they suffered for Christ. On May 16, 1896, the first church was built in honor of these martyrs in the town of Valka near Yuriev. That same year, a special service was created for the Yuriev Martyrs. Since then, a solemn vigil has been held on the eve of their feast day, as well as a festive liturgy on January 8.

The printed icon was transferred to the museum in 1967 from the Museum of Religion History at the USSR Academy of Sciences.