The Western Church commemorates the Ascension of Christ to Heaven on the fifth of May this year. May is also the month traditionally dedicated to the Virgin Mary. As I end my current series of images of the Post-Resurrection appearances of Christ and begin a new one on portraits of Mary from the Sacred Art Pilgrim both themes come together in this week's featured image: a painting on leather by an unknown Ethiopian artist, depicting the Ascension of Christ, described in Acts 1:9-11. Veneration of the Virgin Mary has been a prominent feature of Ethiopian Orthodox worship since a 15th Century emperor ordered she be honored in 30 feast days of the church calendar. In this folk art depiction of the Ascension, the Mother of Christ is given the only halo and pride of place among the disciples gathered on the Mount of Olives as Christ disappears from their sight in a cloud, accompanied by two angels. The new leather painting can be found in the image gallery of the Ethiopian Icons page in the Schools of Sacred Art section. (John Kohan)