Christ Pantocrator of

Saint Catherine's Monastery Saint Catherine's Monastery ( , ), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Catherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, is a Christian monastery located in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. Located at the foot of Mount Sinai ...

is one of the oldest

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

religious

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

s, dating from the 6th century AD. The earliest known surviving depiction of Jesus Christ as Pantocrator (literally ''ruler of all''), it is regarded by historians and scholars among the most important and recognizable works in the study of

Byzantine art Byzantine art comprises the body of artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome, decline of western Rome and ...

as well as

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

and

Eastern Catholic The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

Christianity.

Background

For a time, the icon was thought to have been dated from the

13th century The 13th century was the century which lasted from January 1, 1201 (represented by the Roman numerals MCCI) through December 31, 1300 (MCCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan, which stretched ...

, since it had been almost completely painted over at that time. It was concluded in 1962 that it is from the mid-sixth century, although the exact date of production is still unknown. When

was founded by the Byzantine emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

, late in his reign, between 548 and 565, it enjoyed imperial patronage and donations from Justinian and his court, with the Christ Pantocrator icon having been one of the many possible imperial gifts. Because of this, it is generally believed to have been produced in the Byzantine capital of

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

Interpretation and meaning

Many agree that the icon represents the dual nature of Christ, illustrating traits of both man and God, perhaps influenced by the aftermath of the

ecumenical councils An ecumenical council, also called general council, is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters in which those entitled to vote are ...

of the previous century at

Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...

and

Chalcedon Chalcedon (; ; sometimes transliterated as ) was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, Turkey. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the city of Ist ...

. Christ's features on his right side (the viewer's left) are supposed to represent the qualities of his human nature, while his left side (the viewer's right) represents his divinity. His right hand is shown opening outward, signifying his gift of blessing, while the left hand and arm are clutching a thick

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

book. Some scholars have suggested the icon at Sinai could have been a possible representation of the Kamouliana icon of Christ or of the famous icon of Christ of the

Chalke Gate The Chalke Gate (), was the main ceremonial entrance ( vestibule) to the Great Palace of Constantinople in the Byzantine period. The name, which means "the Bronze Gate", was given to it either because of the bronze portals or from the gilded bro ...

, an image which was destroyed twice during the first and second waves of

Byzantine Iconoclasm The Byzantine Iconoclasm () are two periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire when the use of religious images or icons was opposed by religious and imperial authorities within the Ecumenical Patriarchate (at the time still comprising the ...

first in 726, and again in 814and thus its connection with the Christ Pantocrator is difficult to confirm.

Description and production

With a height of 84 cm, width of 45.5 cm, and a thickness of 1.2 cm, the icon was originally taller and wider before its top and sides were cut.Weitzmann, ''Sinai, the Icons'', p. 13. Otherwise, there is only one spot with major damage, a large portion of Christ's hair on his left side, including his left ear and shoulder. The original encaustic surface has continually been preserved in excellent condition overall. As with many of the early icons from Sinai, the Christ Pantocrator was created by using encaustic—a medium using hot wax paint—that was rare in the Byzantine world after the iconoclastic controversies of the eighth and ninth centuries. The monastery at Sinai is the only place where a substantial number of encaustic icons have been preserved, some dating from as early as the sixth century. During the period of Byzantine

Iconoclasm Iconoclasm ()From . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...

, the production of Orthodox icons continued at Sinai, as they were being destroyed in Constantinople.

Survival from Byzantine Iconoclasm and aftermath

The Muslim Arabs quickly took control of the southern

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

, including Egypt and Sinai, severing the monastery of Saint Catherine's ties with Constantinople in 640 AD. Thus by the era of iconoclasm initiated by Emperor Leo III in 726, the Monastery of Saint Catherine had already been protected under

Muslim rule The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is p ...

for nearly a century and was insulated from the destruction. Furthermore, the location of St. Catherine's in the rocky desert of Sinai, far away from any major trade or military route, kept the religious art housed within the monastery away from raiders as well as conquering armies. Today, the monastery houses a collection of over 2,000 icons, dating from the sixth century to modern times.Galey, Forsyth, Weitzmann, ''Sinai'', p. 99.

Notes

Bibliography

*Chatzidakis, Manolis and Walters, Gerry. "An Encaustic Icon of Christ at Sinai." ''The Art Bulletin'' 49, No. 3 (1967): 197–208. *Cormack, Robin. ''Oxford History of Art: Byzantine Art''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. *Galey, John, Forsyth, George, and Weitzmann, Kurt. ''Sinai and the Monastery of St. Catherine'', Doubleday, New York, 1980, {{ISBN, 0385171102 *Manaphēs, Kōnstantinos A. ''Sinai: Treasures of the Monastery of Saint Catherine''. Athens: Ekdotike Athenon, 1990. *Weitzmann, Kurt. "The Mosaic in St. Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai." ''Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society'' 110, No. 6 (Dec. 1966): 392–405. *Weitzmann, Kurt. ''The Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai, the Icons''. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1976.

Background

Interpretation and meaning

Description and production

Survival from Byzantine Iconoclasm and aftermath

Notes

Bibliography

Further reading