Christ Pantokrator occupies the centre of the dome in the katholikon of Gregoriou Monastery on Mount Athos. The wall painting belongs to the decoration completed in 1779 by Gabriel and Gregory, painters from Kastoria, in a church built after the monastery’s fire of 1761. From the floor of the naos, the half-length figure presides over the painted arrangement of the dome; seen closely, its ornament and facial modelling become equally important. The Ephorate of Antiquities of Chalkidiki and Mount Athos records the date of the decoration and the painters’ names.
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| Christ Pantokrator in the dome of the katholikon of Gregoriou Monastery, Mount Athos; wall painting completed in 1779. |
The Blessing Hand and the Decorated Book
Christ faces forward, blessing with his right hand and holding a closed, richly decorated book in his left. The familiar arrangement is given unusual visual weight by the pale, broad folds crossing his torso and the patterned edges of the book. Around him runs a wide circular border of small diamonds in green, ochre and red. Beyond it, the dark ground carries glimpses of the neighbouring figures and medallions.
A Circle within the Concentric Zones of the Dome
The circle belongs to a larger scheme. The dome is divided into concentric zones, placing the Pantokrator above the surrounding celestial and prophetic imagery. Its position follows the established practice of locating Christ’s image at the summit of a domed church, though the colour and density of ornament give this eighteenth-century painting its particular character.
The Face of the Pantokrator
In the closer view, the face is composed around large, level eyes, a long nose and a relatively short beard that divides at its tip. Fine dark lines describe the hair, parted at the centre and falling beside both cheeks. Parts of the painted surface have worn away across the forehead and at the sides of the face, but the direct gaze remains clear.
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| The face and inscribed halo of the Pantokrator, showing the floral decoration between the arms of the cross. |
The Inscribed Cruciform Halo
The cruciform halo bears the Greek letters ὁ ὤν, “He Who Is”. Small red and dark floral forms fill spaces between the arms of the cross. Separate circular inscriptions beside the head identify Jesus Christ through the customary abbreviated forms. Ornament enters the halo itself, surrounding the inscription without obscuring it.
An Inherited Type in a Decorative Language
Gregoriou’s painters retained an inherited iconographic type while using a brighter, more crowded decorative language. A much earlier Athonite treatment of Christ, Christ Enthroned at the Protaton, provides a useful comparison for the blessing gesture, the book and the very different handling of the face.
(The translation was edited by T. Davies.)
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