Orthodox icon of Jesus Christ Pantocrator (23), copy of the Encaustic icon of Sinai, Christ "Pantocrator".
Encaustic on wood, St. Catherine's Monastery Sinai, 6th century. One of the most important icons in the Monastery's collection and represents the two faces of Christ. In which Christ is presented in the act of blessing with His right hand while holding a closed gospel book in His left.Is the oldest known panel icon to depict Christ.
The composition is simple, the colors are clear: the dark hair, beard and the tunic contrast with the gold aureole, the decorations of the sacred book and the pallor of the face, and the remaining space of the panel is filled with a glimpse of architecture. The most singular aspect of the work is that the two halves of Christ's face express different emotions: on the side on which He holds the Gospel, His features are hard and severe , representing Christ as a Judge who sees all, while the expression on the side with the blessing hand is calm and serene, representing Christ in His role of savior.
The word Pantocrator is Greek, meaning "Ruler of All." The image expresses the central reality of the Christian faith; the Divine Majesty of the creator and ruler of all the world, made flesh and therefore visible to us in the person of Christ Jesus our redeemer. This is the oldest known icon of Christ Pantocrator, written in the sixth century and preserved in the remote monastery of St. Catherine in the Sinai desert. The location enabled the image to survive the destruction of most icons during the iconoclastic era in Byzantine history, (726 to 815 AD.).
