Orthodox icon | Christ Pantocrator | 24890

This modernly painted icon displays the depiction of Christ Pantocrator, often translated as “Almighty” or “All-Powerful,” and is regarded as the original model of all icons. Christ, through His incarnation, embodies both the word and the image, serving as the linguistic expression of ineffable mysteries and the visual representation of the unseen God. The Council of Nicea in 325 AD confirmed the belief that Christ is the palpable and flawless image of God the Father. This portrayal of the Pantocrator came to symbolize the stance against iconoclasm in the Byzantine Church, with figures such as John of Damascus ardently defending its existence. In contrast, the Western Church developed a similar motif, the Majestas Domini or “Glory of the Lord,” which bears a greater resemblance to secular sovereigns.

In this icon, Christ is depicted as being enthroned, surrounded by the emblems of the four evangelists: the angel, the eagle, the lion, and the bull. These symbols have their roots in the biblical visions of Ezekiel in the Old Testament and John in the New Testament. In the Revelation of John (Apk 4.1–11), the evangelist envisioned the throne of the Almighty encircled by four enigmatic creatures, each adorned with six wings. This imagery was first materialized in Roman mosaics. The definitive and now universally accepted assignment of these symbols to the individual evangelists can be traced back to Church Father Jerome in the 4th century. Mark is represented by the lion, Luke by the bull, John by the eagle, and Matthew by the man or angel. Jerome is also credited with establishing the chronological order of the Gospels in the New Testament.

Source: © Ikonen Mautner. Typing errors, other errors or changes reserved. For more information: “Das Synaxarion. Die Leben der Heiligen der Orthodoxen Kirche.” (http://www.prodromos-verlag.de/buecher.html) and Joachim Schäfer: Das Ökumenische Heiligenlexikon – https://www.heiligenlexikon.de