Christ Merciful
Dublin Core
Title
Christ Merciful
Subject
Description
Christ the Merciful is depicted on the left side of the templon and is part of the Paraklesis composition, along with His mother and John the Baptist depicted across. This representation corresponds to the Deesis depicted on either side of the eastern wall of the narthex and in turn establishes a visual analogy between the two. This duplication was not unusual within the late Byzantine monastic mural programmes. According to scholars, their depictions in these two parts of the church operate as gradual thresholds of holiness.
It bears no doubt that Christ the Merciful was part of the original programme of the Paraklesis as he was the receiver of Mary’s praise for showing mercy to the humankind. But the fourteenth-century fresco must have undergone a few stylistic modifications. The Christ in the bema imitates the posture, gestures and colour palette of His figure in the narthex but in a more lifelike manner, in order him to be evenly depicted on the available space of the panel.
The depiction of Christ holding the book and the inscription on it taken from John (13:34):
'A new commandment I give to you, that you
love one another; even as I have loved you'.
It seems not being part of the original programme as depictions of the Paraklesis before the 1105/6 cycle did not include Him holding a book. Therefore they thought to be innovative entries of the fourteenth century.
It bears no doubt that Christ the Merciful was part of the original programme of the Paraklesis as he was the receiver of Mary’s praise for showing mercy to the humankind. But the fourteenth-century fresco must have undergone a few stylistic modifications. The Christ in the bema imitates the posture, gestures and colour palette of His figure in the narthex but in a more lifelike manner, in order him to be evenly depicted on the available space of the panel.
The depiction of Christ holding the book and the inscription on it taken from John (13:34):
'A new commandment I give to you, that you
love one another; even as I have loved you'.
It seems not being part of the original programme as depictions of the Paraklesis before the 1105/6 cycle did not include Him holding a book. Therefore they thought to be innovative entries of the fourteenth century.
Creator
Source
Digital Heritage Research Lab of Cyprus University of Technology
Publisher
Digital Heritage Research Lab of Cyprus University of Technology
Library of Cyprus University of Technology
Date
Contributor
Digital Heritage Research Lab of Cyprus University of Technology
Rights
Απαγορεύεται η δημοσίευση ή αναπαραγωγή, ηλεκτρονική ή άλλη χωρίς τη γραπτή συγκατάθεση του δημιουργού.
Relation
https://apsida.cut.ac.cy/items/show/45036
Format
JPG, MP3
Language
en
Type
Identifier
Figure-031
Coverage
35.046355, 32.973431
Files
Collection
Citation
Ioannides, Marinos, “Christ Merciful,” Αψίδα, accessed October 31, 2025, https://apsida.cut.ac.cy/items/show/45244.