visiting Sicily
Monreale, the Duomo:
Christ
Pantocrator
The central apse of the Cathedral, with the huge figure of Christ Pantocrator (from the Greek Pantocrator = Almighty). The figures in the apse are arranged according to a logico-hierarchical order, with the figure of Christ in the apsidal vault emphatically dominating the mosaic representation of the Virgin and Child in the middle, flanked by angels and apostles, and figures of saints underneath. The majestic Christ (13.30 m wide and 7 m high) is blessing with his right hand, while his left hand is holding the Gospel, open on the page which reads, in Latin: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness". Round his head is a nimbus with a cross, symbol of the Passion. The Virgin is sitting on the throne and holding the blessing Child on her knees, flanked by the Greek inscriptions "Mother of Christ", the assertion of her divine motherhood as defined by the Council of Ephesus, and "All Pure", to signify the "Immaculate Conception" a few centuries before Pope Pius IX's declaration. The apse with the figures of Christ and the Virgin is the focal point and the mystical and religious culmination of the poetic mosaic narration.
