| One work within the Monastery's main church (Katholikon),
decorating the sanctuary apse, is particularly notable. The
subject of the Transfiguration is very appropriate to this
holy site, which is associated with the two instances when God
was "seen" by the Prophet Moses and by the Prophet
Elijah, the latter of whom had felt God as a light breeze on
Mount Horeb, below the Peak of the Decaloque). Moreover,
this has been par excellence the favorite subject of
the monks who aspire to holiness, to become worthy of
contemplating and viewing God's ineffable glory, the
increate Taborian Light.
Christ is portrayed with black hair and beard in an
oval "glory" between Moses and Elijah who
represent the Law and the prophets. Below, the three
awed disciples are pictured in different poses. The
soffit of the triumphal arch is decorated with
medallions containing busts of the twelve Apostles.
The three Apostles included in the scene fo the
Transfiguration have been replaced in the chain of
medallions by Paul, Thaddaeus and Matthias. The base
of the apse is bordered by another series of fifteen
medallions with busts of the Prophets.
This monumental composition of the late 16th
century is a true masterpiece of Byzantine art.
Through the subject, treated with intense light and
profound spirituality, the mosaicist has succeeded to
represent in a most expressive and transcendental
manner the doctrine of the two natures of Christ, as
formulated in 451 AD by the Ecumenical Council of
Chalcedon.
The terminal medallions enclose the portraits of
Longinus the Abbot (right) and John the Deacon (left).
Both were important personalities. Longinus was Abbot
of the Monastery between 562-565/6, at which time the
decoration was executed. He later became Patriarch of
Antioch. John is perhaps the later Patriarch of
Jerusalem known as John IV (575-594).
The spandrels of the arch are occupied by two
flying angles and the center by the Amnos (Lamb). The
Virgin is depicted in bust on the south side and St.
John the Baptist on the north. We may say that we have
here one of the earliest representations of the Deesis.
The upper part of the wall shows two episodes from
the Old Testament. They are Moses before the Burning
Bush and Moses receiving the Tablets of Law.
This superb mosaic must have been made by master
mosaicists who had come from Constantinople. Cleaning
and conservation operations, undertaken in 1958 by
American experts, revealed the brightness and delicacy
of the colors, the lively treatment of the subject and
the excellent quality of this unique work of art.
Because of the sanctity and spirituality of the
site and the famous mosaic of the Transfiguration, the
Monastery's church (Katholikon) became known with the
passing of centuries as "Church of the
Transfiguration of Christ the Savior". To this
day it is known under this name, in addition to the
original name in honor of the Virgin of the Burning
Bush and the later one in honor of St.
Catherine.
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