Christ Pantocrator (Gospod' Vsedržitel'), Late XIX century

Egg tempera on panel

Height x width: 53.5 x 43.5 cm

This piece serves as the theological focal point of Orthodox sacred art, enriched along its two lateral margins by four finely painted, full-length figures of patron saints. The Savior emerges at the center of the composition, depicted frontally from the waist up; He radiates a regal authority, set against a dark background accented by stylized, circular clouds and hematite-toned elements. With His right hand raised, He performs the traditional gesture of blessing, while His left hand supports an open Book of the Gospels, its pages filled with dense, miniature-style script in Old Church Slavonic—rendered as parallel dark lines that evoke sacred text. His facial features—dominated by large, penetrating, symmetrical eyes fixed upon the viewer—include a characteristic bifurcated beard and long hair, parted in the middle and falling in wavy locks over His shoulders. His head is framed by an imposing, circular golden halo, traversed by red rays that form a cross; the halo bears the traditional Greek characters signifying the divine attribute of the One Who Is ("Ὁ Ѡ Н"). Flanking the halo, one can clearly discern the traditional abbreviated sacred monograms "ІС" and "ХС" (Jesus Christ). A unique devotional feature of this work lies in its side panels—integrated directly into the margins of the wooden board—which depict four patron saints chosen by the family who commissioned the piece: on the left, one can identify a holy angel (the Guardian Angel) at the top, and a holy bishop or hierarch at the bottom, holding the Gospel. On the right side stand out a holy ascetic monk (a stylite or anchorite) perched atop a column or architectural structure, and below him, a holy martyr draped in a purple maphorion; each is identified by an orange-red calligraphic scroll positioned above them.