1 Iconographic Tradition in Lebanon
After identifying clues suggesting a liturgical function for the main components of the apsidal Theophany–Deesis in Eastern churches, it makes sense to further explore this aspect in Lebanese churches. To do so, an analysis of the scene is necessary, specifying the role of each element and determining whether any written sources were used. Next, it is important to ascertain how these elements coalesce in the apse conch. Subsequently, a syntactic analysis will be conducted to discern whether the designer(s) prioritised the liturgical aspect. This entails examining iconographic programmes featuring the Theophany–Deesis in their apse, evaluating their liturgical significance and ultimately elucidating how the components of the Theophany–Deesis are arranged in the apse and between the apse and its surroundings. Finally, the nature and temporality of the intercession of Mary and John the Baptist will be clarified.
Before proceeding, it is important to note that, apart from my studies,1 historiography has generally interpreted the apsidal Theophany–Deesis in Lebanese ecclesiastical painting as a symbol of the Second Parousia and a vision of the end of time.2 As a result, the intercession of the Virgin and John the Baptist has been linked solely to the Last Judgement. However, Estephan Douaihy3 interpreted the apsidal Theophany, with or without the intercessors, from an exclusively liturgical point of view, while highlighting the ecclesiastical factor that is linked to the authority of the Fathers of the Church and their ordinances.4 He explained that the intercession of the Virgin, St John the Baptist and all saints referred to the present time and was often linked to the eucharistic liturgy.5 Although the chronicler–patriarch had no impact on 12th- and 13th-century medieval churches in Lebanon, which are the subject of this study, his liturgical and historical writings show a keen interest in the paintings adorning these buildings. This demonstrates the patriarch’s deep familiarity with these works of art, which greatly enhances the value of his studies.
In his historical works written in the late 17th century, such as the History of the Times6 and Apology of the Maronite Nation,7 the patriarch imparted particular importance to the ecclesiastical paintings of Lebanon. This emphasis serves to authenticate their origins in the Christian tradition of the Fathers and to establish the Maronite community’s historical relevance in the region. He was, in a way, an ‘archaeologist’ of his era.
In his liturgical writings, especially in his explanation of the Divine Liturgy, Candelabra of the Holy Mysteries, Douaihy commented on ecclesiastical iconography displaying a distinct preference for the depiction of the Theophany in the semi-dome above the main altar. His keen interest in this image is evident. Based on the Church Fathers, Douaihy underscored the liturgical aspect in the formation and use of this image.8 For him, images of holy figures were an agent of the ecclesiastical liturgy, holding a significance equal to the word and the gesture.9 Exhibiting the acumen of an art historian and showcasing himself as a pioneer of his era, he established a connection between the sacred image and the liturgy, as well as between the image and the primary function of the sacred space.
Our interest here in his liturgical work, which is of course later than the ecclesiastical heritage of the 12th and 13th centuries, is to demonstrate that the liturgical tradition from the Middle Ages to Douaihy’s time remained unchanged. The Maronite patriarch revealed himself both as a liturgist belonging to previous tradition and as a theologian claiming, above all, the authority of the doctors of the Church and founders of the liturgy, such as Athanasius the Great, John Chrysostom, Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzos, as well as such theologians as Clement of Alexandria (d. c.215), Andrew of Caesarea (563–614), Jacob of Sarug and Ephrem the Syrian (d. 373).
The Images of the Apsidal Theophany and the Retrospective Value of Douaihy’s Writings. Speaking of the Holy of Holies and its meaning in a chapter entitled ‘Treaty of the Churches’, Douaihy indicated that it comes from the apocalyptic passage IV: ‘That the holy Fathers depicted God Sabaoth, in the apses of the churches, seated on the throne of majesty and that they represented the faces of the four creatures around the throne, with the angels standing and offering incense and the shining candelabra all around. This is so that the priest can look up to God when reciting intercession prayers during the holy sacrifice of the Divine Liturgy.’10 Here, the patriarch established an extremely explicit correlation between the apsidal image of the Theophany and the eucharistic liturgy or, more precisely, the intercessory prayer during the anaphora. Douaihy also showed that this apsidal scene was an instruction from the Fathers, who relied on the apocalyptic passages to elaborate it. Indeed, in his studies the patriarch often underlined that the earthly liturgy echoes the heavenly liturgy, described by ‘John’ in his Revelation. In addition, he frequently referred to apocalyptic passages, including chapters IV and VI, in which the account encompasses the theophanic manifestation, which he related to the present time in order to prove the authenticity of the rites and liturgical formulas used in the eucharistic office and even the legitimacy of the various elements present in the church.11
At the end of this same section, Douaihy added:
The Holy Fathers ordered that the eastern wall of the church be in the form of a niche, to signify the Father’s bosom in the temple of his holiness. They also ordered that there be a small eastern window above the apse, because he is the Father of lights,12 and that below the window and inside the apse, there be a cathedra in the episcopal churches to designate the throne of his majesty. As for what is depicted inside the apse and around him [Christ in Majesty] – a lit candelabra, angels praising him and incense pouring out perfume, the souls of the righteous crowding around him, this is so that we look up to him and ask for wisdom and the other gifts he lavishes on every man and especially on those he adorns with holiness, purity and mystical knowledge.13
Douaihy once again underscored that the depictions in the apse were prescribed by the Fathers, emphasising both the ecclesiastical and political aspect – the policy of the church’s prelates – alongside the liturgical factor in the selection of the specific theme. Moreover, he linked the apse’s iconography to the present time, when the faithful in the church can raise their gaze towards the image of God, accompanied by angels and saints, and seek blessings from him.
Even more significantly, Douaihy listed five major reasons that may motivate the embellishment of churches with holy images while privileging the apsidal figuration of the Theophany:
The embellishment of the church with holy figures is motivated by the following reasons:
We know that their souls are in heaven in the joy of Christ.
We therefore give them the veneration due to those on earth.
Churches are decorated and beautified by these depictions.
Simple people are catechised; the figures of the saints present them with exemplary conduct and raise their spirits to meditate on their virtues.
Finally, the Father, God Sabaoth, is depicted in the apse, so that the priest may raise his spirit and his offering to him. Below this representation and around it, angels and saints are depicted, so that we may have recourse to them and implore their intercession.14
It is clear that Douaihy convincingly linked the figuration of God in the apse to the eucharistic liturgy and, more precisely, to the anaphora. He gave the angels and saints, who are depicted around him, the role of intercessors on behalf of the faithful participating in this liturgical event. Thus, the whole Theophany shows that, at the moment of the anaphora, Christ and his heavenly court (angels and saints) are truly present in the ecclesiastical building, the former to preside over the celebration of the holy mysteries and accept offerings and the latter to concelebrate and intercede. In the same section, Douaihy assigned a eucharistic meaning to the figures of the Virgin and the Forerunner, indicating that ‘The Byzantines represent on one side of the iconostasis the Mother of Salvation […] and on the other John the Baptist. It was they who revealed the Saviour to the world, and it is through them that the people understand that the one offered on the altar is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.’15
In an eminently instructive way, Douaihy summarised the whole second part of his book at the end of the chapter ‘Treaty on the Altar’, giving the apsidal Theophany an essential role in the eucharistic celebration. This would have served to materialise, in the eyes of the officiants and the faithful, the participation of the Lord and the whole of the heavenly Church in the eucharistic liturgy:
From what we have explained in this second candelabrum, it is clear that the edifice of the church was designed for the assembly of the faithful in order to listen to the law of the Gospel and for the celebration of the sacraments and in particular the Eucharist, because the holy altar was designed to offer the body of the Saviour, who is the new covenant in sacrifice through the priests, to whom he entrusted this in memory of him until his Second Parousia. This is why we set up the altar there, for the sacrifice and the offerings and to place the chalice and the patens on it to preserve the precious Body and Blood, and we raise the cross there for the memorial of the Lord’s death on the cross and we burn candles and incense to honour his goodness and blessings. And we design the seats around the altar for the honour of the priests and leaders who have received the power to offer it. Also, we depict God Sabaoth in the apse surrounded by angels, because, at the moment of the consecration, the gates of heaven open for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Eucharist, and the angels come to sanctify it and the saints to venerate it. And the deacons stand with the rhipidia and the censers, and each one sings according to his rank to serve the body of the Lord and to honour him.16
In a section devoted to the attitude, gestures and words of the priest during the consecration of the holy species, Douaihy proclaimed:
The priest must be disposed by his mind and his senses, and if the celebrant is a bishop he takes the mitre from his head, and, as he commands the people to lift up their hearts and minds to the heights, thus he makes the gates of heaven open to his spirit, and God the Father looks at him by sending his only Son in the Body to be present on the altar, and the Holy Spirit, hovering above his head, and the armies of heaven surround him with fear and trembling. To reinforce these things in the minds of all priests, the holy Church has ordered that they be painted in the apse above the altar, as we see in ancient churches.17
Thus, the apsidal Theophany, which reflects the realm of divinity and the sacred in its fullness, constitutes, for Douaihy, an agent favouring this spiritual figuration. It would help the officiant to reach the celestial world to which he aims and to recognise the radiance of his own mystical ecstasy at the decisive moment of the Divine Liturgy. This idea was also emphasised by such doctors of the Church as Cyril of Jerusalem and Theodore of Mopsuestia, who indicated that the faithful and the priest are invited to create, from the anaphoric words, a mental image of the heavenly court.18 Similarly, in most Eastern anaphoras, the priest, at the beginning, asks the faithful to lift their minds and hearts upwards. Also, if we return to the liturgical commentary of the Historia Ecclesiastica, we might detect the same meaning for this representation, designed to decorate the apse.19 According to this account, the cleric celebrating the anaphora stands before the altar as before the throne of the Lord: ‘He contemplates the great, inexpressible, unfathomable mystery of Christ’ and ‘He spiritually sees the heavenly worship.’20 Douaihy’s writings are therefore strongly rooted in Early Byzantine and Syrian tradition.
In another passage, the Maronite patriarch again noted that the apsidal Theophany–Deesis is an agent of the Divine Liturgy: the author related Christ’s gesture of speech in this image to the eucharistic rite. He suggested that the Lord participates in the sacrifice of the altar in person. Moreover, Douaihy placed the intercession of the Virgin and the Forerunner, who are depicted next to Christ, within this same act:
That is why the Church has given an obligation to the priest, his representative [of the Son of God], to gesture them [his body and blood] with the sign of the cross and to draw God on the apses of the churches, in his glory on the hyacinth stone, signing them with the mark of the cross, and the angels offering him pleasant incense, in the presence of his Mother and John the Baptist and the saints imploring his greatness for them [the faithful].21
In fact, Douaihy frequently emphasised that the intercession of the Virgin and the saints played an active and direct role in the lives of the faithful, ensuring their prayers were fulfilled. This is precisely expressed in the following passage:
Finally, it is clear from what we have received from the Apostles and the Fathers, who ordered the building of churches, the erection of altars and the painting of sacred images dedicated to the Mother of Salvation and the saints, that we should have recourse to them in times of sorrow and ask for their help at the most urgent moment, hoping that through their intercessions, which are granted, the Lord will give us all that we ask of him. For this reason, the Church has established prayers, implorations and invocations for them, so that the faithful may gather in their churches and implore them with one heart and one mind.22
In a section dedicated to the holy figures adorning the interior of the ecclesiastical space in the chapter ‘Treatise on the Altar’, the patriarch recounted that the cherubim present in the sanctuary and the saints adorning the walls of churches are mediators of the faithful in the present time: ‘The Lord commanded in the Old Testament that the cherubim be placed in the sanctuary to signify the angels to the people and to make them understand that God accepts prayers and grants requests through their mediation […] As for the figures of the saints, they are placed in the churches to signify their souls and to make us understand that God has made them our intercessors in the kingdom.’23 We can deduce that Douaihy therefore saw in the apsidal Theophany and Theophany–Deesis not an eschatological vision, but, on the contrary, a current vision linked to the eucharistic liturgy. Likewise, the anaphora assigns the Virgin, St John the Baptist and all the saints the role of intercessors on behalf of the faithful in the present, in particular during the eucharistic sanctification of the Holy Liturgy.24
Qadisha Valley, Saydet Qannubin, wall painting, Theophany–Deesis, 1703–1705
This is how Douaihy envisioned and conceived the apsidal adornment of his patriarchal church, Saydet Qannubin (1703–1705). Within the apse of Qannubin, God, crowned by the papal tiara, assumes the role of the Grand Pontiff (Fig. 37). Exalted by the angelic Gloria, interceded by the Virgin and the protomartyr Stephen, Douaihy’s patron saint, he imparts the eucharistic blessing upon the Lamb positioned on the painted altar. This draws a striking parallel with his earthly representative, the Maronite patriarch, who performed a similar action on the offering placed upon the physical altar. Furthermore, the presence of the protomartyr Stephen in his protodeacon attire beside the Heavenly Priest enhances the imagery of the eucharistic liturgy even more vividly.25
The Individual Judgement, the Eucharistic Intercession and the Exegesis of Douaihy. Estephan Douaihy associated the intercession of the Virgin and the saints not only to the living faithful, but also to the souls of the deceased. He devoted a complete chapter to them, in his explanation of the eucharistic service, in which he explained the ‘Individual’, or ‘Particular’, Judgement that directly follows death;26 according to Douaihy, the souls of the deceased ‘take advantage of the prayers and offerings offered to God for them’.27 Among these, he said,
There is nothing more noble and better than the offering of the body of the Lord, which is useful for the soul of the deceased. As we read in the invocation of the dead according to the tune of the [traditional Syriac] Fsheeto melody, the soul proclaims: ‘Offer offerings for me, nothing can be useful for me like the body of the Lord […] and you priests standing in the holy place, pray for me who leaves to be received before the Lord of the world.’28
Douaihy wrote that the living intercede through their prayers and eucharistic offerings in order to obtain God’s mercy on behalf of the departed souls, so that they may be forgiven and taken to the place of rest. They ask for the intercession of the Virgin and the saints, saying: ‘O pure and immaculate only Virgin! You who gave birth to God without seed, intercede for him to save your servant here. And also: O Christ! The victorious martyrs in the heavenly dwellings intercede to you forever for the faithful whom you have brought to you, making them worthy to possess eternal goods.’29 In fact, in the Syriac-Antiochian liturgy, specifically that of the Maronites, one evokes the intercession, systematically after that of the Virgin, of the martyrs, including St John the Baptist and the protomartyr Stephen, who receive the most eminent place. Their intercession reaches its climax during the anaphora.30 Thus, the deceased ‘benefit greatly’, Douaihy emphasised, ‘from the prayers and eucharistic offerings of the faithful and the intercession of the saints and their supplications’. All this, Douaihy continued, is approved by ‘the teachings of the Fathers, the foundation of the Church, who enriched the Byzantine Church and the entire universe with their divine sciences’.31
It is important to note that in this chapter Douaihy, who tirelessly insisted on the efficacy of the intercession of the saints during the eucharistic liturgy, both for the living and the departed, clearly marked a difference between the ‘Individual Judgement’, which the soul undergoes directly after death, and the ‘Last Judgement’, called the ‘Universal Judgement’, which ‘will be at the end of the world’.32 However, he never related the liturgical imploring of the saints to the Last Judgement. He shows that liturgical or, more specifically, eucharistic intercession is only beneficial to the deceased of the past, the living of the present and the generations of the future before the last end of man.
1.1 The Gesture of Speech and the Priesthood of the Lord
It is necessary to emphasise that the Christ of the Theophany–Deesis in the apsidal conch is almost never seen raising his right hand and lowering his left hand. In fact, the gesture of the right hand with the open palm towards the spectator indicates a welcome for the chosen ones, while the lowering of the left hand, palm downwards, indicates a condemnation of the reprobate: this attitude is obviously characteristic of scenes of the Last Judgement. However, it is the gesture of speech that is omnipresent in apsidal theophanies.
This gesture has often been identified by art historians as a blessing. Chiara Frugoni and Marcello Angheben opposed this reading, relying on convincing examples. Chiara Frugoni pointed out that this gesture only referred to a blessing at the end of the Middle Ages and claimed that such a vocation would naturally involve the pronouncement of a word.33 In continuing this investigation, Marcello Angheben tried to show the versatility of the Lord’s gesture according to the context and the written sources of each examined image. He saw a biblical or liturgical blessing in it, a sign of the cross, an exorcism, the utterance of speech, a designation or an evocation of the Word of God or, more precisely, of the divine Logos in theophanies, among others. He also underlined that, in many examples, several of these meanings can coexist in the same representation.34 Based on the vast semantic field proposed by Chiara Frugoni and Marcello Angheben, it is important to determine the meaning of the speaking gesture within Lebanese theophanies, since this could emphasise the liturgical character of the scene.
The enthroned Christ of the apsidal Theophany most often combines the gesture of speaking with an open book accompanied by an inscription, as can be seen at Behdidat (see Pl. 4) and Kaftun (see Pl. 80), or a closed book, as is the case at Enfeh (see Pl. 99), Kfar Shleiman (see Pls 48, 52), Kfar Helda (see Pls 34, 35), Kusba (see Pl. 71) and Rashkida (see Pl. 128). According to Douaihy, the Fathers gave particular importance to both the figure of Christ and his Gospel:
When the Fathers gathered at the 8th Council in Constantinople, they ordered that the image of Christ should be honoured just as the Gospel is honoured. For the deeds of the Lord, about which we hear from the evangelists, we see them presented in figures. It was from this time that the Fathers also ordered that the Gospel be placed on the balustrade north of the royal gate and that it be hung next to the icon of the Saviour, of his Mother or of the patron saint of the church. This would allow it to be honoured by priests with incense, by deacons with candles and by all people with vows and metanias [bowing].35
In the open book of Christ enthroned in the theophanies of Mar Tadros of Behdidat (see Pl. 4) and Mar Sarkis and Bakhos of Kaftun (see Pl. 80), we read the usual verse from John 8:12: ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ Christ could designate the Gospel by the gesture of his right hand; his word, as the only way to follow. Moreover, this Gospel verse implies that Christ’s hand gesture materialises the words indicated in the codex and indicates that he speaks the word36 as the Word of God.37 The almost perpetual presence of the symbols of the evangelists – who appeal to the Logos and who could also refer to the reading of the Gospel – would support this theory.38 The verse of John 8:12, conjugated in the present and future tenses, expresses a temporality that precedes eschatological time. On the other hand, this call, made by the Word of God at Mar Tadros of Behdidat and Mar Sarkis and Bakhos of Kaftun, would be aberrant in the context of a Last Judgement.
This interpretation of Christ’s gesture is less obvious when he carries a closed codex, as in the theophanies found at Saydet el-Rih in Enfeh (see Pl. 99), Saydet Naya in Kfar Shleiman (see Pls 48, 52), Saydet el-Kharayeb of Kfar Helda (see Pls 34, 35), Mar Mitr of Kusba (see Pl. 71) and the chapel annexed to Mar Girgis in Rashkida (see Pl. 128). However, it is the same gesture that the priest performs, by drawing the sign of the cross – the imprint of the Lord – to bless the people, the Gospel and the liturgical utensils and also to consecrate the eucharistic offering.39 This liturgical blessing, accompanied by the sign of the cross, also implies speech. Douaihy supported this notion when examining the officiating priest’s attitude, words and gestures during the recitation of the consecration formula. He assigned particular importance to the priest’s blessing gesture, attributing it various aspects, such as biblical blessings, eucharistic blessings, the sign of the cross with an apotropaic or thaumaturgical purpose, the pronouncement of a speech and the evocation of the Divine Word, among others.40 The gesture in question is capable, according to Douaihy’s analysis, of simultaneously representing several of these actions, but it is the eucharistic blessing to which he dedicated a large section.41
Based on the commentaries and writings of the doctors of the Church, Douaihy asserted that all kinds of blessings and consecrations within the church do indeed require the making of the sign of the cross during the recitation of the liturgical formulas:
Nothing can be blessed in the church except by the sign of the cross; the faithful shall not be baptised, nor the churches consecrated, nor spouses married, nor the sins of penitents forgiven, nor the priests and deacons ordained, nor the branches blessed, nor the icons, water, oil, the vestments of the priests and the ornaments of the altar, nor the holy chrism, the seal of the Lord, consecrated, nor the oil of baptism, and nothing shall be accomplished of the affairs of the church, nor shall the Body of the Lord, the foundation of life, be consecrated unless it has been signed with the cross, as we say in the office of the cross: through the cross the children of the church are sealed to be spiritual lambs, it is the fulfilment of the sacraments and the sanctifier of the church. Cyprian the Martyr also spoke of the baptism of the Lord, saying ‘The cross of the Lord is our pride, for by its power it fulfils all the sacraments and without this sign nothing is holy […].’ John Chrysostom, in his interpretation of the Gospel of St Matthew, says: ‘By the sign of the cross the body of the Lord will be consecrated, the water of baptism will be consecrated, the priests begin the sacrament of order in the church with the sign of the cross, and everything that is destined to be consecrated will be consecrated by this sign, the sign of the cross of the Lord and the invocation of the name of Christ, for this is the image of the sublime king and the seal of his name.’42
Douaihy stated in another passage, cited above, the Church’s directive for priests, acting as representatives of the Son of God, to consecrate the body and blood of Christ by making the sign of the cross. Additionally, he highlighted the practice of depicting God’s majesty on the apses of churches. These representations portray God signing by his hand the Eucharist, surrounded by angels offering incense. The sacred scene is further enriched by the presence of the Mother of God, John the Baptist and the saints, who fervently implore God’s greatness on behalf of the faithful.43
Based on these accounts, it could be deduced that the right-hand gesture of Christ in the scenes of the apsidal Theophany refers to liturgical blessings. Moreover, it becomes evident that Douaihy distinctly linked the apsidal Theophany–Deesis with the eucharistic liturgy. In other words, he placed apsidal iconography at the service of the liturgical office that is permanently carried out within the ecclesiastical space. The hieratic gesture of Christ in the scenes of the apsidal Theophany could then refer to all the blessings and words spoken during the eucharistic service, suggesting his direct participation in the earthly office. He intervenes as high priest, as claimed by the Fathers and the Divine Liturgy.44
The Theophany–Deesis in Saydet Naya in Kfar Shleiman clearly shows Christ as a priest and provides a clear example for the eucharistic interpretation of the gesture of his right hand (see Pls 51, 52). It is true that the limited space on the eastern wall prevented the painter from depicting Christ enthroned on his cathedra, so this representation was transferred to the ceiling. However, he was not content to limit himself to this image, which embodies the temporary advent of Christ. He also intended to assign him the task of officiating, as the Saviour is once again depicted on the east wall, this time in bust between the Virgin and the Baptist.
In this last image of the Theophany, Christ, as the Word of God, displays the book and performs the gesture of speech right at the level of the main altar, which was placed directly on the wall. It is on this altar that the oblation would be consecrated. This arrangement of the altar and Christ’s bust gives the impression that he is standing behind the altar, just like the celebrant. It should be noted that the holy table covers just the width of the figure of Christ. This depiction highlights the fact that the Christ dominating the altar presides over the liturgy, as affirmed by the Fathers. The gesture of his right hand symbolises the eucharistic blessing, referring to all the words spoken by the celebrant during the anaphora,45 unequivocally conveying Christ’s presence in the sacred edifice during the sacramental blessing of the offering. This interpretation does not negate the possibility that, through this gesture of speech, Christ, acting as the high priest, encompasses all the blessings and words spoken by the priest during the Divine Liturgy. However, it distinctly emphasises the significance of the eucharistic blessing above all else.
1.2 The Draped Throne–Altar
In the Lebanese corpus, Christ in Majesty rests almost systematically on a throne draped with a striped cloth, including a cushion: in Behdidat (see Pl. 4), in Rashkida (see Pl. 127), in Kaftun (see Pl. 79), in Kfar Helda (see Pl. 34) and in Kusba (see Pl. 71). The sheet covering the throne cushion at Kfar Shleiman is not visible or did not exist (see Pl. 48).
The throne of God can easily be compared to the altar of sacrifice, as previously discussed.46 In this context, the striped cloth covering the altar–throne symbolises the cloth that covers the main altar. This is equated with the shroud that enveloped the body of Christ, an assimilation common among the Byzantines.47 Theodore of Mopsuestia linked the altar to the Tomb of Christ, stating that ‘The deacons spread cloths on the altar as if they were sheets for burial.’48 Isidore of Pelusium explained the significance of the cloth covering the holy table, or sindon, in his epistle:
The deployment of the pure sindon under the sacred offering signifies the ministry of Joseph of Arimathea. He wrapped the Lord’s body in a shroud and placed it in the tomb from which the resurrection came forth for all of our race. Similarly, we consecrate the bread that was offered on a sindon and we find the Lord’s body there with certainty, the source of that immortality that Jesus, buried by Joseph, gratified us by resurrecting.49
The commentary of the Historia Ecclesiastica places the veils and liturgical utensils, such as the paten and chalice, in parallel with the instruments of the Passion to which the eucharistic liturgy refers.50 Douaihy stated that:
The Holy Church received from the apostles the tradition of covering the altars with clean cloths. This has been confirmed by the majority of the theologians of the Early Church, such as in the letters of Clement, the Fathers and the traditions of all the Churches, and in the prayers provided for in all Christian confessions for this purpose. The reason is first the honour due to the holy altar, which is the Lord’s cathedra and his litter […] But there is also a reference to the cloth with which the Lord’s body was wrapped in the stable, in the crib and in the sepulchre […].51
From these passages, one can see that the throne is treated like the altar or tomb. The draped cathedra that hosts the Supreme Priest and the Heavenly Victim in the apsidal theophanies of Lebanon and in numerous examples from the Christian Levant may refer to these exegetical interpretations. In this view, the draped throne on which Christ is seated could potentially provide an additional eucharistic indication to the apsidal image.
1.3 The Celestial Bodies
The celestial bodies surrounding the theme of the Theophany and the Theophany–Deesis in Mar Tadros of Behdidat (see Pl. 11) and in Saydet Naya of Kfar Shleiman (see Pls 48, 49) are considered attributes of prophetic visions that link the images in question to the Second Parousia,52 although these prophetic revelations make no allusion to them or mention only their disappearance (Rev. 6:12–1). However, the absence of the celestial bodies in the representation of the Last Judgement, with the exception of those appearing in the sky being folded by the angel to mark their disappearance (Rev. 6:14; Is. 34:4), and in the eschatological literature emphasises the current temporality of these theophanic scenes, at the expense of the eschatological time of the Last Judgement, as I tried to demonstrate above. As stated in the scriptures and liturgical prayers, the sun, the moon and the stars partake in the praise and glorification of the Lord.53 This role may elucidate their personification in the Lebanese programmes and elsewhere. Additionally, by evoking the calendar of the present time, the representation of the sun and moon in Behdidat and Kfar Shleiman emphasises the temporary advent of Christ as priest rather than judge during the daily liturgy of worship. In this event, the celestial bodies unite with angels and humans in praising the Lord through the thrice holy, as expressed by the Anaphora of St James.54
It can be inferred that the presence of the celestial beings is a substantial indication that clearly aligns with the present-time nature of apsidal theophanies and supports their potentially liturgical meaning.
1.4 The Four Living Creatures
Only Mar Tadros of Behdidat (see Pl. 4), Saydet el-Kharayeb of Kfar Helda (see Pl. 34) and Saydet Naya of Kfar Shleiman (see Pl. 48) still preserve the protomes of the four living creatures. They may be participating in the seraphic chant, as mentioned in the Book of Revelation. However, the theophanies in the Lebanese churches lack any epigraphic or iconographic evidence to support this reading, like those seen in Cappadocian and Coptic examples.55 The living creatures could also ensure the displacement of the ‘altar that has become a chariot’,56 as suggested by Early Christian Coptic theophanies. In this perspective, the living creatures form the team pulling the divine quadriga.57
The living creatures, often manifested in Lebanese theophanies through the symbols of the four evangelists, as designated by inscriptions,58 could by this quality reveal the identity of the Enthroned in Majesty. The latter holds an open book at Behdidat and Kaftun with the running verse of John 8:12, which allows the faithful to know his being and his mission better. This veracity is also revealed by the readings of the books written by the evangelists. The presence of the living creatures in the apse scene could also refer to the reading of the Gospel, as previously mentioned.59
It has also been pointed out that the presence of the book could refer to the rite of the Ostension of the Gospel.60 This interpretation could be supported by the closed book displayed by Christ in Kfar Helda, Kusba, Rashkida and Kfar Shleiman. The Gospel also shows the figure and identity of the Word of God.61 The eternal Logos, announced in the Old Testament and made visible through the Incarnation, continues to manifest himself through the reading of the scriptures and the liturgy of the Eucharist. Thus, as Origen said, ‘What was first contained in the scriptures and was understood according to the letter has now become an intelligible word in the Churches of Christ, thanks to the revelation of the Lord.’62 In this vein, the Theophany of the sanctuary manifests the Messiah under these two historical identities: God–Incarnate (Enthroned in Majesty) and God–Word (the Book), the first under the ‘veil of the flesh’ and the second under ‘the veil of the letter’, according to Origen.63
1.5 The Four-winged and Six-winged Angels
The Majesty of the Lord can also be recognised in the entourage of the heavenly powers.64 In the Theophany–Deesis of Lebanon, the angelic cortege features four-winged angels, as seen at Kusba (see Pls 71, 72) and Rashkida (see Pl. 119), but also six-winged angels, as seen in Behdidat (see Pls 5, 6), Kaftun (see Pl. 81), Kfar Helda (see Pls 36, 37), Saqiet el-Kheit (see Pls 64, 65) and Kfar Shleiman (see Pl. 50).
1.5.1 Liturgical Literature and the Physiognomy of the Angels
The ‘many-eyed’ four-winged angels in Mar Mitr of Kusba (see Pl. 72) and the eyeless four-winged angels in the chapel annexed to Mar Girgis in Rashkida (see Pl. 119) are interposed between the throne and the two supplicants, due to the limited space of the conch. It is likely that the painter did not have enough room, especially in Rashkida, to develop a pair of vertical wings for these heavenly beings. In any case, these four-winged angels, with or without eyes, are unknown in the scriptures.
In Mar Tadros of Behdidat (see Pls 5, 6) and in Saydet el-Kharayeb of Kfar Helda (see Pls 36, 37), the six-winged angels with multiple eyes are qualified by the accompanying inscription as ‘cherub’, while the one without eyes is referred to by the name of ‘seraph’. It is evident that eyes distinguish the cherubim of Ezekiel; however, his vision attributes them with four wings and four faces, which is not the case here. Only liturgical texts, specifically the preface of some anaphoras, show this physiognomy with six wings, multiple eyes and a single face.65
At Kfar Helda, the names ‘seraph’ and ‘cherub’ are associated with the liturgical adjectives ‘six-winged’ and ‘many-eyed’, respectively (see Pls 36, 37, 38). These epithets from liturgical texts clearly indicate the source of inspiration for these theophanies and attest, without the slightest ambiguity, that these two higher orders of the angelic hierarchy participate in the liturgical ser-vice. They sing the seraphic song as they carry the standard, marked with the triple hagios.
1.5.2 The Angels’ Function
1.5.2.1 Cantors of the Liturgy
The celestial creatures that gather on either side of the heavenly throne as guards of the great sovereign bear a standard printed with the seraphic song in Mar Tadros of Behdidat (see Pls 5, 6), in Saydet el-Kharayeb of Kfar Helda (see Pls 36, 37, 39), in Mar Sarkis and Bakhos of Kaftun (see Pls 79, 81) and in Mar Mitr of Kusba (see Pls 72, 73). The scriptures attribute this hymn in the celestial liturgy exclusively to the seraphim, through Isaiah’s vision and the four living creatures in the apocalyptic revelation.66 The seraphim and the four living creatures could thus represent the singers of the heavenly liturgy. If the protomes of the evangelists in Lebanon do not feature any epigraphic or iconographic attribute to impose this function on them, as we have noted, the seraphim do so through the standard imprinted with the Trisagion.
However, the seraphim do not appear alone as singers of the celestial liturgy, as shown in Isaiah’s vision, but are accompanied by multi-eyed, six-winged beings called ‘cherubim’. These can be seen in Mar Tadros of Behdidat (see Pl. 4) and in Saydet el-Kharayeb of Kfar Helda (see Pl. 34). Similarly, the carriers of the Trisagion in Kusba are multi-eyed, four-winged angels (see Pls 72, 73). These representations do not correspond to biblical scriptures, but refer, in appearance and function, to the liturgical readings recited in the Eucharist, frequently repeated at their feet. It is more precisely, but not exclusively, the anaphoric prefaces that attribute the seraphic song not only to the seraphim, but to different celestial creatures as well.67 They all sing of the holiness of God together.
Additionally, some anaphoras, such as that of St Mark, known by Athanasius the Great, Cyril of Alexandria and Macarius of Egypt, specify that the singing of the Trisagion is performed by both a seraph and a cherub and that each of these two higher orders of the angelic hierarchy is represented by a single delegate.68 One might suppose that the representations of a single cherub and a single seraph on either side of the throne of Christ at Mar Tadros of Behdidat, Saydet el-Kharayeb of Kfar Helda and possibly Mar Sarkis and Bakhos of Kaftun could be motivated by this type of liturgical text.
It is therefore possible that the thrice holy carried by these throne guards refers to the ecclesiastical Trisagion. One might assume that these celestial beings simultaneously sing the seraphic chant during the Divine Liturgy with the faithful, just as the seraphim and cherubim that illustrate the Trisagion on the liturgical scrolls do.69 As a result, they bring a eucharistic angle to the compositions that include them. The liturgical adjectives ‘six-winged’ and ‘many-eyed’ used to describe the seraph and cherub in Kfar Helda strongly reinforce the eucharistic significance of these angelic beings and, subsequently, the entire Theophany–Deesis.
1.5.2.2 Throne Guardians
The very limited space of the Rashkida apse conch apparently prevented the painter from representing the four-winged angels with a banner (see Pl. 119). Nevertheless, they could participate in worship and divine praise, just like the seraphim of Isaiah, but they appear in Rashkida rather as guardians and defenders of the altar of God, a task entrusted to cherubim in different episodes in the Old Testament (Ex. 25:18–20; 2 Chron. 3:10–14). They are most often mentioned in connection with the divine throne, both in scripture and in the liturgy.
1.5.2.3 The Feet of the Heavenly Throne or the Wheels of the Divine Chariot
Two angelic creatures supposedly supported the celestial throne in the Theophany of Saydet Naya of Kfar Shleiman (see Pls 48, 50), of which only one remains. Appearing as the foot of the throne, it has six eyeless wings. Its physical appearance corresponds to the seraphim of Isaiah. However, it is the cherubim who carry the throne of God, both in biblical and liturgical sources.70 Liturgical passages provide an understanding of this depiction, as it is only in these texts that the six wings of the seraphim are attributed to the cherubim, and the tasks of these two superior orders of the angelic hierarchy are often confused.71
The two angelic creatures in Kfar Shleiman present themselves as two wheels of the celestial chariot harnessed by the four living creatures, with Christ as the charioteer. Angels and the living creatures ensured the mobility of the Sovereign of the world by moving him in his chariot–throne from the celestial kingdom to the earthly church.72
1.5.2.4 The Thurifer of the Liturgy
The Theophany–Deesis at Mar Semaan in Saqiet el-Kheit features a six-winged angel swinging a censer, which is a rare representation in the repertoire of Christian art (see Pls 64, 65, 66). However, in his description of the apsidal Theophany, Douaihy often evoked the thurifer angels next to the divine majesty, as we have seen above.73 This suggests that the patriarch, who showed a particular interest in apsidal iconography, was familiar with several examples, in Lebanon or elsewhere, of angels offering incense and noted this configuration on several occasions.74
At Mar Semaan in Saqiet el-Kheit, the eastern wall was not large enough to develop the Theophany–Deesis, which is why the programme was spread across a part of both the northern and southern walls. On the eastern wall, only a fragment of the throne and part of the ochre honeycombed floor can be seen. On the south wall, there are faint traces of the clothing of a figure who must have been, according to custom, St John the Baptist. On the north wall, the silhouette of Mary, preceded by a six-winged thurifer angel, can be discerned. The main altar, which is made of a flattened stone block, rests on the east, south and north walls, at the edge of the Theophany–Deesis scene. Thus, the thurifer angel swings his censer over the holy table.
The gesture of the thurifer at Saqiet el-Kheit lends a sacramental aspect to the six-winged angel, as well as to the whole composition. The eucharistic connotation of the image clearly emanates from its location. The incensing performed by the angelic creature corresponds to that carried out by the officiant after the gifts have been placed on the altar.75 This shows that the celebrants of the liturgy of heaven officiate with the clergy of the earthly liturgy, as suggested by the prayers of the Small Entrance, the Great Entrance and the anaphora, through which the officiant implores God to send his heavenly ministers to celebrate the eucharistic liturgy with him.76 Based on the writings of Gregory the Great and Jacob of Sarug, Douaihy also affirmed that, during the consecration, the doors of heaven open to the voice of the officiating priest, and the angelic powers come to serve Jesus Christ with the earthly ministers.77 It is important to recall that certain prayers within the Syriac liturgy hold a significant meaning in this regard by referring to the heavenly powers as ministers of the rite of incense and the distribution of Christ’s body and blood.78 Moreover, the symbolism of the incense offering should not be overlooked, as it refers to both the sacrifice of the cross and the eucharistic sacrifice. In this way the incense offering is presented to God, just as the eucharistic offering is. This is well indicated by the prayers that accompany the act of incensing during the Holy Liturgy, as we have seen.79
In this perspective, there is no doubt that the six-winged angel carrying the censer in Saqiet el-Kheit replicates a gesture akin to the officiating cleric. By standing over the main altar and engaging in the act of incensing the earthly liturgy’s oblation, this celestial being attests to the eucharistic significance of the Theophany–Deesis, emphasising that the earthly liturgy is rooted in the celestial liturgy.
1.6 The Two Supplicants
The interpretation of the Virgin and the Forerunner has been often relegated to the end of time. However, Douaihy projected the invocation and mediation of these two major intercessors, both in liturgical texts and in iconography, in the present time preceding the Last Judgement, as he often put them at the service of the eucharistic liturgy.
In his commentary on the Divine Liturgy, Douaihy emphasised the effectiveness of the main intercessors in the worship life of the Church. He placed exceptional importance on them during the anaphora. The invocation of the Mother of God is essential during the eucharistic epiclesis and during the commemoration of the saints, in which she holds a privileged position, along with St John the Baptist and the protomartyr Stephen, at the head of all saints.80 Similarly, Douaihy praised John the Baptist by speaking of the sanctification of the eucharistic sacrifice:
All the prophets foretold the Incarnation of the eternal Word of God, but there is no greater than John the Baptist, among the children of women, because he showed him with his finger, saying: ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ Thus, all parts of the Holy Liturgy, as well as all elevations, show the presence of the Lord’s body forgiving sins on the altar. But the elevation that is referred to here and that sanctifies the sacraments is the most preferred and most sublime of all elevations, because through it and through the power of the Spirit the presence of the body of the Son of God and his precious blood are revealed to us.81
The special significance that Douaihy attributed to Mary and St John the Baptist in the eucharistic prayers also marked their treatment in apse iconography. For him, they are the preferred intercessors before the celestial throne. By placing Christ’s gesture of the apsidal Theophany–Deesis within the framework of the eucharistic blessing, the patriarch explicitly connected the invocation of the Virgin and the Forerunner to the sacrifice of the Church.82 It could be argued that this intercession is dedicated to the present time, since it is linked to the Divine Liturgy. This is what I propose to call liturgical, or more precisely eucharistic, intercession.
The close connection between the intercessors and the Eucharist is also evident in an excerpt in which Douaihy emphasised that, by portraying the Virgin and the Baptist on the iconostasis, people are invited to realise that the one offered on the altar is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.83 In another passage, Douaihy, without expressly naming the Virgin and St John the Baptist, considered that the saints represented with the divine majesty in the apsidal scene intercede on behalf of the faithful who participate in the eucharistic sacrifice with the priest. He explained that the depiction of ‘God Sabaoth’ in the apse serves to enable the priest to elevate his spirit and offerings towards God. Surrounding this representation, angels and saints are depicted to provide the faithful with the opportunity to seek their intercession and implore their help.84 This is clearly an actual imploration that complies with the demands of the ecclesiastical liturgy.
Douaihy often granted the role of intercessors in the worship life of the faithful to the figures of the Mother of God and the saints:
Finally, it is clear from what we have received from the Apostles and the Fathers who ordered the building of churches and the erection of altars and the painting of sacred images dedicated to the Mother of Salvation and the saints that we should have recourse to them in times of sorrow and ask for their help at the most urgent moment, hoping that through their intercessions, which are granted, the Lord will give us all that we ask of him. For this reason, the Church has established prayers, implorations and invocations for them, so that the faithful may gather in their churches and implore them with one heart and one mind.85
The liturgical indicators identified so far in the apsidal theophanies in Lebanon match the statements of Douaihy and point to the celebration of the eucharistic liturgy. Thus, the presence of the Virgin and the Baptist in these compositions, located above the holy table, where the unbloody sacrifice takes place, seems to respond to their liturgical invocation as privileged intercessors. However, it is imperative to examine the iconographic framework in which the Theophany–Deesis falls in the sanctuaries of the churches and hermitages in Lebanon before determining the nature or temporality of the intercession of Mary and John.
2 Iconographic Programmes
Before examining the syntax in which the apsidal Theophany–Deesis is anchored, I will carry out a brief review of each church’s main components and their meanings, in order to understand how this scene is articulated within the iconographic ensemble of the sanctuary and its surroundings.
2.1 Mar Tadros in Behdidat
2.1.1 The Theophany–Deesis
The Christ in Majesty is displayed in the apse of Mar Tadros (St Theodore) of Behdidat, guarded by two six-winged, one-faced creatures and surrounded by the two intercessors (see Pl. 4).86 He is seated on a large throne adorned with two cushions that are draped in a white fabric embellished with black and red stripes, possibly mirroring the contemporary local cotton or linen textile production.87 This seat, with no backrest and draped, may refer to the altar of sacrifice.88 From behind the throne, the four living creatures emerge; the six-winged angels standing beside it hold the standard with the thrice holy, suggesting their laudatory nature (see Pls 5, 6). The one to the right of Christ, with its eyeless wings, is named as a seraph, while the one to his left has multiple eyes and is named as a cherub.
The seraph and cherub should sing the anaphoric Trisagion here, as it is during this hymn that they sing together.89 Let us recall that some Eastern anaphoras – the Anaphora of Athanasius the Great, Macarius of Egypt, Cyril of Alexandria and St Mark – exclusively present, as in the painting of Behdidat, only one seraph and one cherub as singers of the anaphoric Trisagion.90 The depiction of Behdidat could be motivated by this kind of text. Moreover, the physiognomy of the cherub, which does not correspond to any scripture, could be explained by the liturgical texts, as shown above.91
These features argue in favour of a liturgical reading. In this vein, the presence of the Virgin and the Forerunner, standing on either side of the Lord in an attitude of supplication, could also reflect their mention as privileged intercessors during the Divine Liturgy, more precisely in the anaphoric prayer of intercession that concludes the epiclesis.
2.1.2 Emmanuel, the Sun, the Moon and the Divine Hand
In the centre of the apsidal arch, a medallion surrounded by precious stones contains the bust of Emmanuel (see Pls 11, 12). On either side of this central medallion are the personifications of the sun and the moon.92 These could, on the one hand, enhance the divinity of Christ by placing him in the transcendence of heaven93 and, on the other hand, contribute to placing the events that take place on the apsidal arch, as well as the Theophany–Deesis of the apse, in the perspective of the present time.94
The representation of Emmanuel in bust suggests his human nature, which can only be partially revealed.95 The circle of the medallion, which has neither end nor beginning, could signify his eternity. His figure comes from a prophecy from Isaiah (Is. 7:14–15) that evokes the Saviour in his mother’s womb before the Incarnation.96 In this way, the image of the juvenile Christ of Behdidat echoes the scene of the Annunciation, which unfolds in the middle part of the apsidal arch. A parallel can be seen in Mar Musa el-Habashi in Syria, where Emmanuel’s medallion, placed at the top of the triumphal arch, was framed by the two figures of the Annunciation (1208–1209).97 The same arrangement can be found in the church of the Panagia Arakiotissa in Lagoudera in Cyprus, where the medallion with Emmanuel at the apex of the triumphal arch separates the two central figures of the Annunciation placed within the dome’s pendentives (1192).98
The image of Emmanuel above the apse is very common, both in Byzantium and in the East.99 It is a reminder of the event of the Incarnation of the Word, repeated regularly in the eucharistic mystery.100 A manuscript from Constantinople, currently housed in the Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria in Turin and dated to the last third of the 11th century, provides a particularly striking illustration;101 a decorated letter ‘rho’ is used to emphasise the word
Above Emmanuel, at the very top of the apsidal arch, there is a small window with a red frame (see Pls 11, 12), which is currently blocked. It could have been used for ventilation or light,102 but it is very small to let the sun’s rays through. Douaihy informed us that this type of opening in the eastern wall was an order from the Church Fathers to suggest that God is the ‘Father of lights’.103 On either side of this window the hand of God emerges from the constellated orbit. The representation of the divine hand on the left corresponds to the sacrifice of Isaac, while the one on the right holds out the Law to Moses.
As a result, three theophanies have been grouped together in the axis of the Behdidat building, echoing each other: the Christ in Majesty of the Theophany–Deesis in the apse; Emmanuel inscribed in a medallion on top of the apsidal arch; and the divine hand at the top of the same arch. In the first Theophany, the priest appears, offering; in the second, the victim who is offered; and in the third, the divinity who receives the sacrifice.
2.1.3 Abraham and Moses
The two scenes over the figures of Gabriel and Mary of the Annunciation on the upper part of the arch of the apse are, respectively, Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac (see Pls 11, 13, 14) and Moses receiving the Ten Commandments (see Pls 11, 15).104 The apsidal image of the Theophany–Deesis was therefore framed by two Old Testament scenes, including that of Isaac, which directly refers to the eucharistic sacrifice. These two themes belong to an ancient iconographic tradition linked to liturgical spaces.105 A similar layout can be found on the arch of the southern apse of the chapel attached to the basilica of Mar Girgis in Rashkida (13th century)106 and in Mar Yakub in Qara, Syria (13th century).107
In Behdidat, Abraham, who points the knife towards his bound son, seems to intend his human sacrifice both for Emmanuel – the subject of the supreme sacrifice, depicted in the medallion at the top of the apsidal arch – and for the divine hand which dominates that image (see Pls 11, 12). The scene of the sacrifice of Isaac shows Abraham’s great faith in God as he prepares to sacrifice his only son to him, as well as Isaac’s deliverance by divine intervention.108 From a Christian perspective, this episode is a prefiguration of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, which thus obviously refers to the Eucharist.109 Abraham’s sacrifice is especially related to the eucharistic celebration, since it is one of the biblical paradigms evoked in the secret that immediately precedes the anaphora in the Liturgy of St James and of St Basil.110 Here, the priest asks God to accept his sacrifice, as he accepted the sacrifices of the Old Testament, while evoking the liturgical services of Moses and Aaron: ‘Lord our God […] accept this [sacrifice], as you accepted the offerings of Abel, the sacrifices of Noah, the burnt offerings of Abraham, the sacred services of Moses and Aaron, the peace offerings of Samuel […].’111 The representation of Isaac’s immolation in Behdidat appears to materialise the priest’s words from the anaphora and links the scene directly to the sacrifice of the altar.
Isaac, who foreshadows the crucified Christ,112 is depicted in a golden ochre tunic similar to that of Emmanuel. This creates a connection with the image of Emmanuel, which also portrays Christ as a sacrificial victim. Abraham, the priestly patriarch, is shown wearing an orange-ochre tunic with a red cloak, much like the attire of Christ in the Theophany–Deesis. The probable intention was to draw a comparison between the attire of Abraham, who serves as a model for priests,113 and the clothes of Christ in the apse, who presides over the liturgy, as well as between Isaac and Emmanuel, the subjects of the sacrifice. However, it is also important to keep in mind that the colour palette of the time was limited.
The second representation is that of Moses, with his two hands veiled under his mantle, receiving the Ten Commandments from the hand of God. The scene parallels Abraham’s sacrifice on the opposite side of the apsidal arch. The prophet Moses, standing, makes an upward movement, leaning his knee on a sort of stepped mountain showing stems of vegetation.114 With this representation the designer(s) of the iconographic programme of Behdidat recalled that the reception of the Ten Commandments was a hallowed act that took place on hallowed land: Mount Sinai.115 The sacred service was performed by Moses, who offered the sacrifice to God by going up the Sinaitic mountain and by erecting the altar under it as prescribed by divine prescription (Ex. 24:4–8), which is echoed by the main altar in Behdidat. Indeed, the holy table was announced by the Tablets of the Law, according to the Historia Ecclesiastica.116 From this perspective, the image of Moses receiving the tablets on Mount Sinai could refer to the sacred services of the prophet, to which the priest refers while presenting the eucharistic offering in the Liturgy of St James and of St Basil, while mentioning the holocausts of Abraham.117
Located on the upper part of the apsidal arch and above the actual altar, the images of Abraham preparing to sacrifice his son and of Moses obtaining the Ten Commandments seem to give substance, or serve as a visual support, to the words of the officiant during the anaphora, attesting to their connection on an iconographic and liturgical level. These two Old Testament episodes therefore strengthen the liturgical significance of the apsidal Deesis.118
2.1.4 The Annunciation
The two figures of the Annunciation, the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary, placed on the middle part on either side of the entrance arch of the apse, frame the Theophany–Deesis (see Pls 16, 17, 18).119 Like Christ in the apse, the Virgin is seated on a white fabric with black and red stripes.
The Annunciation,120 a fundamental event in the history of salvation, is often included in Byzantine and Eastern iconographic sanctuary programmes, especially on apsidal arches. The scene evokes the virginal conception and the mystery of the Incarnation, which initiates the story of the Redemption.121 This mystery is constantly repeated and actualised through the sacrifice of the Church,122 which is likely why this theme is commonly associated with the programme of the sanctuary, the place of the eucharistic sacrifice. According to the Protheoria, the deacon who separates the amnos from the prosphoron in the rite of the proskomide is equated with the angel who said ‘Ave’ to Mary at the Annunciation.123 Indeed, the proskomide symbolises the miraculous conception and the hidden life of the Saviour, according to the words of Nicholas of Andida.124 The Small Entrance prayer that opens the Divine Liturgy text in the Jerusalem scroll is accompanied by the Annunciation and Nativity scenes (see Fig. 11).125 This location is very significant, since these two scenes mark, like the prayer of the Small Entrance, the Saviour’s first coming into this world.126 Moreover, the Angelic Salutation is constantly recalled in the so-called intercessory prayer in the liturgies of Alexandria and Syria and is also found in certain Byzantine manuscripts containing the liturgies of St Basil and of John Chrysostom.127 As has been noted by Catherine Jolivet-Lévy, the relationship between the Annunciation and the intercession prayer in the liturgy could explain the juxtaposition of the Theophany–Deesis and the Annunciation on an iconographic level.128
The eucharistic celebration is the memorial or anticipation of the mystery of the Incarnation, which took place at the same moment as the Annunciation. The Infant depicted on the mantle of the Virgin in the renowned Russian icon of Novgorod, the Annunciation of Ustyug (c.1120–1130; Moscow, State Tretyakov Gallery), declares that the Incarnation occurred precisely during the Annunciation.129 The Lord becomes incarnate in the bread and wine, through the power of the Holy Spirit, in the same way he was once incarnated in the womb of the Virgin.130 It is in this sense that the celebrant asks God, during the consecration, ‘to realise the mystery of the Son: that He be born, or that this bread and wine be changed into the body and blood of Christ God’.131 The dove, depicted in Behdidat in Mary’s aureole and near her ear, could represent the liturgical epiclesis that is the call addressed to the Holy Spirit to come, through his divine operation, to consecrate the gifts presented by the Church.132 The image of the Annunciation could thus materialise the double incarnation of Christ: historical during the Annunciation; and sacramental during the Divine Liturgy.133
Even more significant from a liturgical point of view is the location of the Annunciation on the apsidal arch. This was the essential place devoted to the scene134 from at least the 11th century on.135 The arch of the apse, under which the priest enters carrying the eucharistic offering, symbolises the closed door of Ezekiel (Ezek. 44:1–2). This space is crossed only by Christ, an allusion to the virginal conception evoked by the Annunciation.136 The proposed symbolism suggests that the entry of the officiating priest carrying the eucharistic offering under the apsidal arch is assimilated to the entry of Christ into the womb of Mary at the very moment of the Annunciation. According to John of Damascus (d. 749), Mary is described as ‘the eastern door, which will give Christ entry and exit’.137
While acknowledging the multiple aspects of the Annunciation – historical, narrative, commemorative, dogmatic and others – it appears that the image and its placement in Behdidat hold rich liturgical symbolism that can complement and strengthen the liturgical nature of the Theophany–Deesis, for which it serves as a frame.
2.1.5 The Apostles
In the apse’s rounding the apostles are depicted standing frontally, under Seljuk arches adorned with chain-pattern motifs resting on columns with stylised Corinthian capitals (see Pls 9, 10).138 This architectural motif, which highlights the holy figures,139 could be a pictorial representation of the physical arches that run along apses and may thus reflect the grandeur of the liturgical spaces in large churches.140 It is worth noting that this motif of columns with arches, as well as the stylised geometric and vegetal patterns, scrolls and arabesques that adorn, for example, the rim of the apse conch, the throne of Christ and that of the Virgin and even the embroidered clothing worn by some figures, such as Daniel and Stephen, are also commonly found in Muslim art. Parallels can be seen in illustrations of Al-Hariri’s Maqāmāt, which showcase furnished and architectural backgrounds, and in the decoration of Mamluk architecture, wooden furniture and attire, among others.141
The arrangement of the apostles beneath the apsidal Theophany142 follows a long tradition dating back to the Early Christian era, as seen in the 7th-century paintings from the Bawit monastery in Egypt (see Figs 2, 3).143 All the apses in Lebanon that have preserved their pictorial decoration represent holy apostles or bishops and other standing saints in the first register.144 This is the case at Mar Sharbel al-Qadim in Maad (13th century),145 Deir es-Salib in the Houlat Valley (late 12th–early 13th centuries),146 Mar Phoca in Amiun (13th century),147 Mar Mitr in Kusba (12th century)148 and in the apse of the almost destroyed church of Mar Sarkis and Bakhos in Akkar el-Atiqa (12th–13th centuries).149 At the monastery of Mar Musa el-Habashi in Syria (13th century), the Virgin and Child stand between bishops in the apse rounding.150
Witnesses of the Incarnation,151 the apostles can attest to the dual human and divine nature of Christ enthroned in the apse.152 Their presence in the apsidal programme could be linked to their mention during the eucharistic commemoration, just like the Virgin and the Forerunner during the intercessory prayer following the epiclesis.153 Let us recall that Mary and John the Baptist were often placed in the centre of the apostolic college in the lower registers of the apse, before their definitive displacement towards the Theophany of the apsidal conch, as in the cases of St Simeon in the Zelve Valley and Haçlı Kilise, both in Cappadocia (see Fig. 27).154
The assembly of the apostles, founders of the Church, has been interpreted as a way of representing the earthly Church in prayer, especially when they are accompanied by the Marian figure.155 In Catalonia the apostles sometimes stand around the Virgin holding a chalice. Here, the Virgin is represented as an officiant raising the eucharistic offering.156 Along with the apostles, sometimes joined by prophets and bishops, Mary embodies the local Church gathered in her place of worship to celebrate the liturgy.157 There is no such explicit representation in Lebanon to reflect the ecclesiological meaning of the apostles, but the presence of thurifer deacons or bishops with the apostles clearly attests to their ecclesiological and liturgical value.
In Behdidat it is the protodeacon Stephen who stands next to the apostles on the south respond of the apsidal arch, carrying a thurible and pyxis that clearly link him to the eucharistic office. Stephen thus attests to the ecclesiological significance of the apostles, specifically their priestly function. Together, they represent the ecclesiastical community gathered around the altar to concelebrate the liturgy of worship.158 In this hypothesis the apsidal iconography of Behdidat could represent the superimposition of the two Churches in prayer: heavenly and earthly, united through the intermediary of the liturgy. The former is represented by the Theophany–Deesis and the latter by the apostolic college.
2.1.6 Stephen and Daniel
The two figures that follow the assembly of the apostles on the responds of the apse arch are the protodeacon and protomartyr Stephen and the prophet Daniel (see Pls 19, 20).159
Stephen was the most popular deacon in the Christian East.160 He holds a significant position in Eastern liturgies, such as the Syriac Liturgy of St James, the Jacobite Liturgy of St Cyriacus of Nisibis161 and the Coptic liturgy,162 in which his name is mentioned before that of St John the Baptist.163 Therefore, the choice to present the protodeacon Stephen at Behdidat could be related both to his widespread veneration and to his special position in the liturgy.
The placement of deacons at the entrance of the sanctuary is customary in Byzantine and Eastern Christian art. It is primarily their liturgical service that grants them this prominent position.164 Here, Stephen is well-dressed in deacon’s vestments (see Pl. 20): a red sticharion (dalmatic) decorated with different patterns and a light-coloured orarion adorned with red Latin crosses, worn diagonally in the manner of Latin deacons, visually highlighting the attachment of the Maronite church, particularly that of Behdidat, to the Roman Church.165 With his right hand Stephen swings a censer with three chains, while in his left he carries a pyxis, closely linked to the eucharistic liturgy. As such, he should perform his duties as a protodeacon by assisting the apostles in their liturgical office.
As for Daniel, he is one of the four great visionary prophets of the Old Testament and thus considered a witness or visionary of the apsidal Theophany (see Pl. 19).166 Presented in prayer between two lions,167 Daniel perhaps illustrates the power and strength of prayer, which repeatedly saved him. This is why he was often associated with prayers for the deceased.168 However, at Behdidat, Daniel, like Stephen, extends the assembly of apostles, as if their tasks were somehow combined. At Deir es-Salib in the Houlat Valley, Daniel also completes the assembly of the apostles, bishops and deacons in the northern apse.169 The Prophet Elijah stands with apostles and bishops in the apse of Mar Elias en-Nahr (St Elijah on the River) at Kfar Qahel.170 This iconographic formula can be traced back to the Early Christian period, as demonstrated by the depiction of Ezekiel in a central position among the apostles on the apse wall of chapel XLV in Bawit.171
While the figures of the apostles attest to New Testament priesthood, the prophet Daniel should represent Old Testament priesthood.172 Moreover, the depiction of Stephen wearing diaconal vestments, holding a pyxis and swinging the censer gives this assembly a distinctly clerical tone and lends it, without a doubt, a liturgical value. The apostles, the prophet and the protomartyr represent an image of the earthly Church in prayer and appear to be prominent examples of ministers of the earthly liturgy. This equivalence would become evident when the local clergy of Behdidat would gather in the apse, around the main altar, to celebrate the liturgy of worship.173
2.1.7 St Theodore and St George
The north and south walls of the choir depict St Theodore – as patron of the church – and St George, riding horses (see Pls 21, 26). They come immediately after the prophet Daniel and St Stephen.174 However, their images are significantly larger in size compared to those of Stephen, Daniel and the apostles, indicating that Theodore and George are not part of the group of the apostles, protodeacon and prophet displayed in the first row of the apse and on the responds of the apse arch. This difference in size could be intended to create a visual distinction between the liturgical space and the space designated for the faithful.
From the 9th and 10th centuries it was common to see St Theodore depicted alongside St George, and this became a popular iconography starting in the 11th century,175 as seen in Göreme at Saklı Kilise,176 Yusuf Koç Kilisesi177 and church no. 20.178 At Behdidat Theodore, riding a red horse, grips the reins with his left hand, while he uses his right hand to wield a lance and strike down a serpentine monster with a human head (see Pl. 22),179 symbolising the triumph of good over evil.180 As for George, he rides a white horse, holding a lance in his left hand and reins in his right, which also holds a child dressed in an Eastern type of trousers, a sirwal (see Pl. 27). The child is associated with the miracle performed by St George for the youth of Mytilene, also named George.181 This is the most popular iconography of St George in areas that were under the rule of, or in conflict with, Muslim rulers.182 The young boy was taken into slavery and sent to Crete, where he was appointed cupbearer to the emir.183 Responding to his mother’s plea, St George freed the child from slavery and brought him home on his birthday, which coincided with that of the saint.184 The depiction of St George above a sea full of fish symbolises his journey across the sea to free the child and reunite him with his family. At Behdidat, the child holds a cup and a ewer, representing his former enslavement, and wears a white mandil with red stripes, draped over one side of his chest and around his arm. The female slave cupbearer in a manuscript of the Kitab fi Maʾrifat al-Hiyal al-Handasiya by Al-Jazari of 1354 AD (Cambridge, MA, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, 1919.138r) also clasps a mandil in her hand.185 In fact, the mandil, or kerchief, draped over the shoulders or carried in the hands, was worn across social classes and stood out as a distinctive feature of Mamluk attire.186
The tradition of placing equestrian saints187 at the entrance of the sanctuary dates back to the Early Christian period, but it became rare during the Byzantine Middle Ages.188 However, the practice remained widely observed in the Levant, where figures of holy riders are frequently oriented towards the apse and depicted close to it.189 Theodore and George were highly venerated saints in Lebanon and throughout the region.190 Their presence at the entrance to the sanctuary may be due to their devotional value, given their great popularity, or to their apotropaic value as defenders of the sacred space.191 However, the choice of depicting St Theodore at Behdidat is primarily due to his patronage of the church. In the iconographic tradition Theodore and George were often associated and represented together, hence the presence of his confrère George on the opposite wall at Behdidat.192
Theodore and George, who stand at the entrance of the sanctuary, do not have, in my opinion, any liturgical value. Known for their apotropaic and protective powers, they are above all defenders of the sacred space and protectors of the faithful.193 If they were linked to the liturgy, it would undoubtedly be through prayers of intercession, but nothing directly links them to the sacrifice. It is obvious that the further one gets from the sanctuary, the more the images deviate from the functional perspective of the liturgical space.
2.1.8 The Lay Supplicants
Each of the holy riders of Behdidat is accompanied by an individual image of a lay supplicant who must have been involved in the construction or decoration of the church in some way.194 The one accompanying the bearded St Theodore is a small figure of a bearded man kneeling in the Latin manner of prayer and extending his arms towards the holy rider (see Pls 24, 25). Wearing a beard in the Latin states of the Levant was not exclusively reserved for individuals of Eastern descent. Rather, it held symbolic significance as a representation of virility and authority, adopted by men regardless of their social status, ethnic origins or religious beliefs.195 This is evident from the depictions of such influential figures as Baldwin of Boulogne, King of Jerusalem (1100–1118), and Tancred, Prince of Antioch (1100–1103, 1105–1112), which provide evidence that the practice of having a beard was widely acknowledged and embraced in the region.196 As for his hands in prayer, they are slightly separated, a custom that was becoming less popular in the Western tradition, but remained prevalent among Eastern Christians during that era. The Latin supplicants depicted on the columns of the church of the Nativity in Bethlehem adopt a similar posture of prayer, kneeling with hands slightly apart and gently raised.197 Beseeching St Theodore, the male individual is shown in a three-quarter pose, wearing a dark sleeveless coat that reveals the fitted sleeves of a white tunic underneath.198 A red stripe runs down from his left shoulder, gradually widening toward the end. While this stripe may have signified social, religious or ethnic identity, it most likely represents a mandil, a garment that held a prominent place in Mamluk dress, as noted just above for the youth of Mytilene, and reflected the cultural traditions and sartorial practices of the time. The male supplicant also wears a black skullcap199 with a white under-cap, or coiffe.200 This white headpiece, conceived in Europe, was a type of cap made of silk, cotton or linen and was designed to fit snugly on the head, often tied under the chin. It was worn by people of all social classes, with the only distinction being the material used for it.201 The coiffe was also used in the Levant starting in the 13th century,202 as evidenced, among other examples, by the figure of Michael Katzouroubes, the founder of the church of St Demetrianos in Dali, Cyprus, in 1317, who wears a dark red skullcap with a white coiffe.203 Furthermore, three Maronite infants discovered within the Asi-l-Hadath grotto in the Qadisha Valley, dating back to the 13th century, were wearing coiffes.204 This item likely made its way into the Latin states of the Levant as a result of the flourishing fabric trade and the presence of European textile artisans, garment makers and artists.
The lay supplicant accompanying the image of St George is a child, probably in line with the iconography of the youth of Mytilene saved by St George (see Pl. 28).205 The child supplicant is shown beneath the horse’s belly as a small standing figure, facing forwards. His hands are open-palmed and placed in front of his chest in a prayer-like position. He is dressed in a parti-coloured red and blue tunic with a brown belt around his waist; this follows the Western European fashion known as mi-parti, which emerged in the 12th century and became the height of fashion throughout the Middle Ages.206 This type of clothing was also seen in the East, as exemplified by several pictorial testimonies from the 13th century onwards, such as the one of 1272 with the sons of Queen Keran (see Fig. 24)207 and one of a young Latin boy depicted in the narthex of the church of the Panagia Phorbiotissa in Asinou, Cyprus (c.1300).208 In the church of the Archangel Michael in Sarakina on Crete, the young captive freed by St George is wearing a half-white, half-red garment (14th century).209 The frontal stance of the child supplicant of Behdidat may serve to emphasise his mi-parti tunic. However, the child’s full-frontal position stands in contrast to the three-quarter posture of the adult supplicant who kneels before St Theodore. The child’s frontality gives the impression that he is addressing the spectators, the faithful of the church, engaging them in his prayers instead of directing them and himself towards the sacred figure depicted above him, with whom he shares the same pictorial space. In this vein, the child himself becomes an object of veneration. One may speculate if the depicted child is deceased, as the frontal pose with hands placed over the chest in prayer or crossed is often associated with funerary figures.210
Although the tunic worn by the child supplicant and the white coiffe worn by the adult supplicant may suggest a Western tradition, it is difficult to attribute these garments definitively to a single cultural identity. This is because, during the period of Latin domination, Lebanon was home to various ethnic and religious communities who engaged in frequent and complex interactions with each other, resulting in a mutual exchange of fashion and ideas. These articles of clothing can be viewed as evidence of the presence of Western fashion in the Lebanese space, specifically in Behdidat, reflecting an openness to external cultural trends. However, the symbol of a red eagle with outstretched wings adorning the red leggings of St George could be seen as a declaration of ethnic and cultural identity. A symbol of power and strength,211 the eagle with outstretched wings was a prominently used emblem of several Latin families in the Latin East, especially in ecclesiastical pictorial commissions.212 For instance, in the icon of St Nicholas commissioned by a Frankish knight to be displayed in the church of St Nicholas tis Stegis in Kakopetria, Cyprus (1300), the knight’s horse, shield and surcoat feature the symbol of an eagle with outstretched wings.213 One might wonder if this eagle motif could suggest Latin patronage in Behdidat and consequently a Latin identity to the depicted lay supplicants. Regardless, it is evident that the message of the family lineage was intended to be visible and recognisable to the observing audience.
As for the ‘zunnar’, the belt worn by the child, this is typically associated with Christians living under Muslim rule.214 In this context, the depiction may represent a Christian child taken captive in a territory under Muslim control. The child is shown appealing to St George for liberation, as George had freed the youth of Mytilene, an image that could symbolically represent all Christian children enslaved in Muslim lands. It seems, however, that a family tie could link the two supplicants of Behdidat: a father may have chosen to be depicted with his son, his male heir. This implies that their individual images not only reflect a yearning for the benevolence of the holy soldiers to whom they are attached, but may also be charged with social and political motivations.
2.1.9 The Crosses of the Nave
On the north, south and west walls of the nave, three red crosses are painted (see Pls 29, 30, 31).215 The two-barred cross on the southern wall, flanked by two smaller Latin crosses, likely referencing the two thieves crucified alongside Christ, bears the Greek inscription ‘IC XC’ between its arms, identifying it as a symbol of Christ.216 While the two-barred form evokes the True Cross, it may also signify high ecclesiastical authority, possibly of a patriarchal rank.217 In contrast, the frame surrounding the cross depicted on the western wall suggests secular or political authority. It retains rosette motifs and, notably, features stylised fleurs-de-lis that may evoke a heraldic emblem, potentially linked to a French noble lineage, given the fleur-de-lis’s strong association with French royal and aristocratic heraldry. These elements raise compelling questions about the identity and intentions of the church’s patrons – perhaps the very supplicants portrayed in its painted programme – and whether the decorative scheme was intended to express the allegiance of the Maronite Church of Behdidat or its patrons to the political power of the Frankish rulers of the region.
Whatever the case, cross motifs are common to both Eastern and Western Christian traditions and are closely associated with the consecration of churches. During the building’s consecration ceremony, the bishop used a mould imprinted with the cross to draw it on the walls, typically with a mixture of myrrh and red pigment. According to Douaihy:
The Church has ordered the sign of the cross to be inscribed on the walls of churches, on altars and their cloths, on priestly vestments, on the railings, on the hosts and on everything that is offered to God, so that we may know that it belongs to God and has been marked with his seal. It is important not to build a new church before the bishop first erects a cross on the chosen location, like the way army leaders, after winning a victory, erect the king’s banner on the place they have conquered.218
2.1.10 Synthesis
The image of the Theophany–Deesis in Behdidat reveals the presence of Christ and his angels in his earthly dwelling, emphasised by the anaphoric preface. The scene serves to materialise the words spoken during the anaphora, enabling the clergy and the faithful to ascend mystically to celestial realms. This implies a nuanced correlation with the primary purpose of the location.
The themes surrounding the Theophany–Deesis reinforce its liturgical meaning to different extents. The sacrifice of Isaac and the depiction of Emmanuel obviously convey the theme of sacrifice, echoing the sacrifice on the altar. The protodeacon Stephen holding the pyxis and swinging the censer at the apse entrance further serves this purpose. The Annunciation in the middle of the apsidal arch could also correspond to this eucharistic symbolism, albeit less strongly than the immolation of Isaac. Although the reception of the Ten Commandments by Moses is a sacred act, its liturgical interpretation referring directly to the eucharistic sacrifice remains uncertain. The ecclesiological meaning introduced by the assembly of apostles, the protodeacon Stephen and the prophet Daniel could to some extent reinforce the liturgical significance of the Theophany–Deesis. Moreover, this grouping emphasises the ecclesiological aspect of the apsidal Theophany, insofar as it represents the heavenly Church concelebrating with the earthly Church. The first Church stands above the second, which is lined up horizontally below a series of arcaded columns, so that the terrestrial Church supports the celestial one.
The complete absence of iconographic elements referring to the end of time and the Last Judgement in the Behdidat apsidal programme and its surroundings reinforces the liturgical symbolism of the Theophany–Deesis. The intercession of the Virgin and the Baptist is thus anchored in the present time and probably in daily liturgical practice.
The liturgical meaning of these images becomes less evident outside of the liturgical space. As such, the placement of the holy horsemen, Theodore and George, known for their miraculous and protective qualities, is appropriate. They are the guardians of the sacred space, fighting evil and defending the faithful. Two supplicants, likely a father and son, are depicted in prayerful poses before the saintly horsemen, adding a secular and devotional sense to the religious symbolism of the sacred image. These two individuals could have been involved in the church’s construction or decoration, which would explain why they were given the privilege of including their bodily images in the church’s iconographic programme. This may indicate that they had a certain level of wealth and were able to finance the work. Moreover, their inclusion as secular individuals in the religious programme of the church reveals their multifaceted spiritual and worldly desires. By being portrayed alongside saints, they aspire to ensure the perpetuity of their prayers, memory and presence among saints. Simultaneously, their bodily images, serving as tools for self-expression and propaganda, reflect the self-consciousness of these two characters and convey their gender, age, identity, social status, power and aspirations in the context of divine patronage.
Perhaps the motif of the eagle with outstretched wings included in the scene featuring the child could be considered as the family’s coat of arms, thus revealing the identity of both supplicants to the public of the church of Behdidat. It is important to recall that the emblem of the eagle with outstretched wings held a significant position among numerous Latin families in the Latin East, especially in the context of ecclesiastical pictorial commissions. In fact, wealthy aristocratic families who were actively involved in the construction or ornamentation of religious structures were often keen on highlighting their heraldic emblems. Their goal went beyond mere decoration; it was an endeavour to propagate and celebrate their lineage, leaving a lasting impact on both contemporary and future audiences. Seen in this perspective, the fleurs-de-lis motifs framing the cross on the western wall of the nave may point to Latin involvement in the church’s decoration. These emblems could indicate the Latin identity of Behdidat’s patrons or, alternatively, reflect an expression of allegiance, either by the patrons or the broader Behdidat community, to the political authority of the Frankish rulers in the region, from whom they may have actively sought protection.
The clothing worn by the two supplicants has elements of Western European fashion that were found in the East. In contrast, the clothing of the youth of Mytilene features Eastern dress. In fact, the church of Behdidat stands out for its unusual emphasis on ornamentation, with architectural, geometric and vegetal motifs that have parallels in various configurations in buildings that are both religious and secular, Christian and Muslim, in both the Eastern and Western worlds. All of this reflects the eclectic and open-minded spirit of the patrons and designers of Behdidat.
2.2 Saydet el-Kharayeb in Kfar Helda
2.2.1 The Theophany–Deesis
The Christ in Majesty is depicted at the centre of the apsidal conch in Saydet el-Kharayeb (Our Lady of the Ruins) in Kfar Helda, flanked by two angelic beings, each with six wings and a single face (see Pl. 34).219 The composition is further framed by the Virgin and St John the Baptist (see Pls 40, 41). The Lord is seated on a cushioned throne with a rectangular backrest. The throne is supported by the busts of the four evangelists, of which only John’s eagle and the abbreviation of Matthew’s name remain. The draped seat with a striped fabric, on which Christ, the object of sacrifice, rests, may resemble an altar covered with a liturgical cloth,220 hinting at the local textile production.221
The two angelic guardians of the heavenly altar are depicted as liturgical singers holding a banner with the triple hagios. The Syriac inscription refers to the being on the left, with eyeless wings, as the ‘six-winged seraph’ (see Pl. 38), while the one on the right, with multiple eyes, is known as the ‘many-eyed cherub’ (see Pls 36, 37). The liturgical terms used to describe them suggest that both angels are singing the liturgical Trisagion, specifically the one that precedes the anaphora.222 It is worth noting that cherubim and seraphim only join together in praising the holiness of the Eternal One in the preface of the anaphora. Additionally, the depiction of the cherub in Kfar Helda differs from the description of cherubim in the scriptures, suggesting an inspiration from liturgical texts instead.223
The Theophany–Deesis of Kfar Helda is thus distinguished by its specific features related to the anaphora, which imbue it with strong liturgical symbolism and make it an essential reference for interpreting apsidal theophanies. The image suggests that the idea proposed in some liturgical and exegetical texts that the heavenly Church participates in the earthly liturgy has been applied to visual representation, allowing for the interpretation of works that may lack explicit signs. The positioning of the Virgin and the Forerunner, slightly inclined towards Christ and with their hands raised in prayer, likely signifies their role as intercessors during the Divine Liturgy, particularly during the anaphora, and is connected to the present.
2.2.2 The Officiating Bishops and the Two Figures of Saints
A fragment of a heavily worn painting on the north wall beside the entrance to the apse reveals a bishop in three-quarter view wearing an omophorion around his neck and unrolling a phylactery, depicting the iconographic type of St John Chrysostom (see Pl. 42).224 Additionally, part of a halo is visible further along the same wall, suggesting the presence of a figure of a saint, along with the right side of St Domatius (see Pl. 43).225 Although heavily damaged, the two holy figures appear noticeably larger than the bishop, who stands at the entrance of the apse.
2.2.2.1 The Officiating Bishops
The presence of John Chrysostom, author of the eucharistic liturgy, on the north wall at the entrance to the apse is highly significant (see Pl. 42). Heading towards the apse and unrolling a phylactery that, according to custom, should contain secret prayers recited by the officiant during the Divine Liturgy,226 the bishop here proves his quality as officiant and therefore his participation in the eucharistic ceremony. Indeed, this prelate position is typical of scenes of Officiating Bishops that clarify the pivotal event of the ecclesiastical liturgy for the faithful.227 Placed next to the altar, this configuration can only resonate with the terrestrial liturgy and therefore enhance the eucharistic value of the apsidal Theophany–Deesis.
Traditionally, the procession of Officiating Bishops is presided over by Basil of Caesarea and John Chrysostom.228 This suggests that in Kfar Helda Basil was either positioned as a complement to John’s image on the opposite wall or came after him on the same wall.229 Due to the limited space between the figure of John Chrysostom and the other two holy figures depicted on the north wall, only one additional figure could have been included. This constraint also applies to the opposite (south) wall, between the presumed portrayal of Basil the Great and the Nativity scene. Moreover, the motif of Officiating Bishops in Byzantine programmes often follows the Communion of the Apostles on the apse wall. St Panteleimon in Gorno Nerezi, North Macedonia (1164), is one of the most emblematic examples.230 It is likely that the apse of Kfar Helda also featured a Communion of the Apostles, but the limited space within it made it impossible to show the scene of Officiating Bishops. As a result, they were portrayed at the entrance of the apse.
In the late 11th century the theme of Officiating Bishops, showing church prelates performing the eucharistic service, emerged in the apses of Byzantine churches, taking the place of the frontal placement of bishops holding a closed book.231 It went on to gain greater prevalence, particularly in the mid-12th century.232 However, this subject was not very common in the Christian East, where the frontal representation of bishops was generally preferred.233 The church of Mar Elias in Maaret Saydnaya, Syria, dating from the end of the 12th century to the third quarter of the 13th, provides the closest example to the Lebanese space.234 In the Kfar Helda programme, the depiction of officiant bishops in the liturgical space is reminiscent of Byzantine programmes. Note that the paintings were executed with a typically Byzantine technique.235 As an officiant, St John Chrysostom in Kfar Helda serves as a model for priests celebrating the earthly liturgy. The purpose of his image in the Holy of Holies is to give tangible form to the religious practices that take place within it.236
2.2.2.2 The Two Saints
The inscription that identifies the partially destroyed figure on the north wall indicates it as St Domatius, a highly revered figure among all Christian denominations in Lebanon (see Pl. 43). The companion figure that was once depicted alongside him, now almost entirely destroyed, is believed to be his brother, Maximus.237 This hypothesis is supported by several versions of his hagiography in the Coptic, Syrian and Melkite Orthodox traditions, which connect his life closely with that of his brother.238 Domatius and Maximus are depicted together under an arch on the northern wall of the nave of the church of St Anthony in the monastery of St Anthony of the Red Sea (1232–1233).239
In contrast to the officiating bishop shown moving towards the apse, St Domatius, and likely the accompanying saint as well, are portrayed facing forward and on a larger scale. This creates a contrast – in terms of size and posture – between the figure of the officiating bishop standing at the entrance to the apse and those of the two frontal saints following on the same wall. This visual distinction indicates that the two frontal saints are not directly involved in the actions of the officiating bishop. It appears that the designers of the programme intended to differentiate their roles by using this method. The themes depicted in the apse and its immediate surroundings are invested with liturgical meaning, and in many cases their eucharistic value is highly significant, as in the theme of Officiating Bishops. As one moves away from the Holy of Holies, the connection to the altar liturgy diminishes or is no longer present.
In this sense, the presence of St Domatius and his companion saint in the vicinity of the Officiating Bishops and the liturgical space is not necessarily linked to the liturgy, although some saints may be invoked in intercessory prayers. Rather, their representation must be related to the devotion of the worshippers and the preferences of the patrons. Saints are recognised for their role as intercessors with God, protectors of the faithful and also for their abilities to ward off evil and perform miracles. Regarding Domatius, he is known to have been a deacon and ascetic with healing powers.240
2.2.3 The Nativity
On the southern wall of the nave (see Pls 44, 45, 46), there is a Nativity scene that faces the figures of Domatius and the saint standing by his side on the north wall. Mar Semaan in Saqiet el-Kheit241 and Saydet el-Haqleh242 in Bsarma also feature images of the Nativity.
The Nativity carries historical significance, as it portrays the actual birth of Christ and also serves a didactic and narrative purpose by portraying a scene from the Gospel. In Byzantine iconographic programmes the Nativity is often featured as part of the narrative cycle of Christ’s life, which also includes his childhood and the main events of the Redemption.243 This moment marks a turning point in the history of Salvation, as the Messiah is revealed and recognised as human. The Church views the Nativity as a theophany, symbolising the first appearance of Christ in this world.244 It is in this sense that the prayer of the Small Entrance, which holds the same symbolism and opens the text of the Holy Liturgy in the Jerusalem liturgical manuscript (Hagios Stavros 109), is accompanied by images of the Annunciation and Nativity (see Fig. 11).245
The Nativity, also known as Christmas, holds a prominent position in the Byzantine liturgical calendar, alongside Easter. While the Nativity of Kfar Helda could have been part of the Christological cycle, or Dodekaorton, it appears that the programme of this church includes only an image of the Officiating Bishops and two frontal saints on the northern wall; additionally, a scene at the entrance to the apse, probably presenting an officiating bishop, precedes the image of the Nativity on the south wall and is now completely destroyed. As a result, the pictorial decoration concludes with Domatius on the north wall and the Nativity on the south wall, with the red borders on the plaster marking the programme’s end.
The Nativity celebrates not only the birth of the Lord, but also the divine motherhood of Mary, to whom the church of Kfar Helda is dedicated, and the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word of God.246 According to the liturgical commentary of the Historia Ecclesiastica, the mystery of the eternal and temporal birth of the divine Logos is continuously renewed and made present in the church. During the anaphora, the celebrant prays for God to bring about the mystery of the birth of the Son on the altar, through the bread and wine.247 Moreover, the Nativity has strong liturgical connections to the rites performed in the sanctuary, starting with Bethlehem’s Aramaic name, meaning ‘the house of bread’, and also Christ proclaiming himself as ‘the bread which came down out of heaven’ (John 6:41).248 During the Nativity, the Gloria was sung by the angels and it was incorporated into the church’s liturgy: the angels sing it in concert with the faithful during the eucharistic service.249
The symbolic language on which the iconography of the Nativity is based is significant, but unfortunately is no longer extant in Kfar Helda. The black crib the Child and his mother stand in front of, which prefigures the Descent into Limbo and the Resurrection, is compared to the altar of sacrifice.250 The liturgical homilies of Timothy of Jerusalem indicate that the cave where the Messiah was born foreshadows the church, where the celebration of the holy mysteries takes place.251 The Child’s crib is compared to the Tomb of Christ and the altar,252 so in some examples, like at the church in Bsarma, the crib takes the form of a stone altar. The bath scene, which usually accompanies the Nativity scene, but has been destroyed in Kfar Helda or may never have existed, usually takes the form of a chalice. The gifts carried by the Magi prefigure the perfumes carried by the holy women to the Tomb of Christ and the eucharistic offering.253 The Magi and shepherds were considered prototypes of the ecclesiastical community, who come to the true Bethlehem – the church, the heavenly crib of the Son of God – to celebrate the body of Christ.254 As a result, the image of the Nativity is enhanced with signs and symbols that suggest the Eucharist, and it is reasonable to assume that its proximity to the apse programme of Kfar Helda is due to its liturgical significance. However, by placing this scene opposite to the figure of Domatius, a new dimension of meaning can be added. Domatius, renowned for his prophylactic and healing abilities, enhances the significance of the Nativity scene, which honours the divine motherhood of Mary, the Theotokos. Mary can be viewed as a potent symbol of intercession for women seeking to conceive and as a powerful protector of women during the process of pregnancy and childbirth.255 In this context, the Nativity may also be associated with the patronage of the church dedicated to ‘Our Lady’.
2.2.4 Synthesis
The liturgical adjectives – ‘six-winged’ and ‘many-eyed’ – defining the seraph and the cherub, the physiognomy of the latter and their laudatory quality as cantors of the Trisagion are more than enough to place the apsidal Theophany–Deesis of Kfar Helda at the service of the eucharistic liturgy. This suggests that the intercession of Mary and St John the Baptist should be given a liturgical interpretation and that their imploration is related to the present. This eucharistic aspect of the apsidal Theophany–Deesis is also revealed through the associated themes, especially the Officiating Bishops standing at the entrance to the apse. While the Nativity has a broad semantic field, it could be linked to the altar sacrifice due to its eucharistic connotations, although its liturgical meaning is not as obvious as the bishops officiating the Eucharist. By celebrating Mary’s motherhood, the Nativity could also be associated with the church’s dedication to Our Lady and serve as a tribute to her role as a guardian of women during childbirth. The portrayal of saintly figures in the church, such as Domatius and the saint depicted by his side, is not directly related to the liturgy. Other factors, such as patrons’ personal preferences, local veneration, the figures’ reputation as healers of the faithful and their role as intercessors, among other things, may explain their representation.
2.3 Saydet Naya in Kfar Shleiman
2.3.1 Christ in Majesty
The Christ in Majesty dominates the entire eastern half of the ceiling of the rock-cut chapel of Saydet Naya (Our Lady of Naya) in Kfar Shleiman (see Pls 48, 49).256 He is seated on a throne with a wide, star-covered backrest, which is upheld by the four living creatures, although only the faces of the angel and the lion are still visible. The celestial cathedra was originally meant to be supported by two angelic creatures, but only the one on the left remains, depicted as a six-winged angel with a single face (see Pl. 50). Two discs representing the sun and moon frame the head of Christ. The remaining portion of the ceiling is adorned with a simple starry design.
The star pattern, along with the sun and moon, may suggest the current temporal nature of the divine presence and allows for the rejection of the commonly held notion of an eschatological vision in favour of an actual Theophany. The personification of the sun and the moon in Kfar Shleiman could be inspired by their quality of praising the Lord in numerous biblical and liturgical texts.257
The only remaining angelic creature that upholds the heavenly throne appears at the base of the cathedra with six eyeless wings, like the seraphim described by Isaiah. However, it is the cherubim who bear the responsibility of carrying the divine throne and facilitating its vertical movement (Ps. 17:11). This iconography can find its rational in the liturgical passages in which the tasks of the cherubim and seraphim are often conflated, with the six wings of the seraph being attributed to the cherubim.258 Moreover, certain prayers suggest that seraphim could also assume the task of the cherubim by supporting the throne of God. For instance, an Akathist hymn from the mid-7th century attributes the cherubim’s role to the seraphim: ‘Rejoice, most holy dwelling of him who sits above the seraphim.’259 In this vein, the angelic creature in question could be interpreted as either a cherub or a seraph.
The living creatures and the two angelic creatures were responsible for moving the celestial throne from the kingdom of heaven to the earthly Church, ensuring its vertical mobility. The two angelic creatures can be seen as the two engines of the divine quadriga, which is harnessed to the four living creatures. Although the four living creatures could possibly participate in the praise of the Lord, as seen in some Coptic and Cappadocian examples,260 the absence of iconographic or epigraphic evidence supporting this function makes the hypothesis uncertain.
2.3.2 The Theophany–Deesis
The upper section of the eastern wall of Kfar Shleiman features a Theophany–Deesis, which is limited to the trimorphon (see Pl. 51). Christ holds a book in his left hand, revealing himself as the Word of God. With his right hand, he makes the gesture of speech immediately above the altar, indicating that he is standing behind it, like a priest performing the eucharistic blessing (see Pl. 52). The presence of deacons on either side of the altar confirms his priesthood (see Pl. 54). The designer of the artwork likely intended to underscore the idea that Christ himself descends from his kingdom to perform the eucharistic blessing. This idea connects the Theophany–Deesis in Kfar Shleiman to the primary function of the place, that is, the eucharistic liturgy and particularly the anaphora during which the species are consecrated. The liturgical dimension places the scene in the context of the present time. The Virgin and John the Baptist stand on either side of Christ, at the level of the real altar, not as eschatological intercessors, but to implore his mercy during the Divine Liturgy.261
2.3.3 The Thurifer Deacons
Two deacons stand on either side of the high altar, below the figures of the Virgin and St John the Baptist (see Pls 51, 54).262 Despite their poor state of preservation, the three chains of the censer and the top of a pyxis displayed by the deacon on the north side of the altar are still visible. The deacons holding the censer with the host box create a meaningful connection to the incensing of the gifts on the altar, strongly indicating their association with the ritual act of the eucharistic celebration. The deacons at Kfar Shleiman seem to function as assistants to both Christ the priest and to the earthly celebrant during the Holy Liturgy.
2.3.4 The Galaktotrophousa
On the north wall, to the left of the Theophany–Deesis, the image of the Galaktotrophousa (see Pls 53, 55),263 or the Virgin nursing the Child, stands as a unique example in medieval Lebanese painting,264 but it is a widespread iconographic theme in the Christian East, particularly in Egypt.265 The closest instances are found in the church of the Nativity at Bethlehem (1130)266 and at Mar Sarkis and Bakhos in Qara (late 12th century).267
This representation allows for multiple interpretations, with the prevailing view suggesting that it evokes the Incarnation of the Divine Word.268 It affirms the divine maternity of Mary, who nursed the Son of God, emphasising his human nature. The divine Child suckles from his mother like any other child in this world. Thus, John of Damascus said of Mary: ‘You are truly more precious than all creation, for from you alone the Creator received the first fruits of our human matter. His flesh was made of your flesh, his blood of your blood; God was nourished by your milk.’269
In addition, the Galaktotrophousa has been given a eucharistic interpretation.270 This was emphasised by a number of theologians, including Clement and Cyril of Alexandria.271 According to Clement of Alexandria, milk is only blood coloured white, certifying the motherhood of each woman and, of course, the motherhood of Mary, the Mother of God. As a virgin, Mary could not have milk for her child, so the milk with which she breastfed her newborn baby came from God. Thus, milk is the Divine Word itself. The Church is also assimilated to the Virgin, and, from this perspective, the Church nurses her children with sacred milk, which is none other than the body of Christ.272 Cyril of Alexandria, who declared that milk is the blood of the Logos, repeated these ideas by explaining that God granted Mary the milk in her breasts in the heavens.273
One might say that the Galaktotrophousa is an incarnation of the earthly Church, which, like Mary, nourishes the faithful with the sacred Milk, which is the Incarnate Logos. The Incarnation of the Eternal Word is constantly renewed on the main altar. Like the altar or the priest carrying the body of the Lord,274 Mary carries the divine Son, the Eucharist of the Church. It is probably this eucharistic sense that inspired its placement to the left of the high altar275 and the Theophany–Deesis; the nursing Virgin thus creates a compelling argument that reinforces the liturgical dimension of the two theophanies of Kfar Shleiman.
2.3.5 Supplicants (?)
On the southern wall, opposite the Galaktotrophousa, there is an almost completely destroyed composition (Fig. 38). Traces of clothing in blue and red can be discerned. The red cloth stands roughly horizontally, followed by a white element, and the remainder is in a brown colour. At the bottom of the scene, part of a decorated brown element survives. Next to it, a small figure of a standing person is still visible: his head is almost completely destroyed; he is dressed in a long white robe and stretches his arms towards the eastern part of the chapel. It may be the individual image of a lay supplicant somehow involved in the pictorial decoration of the chapel.276 In front of this figure, slightly lower, a white element appears, possibly representing the garment of another supplicant.
Kfar Shleiman, Saydet Naya, wall painting, supplicants (?). The current state is shown on the right, while the digital reconstruction appears on the left.
2.3.6 A Saint, an Archer and a Holy Horseman
The separation between the images that decorate the eastern part of the chapel, surrounding the altar, and the images that adorn the western part of the chapel is marked by a star-studded area on the south wall and by the entrance door on the north wall (see Pls 56, 57, 58, 59).
A Saint. Towards the western third of the southern wall, there is a small fragment featuring a halo and a white garment against a blue background, likely depicting a standing saint (see Pl. 57). The selection of saints is typically determined by the patron’s intentions and the local veneration, as saints are often regarded as intercessors and mediators, possessing thaumaturgical and protective qualities.
An Archer. To the left of the entrance door, on the northern wall, stands an archer without a halo, dressed in a short Western tunic and preparing to shoot a deer or ibex with a curved bow.277 This type of tunic and bow can be found in the illuminations of the History of William of Tyre (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS fr. 9084, fols 53r and 66v), dating to 1295.278 A Latin cross as high as the archer and stamped with ‘IC XC NI KA’ is inserted between the hunter and his prey (see Pl. 56). The composition of the archer is noticeably distinguished from the other paintings by a very ‘Latin’ design. His cheekbones, marked by red highlights, are a characteristic feature, as is the thickening of the hair behind his neck.
The image of the archer has been considered a representation of St Eustace,279 whose iconography was very popular during the Middle Ages in the Eastern Christian world, especially in Trebizond, Cappadocia and Georgia.280 However, the archer without a halo may not belong to the rank of saints. Moreover, the representation in Kfar Shleiman does not correspond to the traditional iconography of Eustace, who is usually depicted on horseback, dressed as a soldier, often holding a lance, as in Cappadocia, or, rarely, a bow, as in Georgia.281 The cross usually appears between the antlers of the animal and not between the saint and his prey.
In several Western and Eastern iconographic themes, especially those involving the notion of threat, the cross appears as a sign of victory. Indeed, the cross, marked with the triumphal ‘IC XC NIKA’ acronym, forms a barrier here, separating the archer from the quarry. In this interpretation, the animal could represent the faithful protected from evil (the archer) by the cross of Christ or Christ triumphant over the forces of evil through his cross.282 The image would then be a symbol of the Salvation brought about by the cross or a sign of Christ’s triumph over evil. It was from this perspective that Ernest Renan and Henri Lammens postulated, in the 19th century and the early 20th, that ‘The meaning of the painting is therefore the victory of Christ over the demon.’283 We can retain, in any case, the idea that the cross with its inscription carries a triumphal and apotropaic value, whatever the identity of the archer.
A Holy Horseman. The western wall features a beardless holy horseman with curly hair and a halo adorned with a foliage motif, riding a white horse on ground lined with traces of bush and vegetation. This figure has been identified either as St George284 or St Theodore (see Pls 58, 59).285 In the Levant the prevalent iconography of St Theodore portrays him with a beard riding a red horse while slaying a dragon, whereas St George is typically depicted beardless on a white horse above a sea of fish, often carrying the youth of Mytilene.
The beardless face, curly hair and white horse of the rider in Kfar Shleiman are features typical of St George. A significant iconographic comparison has been made between the holy horseman in Kfar Shleiman and the crusader icon of St George in the British Museum,286 which dates from the third quarter of the 13th century.287 In both depictions the saint rides a white horse over a landscape of grassy hills. The vermiculated pattern adorning the halo of the holy soldier in Kfar Shleiman, reminiscent of models with metallic sheathing or gessoed relief commonly found in icons and murals in the Holy Land and Cyprus,288 is also present in the British Museum’s icon of St George. Regardless of the rider’s identity, the critical point is that holy soldiers and martyrs have an apotropaic and protective significance.
2.3.7 Synthesis
The iconographic programme at Kfar Shleiman is well-structured and highly precise, visually divided into two distinct groups that are separated by the entrance door on the north wall and a star-covered area on the south wall. The first group is centred around the altar, including the eastern part of the ceiling, the eastern wall and roughly two-thirds of both the north and south walls. This group depicts Christ in Majesty, a Theophany–Deesis, a nursing Virgin and an unidentifiable scene featuring a lay supplicant (?), who probably had the privilege of being depicted in the most sacred space of this chapel due to his patronage of the painted decoration. The second group is located in the western part of the hermitage, spread across the west, north and south walls. This group includes depictions of a standing (?) saint, an archer and a holy horseman.
The Christ in Majesty, featured in the more sacred areas of the Kfar Shleiman hermitage, depicts the invisible presence of Christ in his earthly dwelling. The figures of the four living creatures and angels seem to assist his movement from the kingdom of heaven. In contrast, the Theophany–Deesis, also in a sacred area behind the altar, portrays the Word of God presiding over the earthly Church’s sacrifice. The High Priest is accompanied by two deacons and receives the prayers of the Virgin and St John the Baptist in the present time. The image of the Galaktotrophousa, which attests to the human nature of the Word of God and the divine motherhood of Mary, is invested with a eucharistic meaning, contributing to strengthening the liturgical symbolism of Christ in Majesty and the Theophany–Deesis, as well as the whole area bordering the main altar.
The iconographic and structural features of the liturgical area suggest that its entire programme (Christ in Majesty, Theophany–Deesis, Galaktotrophousa) is organised around a current and repetitive reality: the sacrifice on the altar, which regularly took place inside this sacred building.
The figures of the holy horseman, the archer and the saint at the back of the hermitage should not be interpreted in relation to the liturgical event that takes place at the opposite end. The visual division created by the entrance door and the star-covered area accentuate this distinction. Instead, these figures are likely represented for their roles as intercessors, protectors or defenders of the faithful. The composition of the archer, with the cross marked with the acronym ‘IC XC NIKA’, may also hold a triumphal and apotropaic meaning.
The integration of Latin criteria in the archer scene and that of the holy horseman highlights not only an openness to Latin traditions, but also their presence in the Lebanese artistic landscape. The decision to incorporate specific stylistic and iconographic features could have been inspired by the artistic preferences of the hermitage’s users or the patrons who commissioned the artworks. These individuals may have had a certain connection to Latin art or may have been of Latin origin themselves.
The distinct style of the scene of the archer and of the holy horseman, most probably George, which differs from other images linked to local Eastern art, raises the question of whether there were two artists working together at the hermitage or if it was a single one capable of painting in both the Latin and local styles. It is possible that the artist was able to adapt, so as to meet the patrons’ preferences, demonstrating a high level of artistic versatility and adaptability.
2.4 Mar Semaan in Saqiet el-Kheit
2.4.1 The Theophany–Deesis
The eastern wall of the hermitage of Mar Semaan (St Simeon) in Saqiet el-Kheit and its surrounding area feature a scene of the Theophany–Deesis, accompanied by a well-preserved figure of a six-winged angel swinging a censer (see Pls 63, 64, 65).289 Only minimal traces remain of the enthroned Christ on the eastern wall and of St John the Baptist on the southern wall. The figure of the Virgin, preceded by the thurifer angel, can still be discerned on the northern wall, although it is very damaged (see Pl. 65). The main altar is limited to this composition (see Pl. 63).
The image of the six-winged angel holding a censer at the main altar instils the Theophany–Deesis with a strong eucharistic significance and places the intercession of Mary and John within the context of the present time.290 According to the Church Fathers, angels are believed to assist Christ in serving alongside the earthly Church ministers during the consecration.291 Therefore, the six-winged angel depicted in this scene suggests its participation in the earthly liturgy along with the celebrant.292 The angel’s act of swinging the censer at the level of the high altar establishes a direct connection to the primary incensing performed by the priest when placing the offering on the main altar, as already pointed out.293 The angel’s gesture in heaven thereby mirrors that of the officiating priest on earth. In fact, the censer itself serves as a powerful link between the celebrant of the celestial liturgy and the earthly officiant, wielding the same liturgical object.
2.4.2 The Nativity and the Dormition
The scene adjacent to the Theophany–Deesis on the northern wall and part of the ceiling depicts the Nativity of Christ.294 However, only a few figures from the scene remain recognisable, including Joseph (see Pl. 65), with his hand on his cheek, part of the midwife bathing the newborn295 and angels adoring the Child (see Pl. 66).
Adjacent to the Nativity scene, there is an image of the adult Christ making a gesture of speech (see Pl. 67). Two standing saints can be seen further to the south (see Pl. 62); one is wearing a bishop’s omophorion, and the other, likely an apostle, is holding a closed book. The composition also includes fragments of hallowed faces and figures that cannot be identified due to the poor state of preservation. It is possible that Christ, along with the bishop and saints depicted on different levels, was originally part of a Dormition scene, where Jesus receives the soul of his mother.296 In this type of scene, the Mother of God is often surrounded by apostles, bishops and saints as she lies on her deathbed. Dormition scenes can be found in two other churches in Lebanon: in the burial chamber of Mar Sharbel al-Qadim in Maad (second half of the 13th century)297 and Mar Saba in Edde el-Batrun (end of the 12th century).298
As already noted in the case of Kfar Helda above, the Nativity holds important theological significance as a pivotal event in the history of Salvation. Moreover, its placement near the holy table may suggest a liturgical value, as several of its iconographic components refer to the liturgy celebrated on the altar.299 The image could represent the birth of the Messiah renewed during each Holy Liturgy. Thus, at the moment of the consecration, the celebrant implores God to give birth to the body of Christ on the altar, just as he did during the Nativity.300
As for the Dormition, a subject from the apocryphal texts, it describes the death of the Virgin, which is compared to a deep sleep.301 Her soul, separated from her body, is received by Christ in the form of a swaddled child, with the apostles present at the event. The iconography also adds angels and bishops, such as James, the brother of Christ, and Dionysius the Areopagite. The episode takes on a narrative aspect that commemorates the glorious death of the Mother of God.
The Nativity and the Dormition, both of which exalt the Mother of God, are frequently linked in iconography. They are placed facing each other or side by side in various examples in Byzantine art.302 The cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour (1157) in the Mirozhsky monastery in Pskov is a particularly noteworthy example, as the illustrations of Christ’s life are arranged not in chronological order, but in a symbolic pattern.303 The Nativity and the Dormition are positioned on the eastern walls of the southern and northern arms of the transept, respectively, flanking the entrance to the apse. The Nativity highlights the physical birth of the Son of God, while the Dormition depicts the spiritual birth of the Mother of God, made possible by the Incarnation of the Word, with Mary serving as the instrument. Both scenes could be interpreted as a reciprocal exchange between the Virgin and Christ. In the Nativity Christ was born into the flesh given to him by Mary, while in the Dormition it is Christ who bestows spiritual birth and eternal life upon his Mother.304
If the Nativity is invested with symbolism referring to the eucharistic liturgy, the Dormition, on the other hand, could allude to the funeral liturgy. In fact, the iconography of the Dormition adopts several motifs that could refer to the latter, such as candles held by the deacon–angels assisting Christ, as seen in Mar Sharbel al-Qadim in Maad,305 and the censer usually carried by the Apostle Peter standing at the head of the Virgin.306 The presence of deacon–angels and bishops, as seen in Mar Saba in Edde el-Batrun,307 also emphasises this liturgical meaning. Thus, through images of the Nativity and Dormition, one could compare the sacrificial liturgy with the funerary liturgy.
While it may be difficult to conduct funeral ceremonies in the hermitage of Saqiet el-Kheit, the Dormition alludes to the peaceful death and rest of the souls of the righteous, to which the hermit and every Christian aspires. The exemplary model of a good death is that of the Virgin. Let us recall that prayers dedicated to the deceased play an important role in the eucharistic liturgy, and the sacrifice is often offered for the rest of their souls.
2.4.3 The Stylite Saint
On the left-hand side of the entrance, located on the southern wall, the bust of a monk is displayed on a column (see Pl. 68). It is believed that the monk is St Simeon the Stylite, the patron saint of the hermitage.308 Simeon was a Syrian ascetic, highly revered by various Christian communities in the region, particularly in Lebanon.309 Mar Phoca in Amiun presents on one of its pillars an image of St Simeon (13th century).310 His portrayal in the hermitage of Saqiet el-Kheit could not only signify his local veneration and devotion, but above all assert the hermitage’s patronage. Additionally, the figure of St Simeon suggests that the hermitage was associated with an ascetic lifestyle and therefore served as an exemplary model for the hermits of Saqiet el-Kheit.
2.4.4 Synthesis
The presence of the six-winged angel holding a censer in the Theophany–Deesis serves as a clear indication of the image’s eucharistic significance. It emphasises that the earthly liturgy is modelled on the heavenly liturgy, thereby contributing to establishing this example as an essential reference for the liturgical interpretation of the apsidal Theophany. The intercession of Mary and the Baptist is thus linked to the present time. Furthermore, the absence of indicators related to the Second Parousia and the end of time in related themes, such as the scenes of the Nativity, the Dormition and the figure of St Simeon, reinforces the present temporality of the Theophany and the intercession.
Beyond their narrative, historical and liturgical significance, the juxtaposition of the Nativity and the Dormition scenes underlines the symbolic interplay between Christ’s physical birth and his mother’s spiritual birth. This parallel can also be seen as an embodiment of the aspiration of the hermit of Saqiet el-Kheit, whose cell is located below the chapel (see Pl. 60). By embracing the ascetic life of St Simeon, he sought the reward of a peaceful passing, mirroring Mary’s death, and aimed to undergo a spiritual rebirth in the hands of Christ and his apostles in the heavenly realm.
2.5 Mar Mitr in Kusba
2.5.1 The Theophany–Deesis
The apse of Mar Mitr (St Demetrios) of Kusba showcases a Theophany–Deesis that includes the customary intercessors and an image of Christ, who is being worshipped and guarded by two four-winged angels (see Pls 70, 71).311 Christ is depicted seated on a large throne at the centre of the scene. The throne is adorned with geometric patterns, commonly seen in both Christian and Muslim art, and does not have a backrest, but rather has two draped cushions. The striped fabric over the throne is reminiscent of the altar cloths and local textile production, creating a symbolic link between the divine seat and the sacred table.312
The two four-winged angels, with numerous eyes, hold aloft the banners bearing the hagios invocation, which confirms their role as singers of the seraphic hymn (see Pls 72, 73). The laudatory function of these ‘many-eyed’ four-winged angels may be attributed to the liturgical texts, in which the anaphoric Trisagion could be sung not only by seraphim and cherubim, but also by several types of angels and celestial beings, as emphasised above.313 The depiction of four-winged angels covered with eyes in Kusba could potentially serve as an image–synthesis that combines these diverse categories of angels. This leads to the interpretation of the Theophany of Kusba as the embodiment of the image developed in the anaphoric preface: God, present in the church at the time of the sacrifice, is praised and glorified by the triple hagios of the angelic creatures. This reading tends to place the Theophany in the present time and to anchor it in the daily practice of the liturgy. The Virgin and St John the Baptist, who stand on the edges of the conch, their hands outstretched in prayer, thus intervene on behalf of the faithful in the present time.
2.5.2 The Medallions of the Prophets
Of the medallions encircling the apsidal arch, only two have survived (see Pls 70, 76). These two medallions feature busts of figures facing towards the conch’s composition. The figures are commonly associated with the prophets,314 and each one is depicted with a raised hand and carrying a phylactery meant to show an inscription. The phylacteries are unfurled outside the medallions and towards the Theophany of the apse. The arrangement of the prophet medallions on the apsidal arch is a prevalent feature that dates back to the Early Christian era.315
In several iconographic programmes in Georgia, Armenia and Cappadocia, prophets are depicted participating in the Deesis of the apse.316 They were sometimes considered witnesses to the eschatological vision.317 However, prophets do not appear in relation to the Deesis of the Last Judgement; rather, they were heralds of the arrival of the Messiah on earth. Thus, their images on apsidal arches are often related to the medallion at the top, which may feature Christ or his cross, as is the case at St Simeon in the Zelve Valley in Cappadocia.318
Framing the apsidal conch at Kusba, the prophets seem to introduce or complete the manifestation of Christ.319 The way they unroll their phylacteries, which were meant to bear their words about the Messiah, confirms their connection to the theophanic image of the apse.320 The scrolls are unrolled almost horizontally, in the direction of the apsidal Theophany, instead of falling vertically (see Pl. 76). The posture of the prophets’ hands could reflect a gesture of speech or preaching to transmit the words written on their phylacteries. The prophets thus testify to the faithful that the Christ enthroned in the apse is indeed the Messiah they foretold.
2.5.3 The Assembly of Bishops, Monks and Saints
Beneath the conch of the apse, there are nine saints depicted in a frontal position (see Pls 70, 74). Among them, the prominent monk Sabas can be identified, as well as figures of bishops dressed in episcopal attire. The inscriptions indicate that these figures include Nicholas, James and the three doctors of the Church Gregory of Nazianzos, Basil the Great and John Chrysostom.321 Positioned behind the high altar, they make a gesture of speech with their right hands, while holding a book in their left, echoing the posture of Christ in the Theophany depicted in the apse.
The presence of the bishops in the apse’s rounded space is commonly associated with their roles as defenders of Orthodoxy and creators of eucharistic liturgies and, above all, with their liturgical function.322 Bishops are considered as representatives of Christ the priest in his earthly dwelling, as frequently highlighted by such authors as Origen,323 Isidore of Pelusium324 and Theodore of Mopsuestia.325 With their priestly attire, the prelates serve as exemplary models for priests celebrating the liturgy. As for the monks, their presence in or around the apse is almost systematic in conventual churches.326 In Kusba the inclusion of the monk Sabas, one of the founders of Eastern monasticism, among the Fathers of the Church could provide insight into the nature of the faithful who attended this monastic church, as well as into its function and founders.327 Furthermore, in the eyes of the monastic community, the main faithful of this sanctuary, they could represent the prominent place given to the holy monks. They are viewed as eminent models for monasticism.
Beneath the apsidal Theophany of Kusba, the bishops and monks (with one additional monk depicted on the respond of the apsidal arch) could be interpreted as conveying to the monastic faithful of this conventual church the potential for men, particularly men of the Church, to attain a vision of God. However, their frontal position and fixed gaze suggest they are collaborating with what is happening in front of them on the altar or communicating with the clergy or the faithful, rather than participating in the theophanic vision of the apse. Instead, these figures of prelates and monks seem primarily to represent the monastic or local community, gathered in their place of worship and around the altar to celebrate the liturgy in concert with the celestial Church, depicted through the Theophany–Deesis in the apse, much like the apostles and monks in Bawit.328
2.5.4 The Stylite Saints
The figure on the south respond of the apse arch is that of a stylite monk (see Pl. 75). Unfortunately, the right hand and lower part of the depiction of this ascetic have been destroyed. He is holding a book in his right hand and is presumably making a gesture of speech with his left. The accompanying stylite, if there was one on the north respond, has been entirely lost.
The presence of the stylite in the church of Kusba is primarily linked to its belonging to a monastic community.329 He likely continues the image of the earthly Church represented on the curved wall of the apse. By virtue of their ascetic practices, stylites aligned themselves with the Passion of the Lord, which could have motivated their prominence in the sanctuary programme.330 Furthermore, these ascetics served a dual purpose, extending beyond their spiritual endeavours to encompass a protective function within the context of the sacred space.331 Their usual placement on the responds of the apsidal arch presents them as pillars of heaven. As in Byzantine tradition, the conch of the apse, along with the dome, constitutes the celestial sphere in the cosmic hierarchy of the church. The stylites of Kusba are thus capable of supporting the celestial vault with their column, where the heavenly Church, represented by the theophanic Deesis, resides.
2.5.5 Synthesis
The presence of the four-winged angels, singers of the liturgical Trisagion in the apsidal Theophany, refers to the presence of Christ and his angels during the eucharistic office, more precisely at the moment of consecration. The prophets bear witness to his temporary vision in his earthly dwelling and to the Incarnation reiterated on the physical altar. From this perspective, the intercession of Mary and John the Baptist is carried out in the present. The assembly of the saints, bishops and monks standing beneath the Theophany–Deesis depicts the earthly Church. Positioned in front of the high altar, they unite with the celebrants of the monastic church of Kusba, who perform the earthly service daily. Thus, the apse programme of Kusba reveals the superimposition of the heavenly and earthly Churches, united through the liturgical office. The stylite saint(s) on the respond(s) of the apsidal arch facilitated this union by serving as the pillars supporting the celestial church. This imagery reinforces the recurring metaphor of saints as the ‘columns’ and ‘pillars’ of the Ecclesia, which is formed in Kusba by the community of faithful monks.332
2.6 Mar Sarkis and Bakhos in Kaftun
2.6.1 The Theophany–Deesis
The apse conch of Mar Sarkis and Bakhos (Sts Sergius and Bacchus) in Kaftun features a Theophany–Deesis, though its lower portion has been entirely destroyed (see Pl. 79). At the centre of the scene, Christ is portrayed seated on a throne without a backrest, with a cushion covered with a striped fabric.333 This textile alludes to the liturgical cloth of the altar, creating a symbolic connection between the throne and the holy table.334 In Christ’s hands is an open book that displays the passage from John 8:12, emphasising that the Lord’s call is relevant in the present, rather than solely at the end of time (see Pl. 80).335 Christ’s right fingers are bent towards the open book in his left hand, suggesting the transmission of the word written in it336 and, therefore, revealing the Lord as the Divine Word, spreading the Gospel message.
Only one of the two heavenly creatures standing on either side of the throne remains, located on the left side (see Pl. 81). This six-winged angel has one face and is praising the holiness of the Lord with a standard marked by the thrice holy. The intercessors are portrayed on the edges of the conch, adopting a customary stance of prayer and supplication (see Pls 82, 83).
2.6.2 The Annunciation
An Annunciation scene on the upper part of the apsidal arch serves as a frame for the Theophany–Deesis (see Pls 79, 84, 85). Since the interpretation of this theme in the programme in Mar Tadros of Behdidat has been extensively discussed, it is enough to recall its main features here.337 The Annunciation’s semantic field is vast, ranging from didactic, conventional, dogmatic and apotropaic to liturgical aspects. Its location on the apse arch seems to emphasise its eucharistic value. The Annunciation brings the mystery of the Incarnation into the present, which is continually actualised through the eucharistic service.338 Both the angelic Salutation and the dogma of Incarnation are connected to intercessory prayer in the liturgy.339 This link between the Annunciation and intercessory prayer may explain their association on an iconographical level.340 As a result, the eucharistic significance of the Annunciation could align with the liturgical meaning of the apse Theophany, for which it forms the framework.
2.6.3 The Location of the Communion of the Apostles and the Purported Assembly of Bishops
Traditionally, the middle register of the apse between the conch scene and the depiction of Officiating Bishops would be reserved for the Communion of the Apostles, which portrays Christ as a priest distributing the Eucharist to his disciples. This arrangement can be seen in St Sophia of Kyiv (1037),341 St Sophia of Ohrid (1028)342 and St Panteleimon of Gorno Nerezi (1164),343 among other examples.
In contradiction to this general rule, the Communion of the Apostles at Kaftun spreads across the northern and southern walls of the central aisle (see Pls 86, 87). The scene adjoins the upper part of the apse wall on each side. A similar arrangement of the Communion of the Apostles can be found in the chapel of St Euthymios in the basilica of St Demetrios in Thessaloniki (1302–1303):344 the Officiating Bishops around the melismos are placed on the wall of the southern apse, due to three windows being on the central apse wall. However, standing bishops unfurl their liturgical phylacteries at the entrance of the same apse, while busts of bishops are inserted into the spandrels that separate the round-arched windows. Moreover, the entire tripartite space of the sanctuary is filled with figures of bishops and deacons.
The monk and traveller Vasili Grigorovich-Barsky (1701–1747), who visited the monastery of Kaftun between 1728 and 1744, wrote: ‘It was known that the entire church was painted with images of saints, and even today the images of holy fathers can be seen at the altar.’345 It is difficult to determine from Grigorovich-Barsky’s brief description whether they were standing bishops, officiating bishops or both. However, in the Byzantine tradition, especially from the end of the 11th century and increasingly throughout the 12th century, there was a growing preference for the representation of Officiating Bishops on apsidal walls, and the themes of the Communion of the Apostles and the Officiating Bishops became complementary.346 These two subjects show that the earthly liturgy is modelled on the heavenly liturgy, continuously celebrated by Christ and his apostles in heaven.
If it was indeed the procession of prelates that once resided in the hemicycle, one might hasten to think that, due to lack of space on the apsidal wall, the Communion of the Apostles was relocated to the heights of the north and south walls of the central aisle converging towards the apse.347 However, the apse wall is large enough to accommodate both themes. Otherwise, the figures of the purported bishops would have been excessively monumental and disproportionate to the other figures represented in the church.
Kaftun, Mar Sarkis and Bakhos, interior, distribution of images
To clear up this ambiguity, one might examine the distribution of images on the north wall of the central aisle, which opens directly onto the rounding of the apse (Fig. 39). The north wall is divided into two registers, with the top register featuring the Communion of the Apostles, as previously noted, and the lower register depicting the Archdeacon Lawrence on the spandrel, followed by two standing monks painted on the eastern embedded pillar (see Pl. 90). The separation between the two registers is marked by a red border, as is customary. This division creates the impression that these two registers extend those of the apsidal wall. Thus, from this perspective, the Communion of the Apostles should continue the first register, and Lawrence should continue the second register of the apse wall.
It is possible to assume that the first register on the upper level of the hemicycle of Kaftun held a group of Officiating Bishops. This would explain the presence of the Communion of the Apostles in the upper sections of both the north and south walls of the central aisle, which follow this theme. The second register likely featured standing saints, as seen in the decoration of other Lebanese church apses, including bishops, apostles, monks or a combination thereof. Together with the Archdeacon Lawrence, they would form an image of the earthly Church assembled in its place of worship. However, this interpretation remains hypothetical until more specific evidence becomes available. In any case, this deviation from the main convention could be explained by the location of the Communion of the Apostles itself: to establish a parallel or analogy between Christ distributing the Eucharist in the heavenly Church348 and the priest administering communion before the altar in the earthly Church. As a result, the apostles, depicted in procession along the central aisle, serve as examples for the faithful, who prepare to receive the Eucharist from the priest’s hands, mimicking the apostles in heaven.349 The location of the Communion of the Apostles in Kaftun is a remarkable topographical clue in support of this interpretation.
2.6.4 The Communion of the Apostles
The apostolic procession of the Communion of the Apostles is typically divided into two groups, each with six apostles. On the northern wall, the disciples are led by Peter, who receives the bread (see Pl. 86). On the opposite southern wall, the figure of Paul, which is now destroyed, was intended to depict him receiving the chalice (see Pl. 87).350 The apostles approach Christ with dignity, holding a part of their cloaks in their hands. Christ is depicted twice and offers communion behind a balustrade that represents the altar of sacrifice. On the southern wall, behind Christ, the ciborium can still be distinguished: it reproduces the shape of Christ’s tomb, which was topped by a baldachin in the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It is with this in mind that the Historia Ecclesiastica represents the altar as the place of burial351 and the ciborium as the place of the Crucifixion.352 Here, too, the symbolism of the Passion and the sacrifice is clearly evident.
The Communion of the Apostles is a quintessential eucharistic theme, expressing the close link between Christ’s reference to the institution of the Eucharist during the Last Supper and the eucharistic celebration performed in the Church and based on the concept of Christ as a priest in the order of Melchizedek.353 The eucharistic service performed in the church is indeed a participation in the service that Christ celebrates for eternity.
2.6.5 The Archangel
A large medallion, encircled in a red frame, is situated near the Communion of the Apostles on the northern wall (see Pls 88, 89). The medallion depicts the bust of an archangel holding a sceptre. Two figures with remains of medallions follow, one of which is identified as Domatius, accompanied by the Greek letters
The angels depicted alongside the Communion of the Apostles could signify that the eucharistic liturgy represented participation in the liturgy of the angels in the church during the eucharistic sacrifice,355 as stated by John Chrysostom.356 By observing this scene, the faithful can grasp that ‘those who commune in this rank stand with the angels, the archangels and the powers from above’, as St John Chrysostom further explained.357 However, the archangel of Kaftun does not belong to the scene of the Communion of the Apostles, as his medallion stands out clearly on a frame that is well isolated from the scene in question, and the scale of the archangel is obviously larger (see Pl. 88).
The sceptre held by the archangel is a symbol commonly associated with those entrusted with guarding the holiest part of the temple.358 In Byzantine art it was common to depict angels as guardians of the sanctuary, or bema.359 Therefore, the archangel in Kaftun is presented as the protector of the most sacred space of the church, as emphasised by his sceptre and location. It is possible that another medallion containing the image of another archangel was placed on the opposite wall to create a pair. The archangel medallions could also have been intended to delineate the liturgical space and distinguish the images associated with the practices of the sanctuary, such as the Communion of the Apostles, from other images, like Domatius and the saints that follow.
2.6.6 Archdeacon Lawrence
The easternmost spandrel of the northern wall of the central aisle is occupied by Archdeacon Lawrence, accompanied by an angel holding a cloth (see Pl. 90). The corresponding figure on the easternmost spandrel of the southern wall no longer exists. As in Mar Tadros of Behdidat360 and Deir es-Salib in the Houlat Valley,361 the archdeacon is meant to extend the image of the earthly Church, which is usually portrayed by apostles and bishops and may also include the Virgin Mary, monks and prophets. Note that the image of Lawrence is followed by two monks painted on the eastern embedded pillar (see Pl. 91).
As previously mentioned, the deacons’ placement at the entrance to the apse was determined by their liturgical function.362 Moreover, Lawrence is particularly associated with the Lord’s Passion, because of the torture and suffering he endured during his martyrdom, which further justifies his placement in Kaftun. The angel approaching Lawrence with a cloth in hand could reinforce this interpretation. Indeed, when Lawrence was stretched out on a rack and cruelly tortured, the Lord sent an angel from heaven to relieve him in his agony, wiping the sweat from his forehead and the wounds on his body with a cloth.363
It can be inferred that the angel, carrying some sort of cloth in his hands and heading towards Lawrence, is linked to this episode of the archdeacon’s life. In this context, the angelic figure connects Lawrence to the symbolism of the sacrifice that takes place inside the sanctuary. Certainly, this evidence is somewhat less solid than that of the censer and the pyxis, usually held by deacons painted at the entrance to the sanctuary.
2.6.7 The Holy Monks
Four figures of monks are portrayed in pairs on the eastern embedded pillars of the central aisle, facing the congregation (see Pl. 91). In conventual churches, it is customary for monks to occupy a prominent position at the entrance of the sanctuary or inside the apse. At Mar Mitr of Kusba, one or two monks are positioned amidst a group of prelates of the Church.364
The depiction of monks suggests the presence of a monastic community associated with the church of Kaftun.365 They indicate the identity of the founders and the main worshippers of the church. By extending the figure of the deacon and the possible group of bishops, as Grigorovich-Barsky informed us,366 the monks complete the image of the local community gathered in their place of worship to celebrate the liturgy. It seems that the representation of the earthly Church in the lower register of the apse programmes of churches in Lebanon is common, as all the apse walls that retain their paintings indicate.
2.6.8 The Holy Soldiers
Four holy soldiers stand upright on the intrados of the arches of the four pillars of the nave: Theodore and George are facing the apse, while St Sergius and St Bacchus, the patron saints of the church, are standing facing the entrance (see Pls 92, 93, 94, 95). The depiction of these holy warriors in Kaftun follows Byzantine tradition, with the figures standing without a horse,367 contrary to the common custom in the East, where they are often shown on horseback facing the apse.368
As previously noted in the case of Behdidat and Kfar Shleiman, the representation of warrior saints, whether on horseback or standing, does not correspond to the liturgy of the altar.369 Their depiction is generally limited to their apotropaic function as guardians and defenders of the place of worship. The selection of Sts Sergius and Bacchus at Kaftun is also due to their patronage of the church. Hence, their images at the entrance could fulfil a dual role: signifying the church’s patron saints and safeguarding the entrance.
2.6.9 Synthesis
The apsidal Theophany–Deesis of Kaftun is placed in a context that explicitly refers to the eucharistic sacrifice. The Communion of the Apostles, which directly precedes the founding episode of the first sacrament, the Last Supper, is sufficient to introduce the Theophany–Deesis in the context of the Divine Liturgy. The scene of Officiating Bishops is also a clear reference to the altar liturgy, but its presence in Kaftun remains uncertain. The Annunciation, which frames the Theophany–Deesis on the apse arch, could also refer to this eucharistic symbolism, although it is less evident than the scene of the Communion of the Apostles. From this perspective, the apsidal image of Kaftun materialises the temporary presence of Christ among the monks inside their church. The Lord intervenes with inhabitants of heaven (angels and saints) to preside over the Liturgy, in accordance with the liturgical texts and their commentaries. As defenders and protectors of the monks and their church, the saints intercede with Christ on behalf of the faithful (both deceased and living) in the present time, undoubtedly passing through the privileged mediation of the Virgin and St John the Baptist.
2.7 Saydet el-Rih in Enfeh
2.7.1 The First Layer of Painted Plaster
2.7.1.1 The Theophany–Deesis
A Theophany–Deesis scene depicting Christ between the Virgin and John the Baptist occupies the low conch of the apse of Saydet el-Rih (Our Lady of the Wind) in Enfeh, though it is significantly damaged (see Pl. 99). The central bust of Christ can still be identified in the composition, while only a few fragments of Mary’s maphorion and St John the Baptist’s hand, outstretched in prayer, have survived.370 Christ possibly holds the book in his left hand as the Word of God and makes a gesture of speech or blessing at the main altar level, suggesting that he personally presides over the Divine Liturgy as a priest standing behind the altar.371 From this point of view, the supplication of Mary and John appears to be connected to the daily practice of the liturgy. This is supported by the fact that the programme at Enfeh features the theme of the Last Judgement in its western section, which should hold an eschatological Deesis.372
2.7.1.2 The Sacrifice of Isaac
The scene of the sacrifice of Isaac is located on the north-eastern side of the barrel vault, overlooking the actual altar (see Pl. 101). However, the image of Abraham is only partially visible and heavily damaged, with his head appearing to turn back towards the angelic figure intervening to stop his sacrifice. Two flames are depicted under the celestial segment where the angel is placed. The figure of Isaac is no longer visible.
The sacrifice of Isaac evokes the themes of piety and salvation.373 Piety is exemplified by Abraham’s obedience to the voice of the Lord, without question, and his willingness to sacrifice his son. Salvation is depicted in the divine intervention that saves Isaac and the ram as a substitute for the sacrifice. As highlighted earlier,374 Christian exegetes have long viewed the sacrifice of Isaac on Mount Moriah as a prefiguration of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.375 Isaac’s act of carrying the wood for the sacrifice on his shoulders on the way to Mount Moriah is seen as a symbol of Christ carrying the cross on his shoulders on the way to Mount Golgotha.376 The flames of the sacrifice symbolise the paternal love of God377 and also represent the presence of the Holy Spirit, often described as a hidden fire operating in the sacrifice.378 The ram, caught in a bush by its horns, foreshadows Christ, the Lamb of God, who was hung on the cross by his hands.379 This image brings to mind the human nature of Christ, who experienced suffering and death on the cross, while Isaac represents his divine nature, which conquered death.380 Isaac also serves as a symbol of humanity in two ways: first, as a representation of humanity’s mortality and need for salvation through the sacrificial ram–Christ sent by God; and second, as a prefiguration of Christ himself, who was destined for sacrifice by his Father and triumphed over death through his resurrection.381
Isaac’s immolation, with its eucharistic value as a prefiguration of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, establishes a direct link to the sacrificial ritual of the church382 and explains its common association with the liturgical space, as underlined in Mar Tadros of Behdidat.383 Additionally, Abraham and Isaac serve as a model of the sacrificial priest and the designated victim for sacrifice.
2.7.1.3 The Assembly of Saints
Figures representing apostles, prophets and bishops were likely present on both sides of the barrel vault in Enfeh, but only one part remains, on the north side next to the depiction of the sacrifice of Isaac (see Pl. 101). Except for the image of the bishop, the holy figures are arranged under arches, in the same manner as in Behdidat.384 A similar arrangement of the twelve apostles under arches can be seen on the northern and southern sides of the barrel vault in the 9th-century church of Niketas the Stylite (Üzümlü Kilise) in Cappadocia.385 Typically, this frontal arrangement of apostles, with or without the prophets and bishops, is found painted on the apsidal wall beneath the image of the Theophany, with or without intercessors. However, in Enfeh the apsidal conch is low and the apsidal wall is hidden by the altar, making it impossible to include such figures. It is likely that this lack of visibility led to the placement of the figures of prophets, apostles and bishops on the barrel vault in Saydet el-Rih.386
As previously discussed,387 the assembly of apostles with prophets and bishops represents the earthly Church gathered in its place of worship.388 The ecclesiological aspect of this assembly is further emphasised by the inclusion of the prelate figure. The bishop’s episcopal vestments, including the omophorion, epitrachelion and epigonation, highlight his clerical and liturgical role (see Pl. 102). While the prophets represent Old Testament priesthood, the apostles, as founders of the Church, and their successors, the bishops, represent New Testament priesthood.389 Together, they represent the assembly of clergy celebrating the Eucharist, particularly in Eastern liturgies, in which multiple priests can officiate the same sacrifice around a shared altar.
2.7.1.4 The Holy Soldiers
The barely discernible figures of holy soldiers depicted on the north and south walls of the nave are a common sight in Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions of the Levant (see Pl. 100).390 In Enfeh these figures may have been included for their devotional value or for their protective and intercessory role as conquerors of evil and defenders of the sacred space, soldiers and worshippers.391
2.7.1.5 The Judgement
At the western end of the barrel vault, two angels are depicted preparing to roll up the sky (see Pl. 103), introducing the Judgement theme that continues in the western part of the church. However, only fragments of this grand scene remain, including a celestial choir of four standing angels on the top of the groin vault, the apostolic tribunal on the barrels of the groin vault, two trumpeting angels on the lunette of the south wall, allegorical figures of the earth and sea on either side of the south door, a saint on the western face of the south-eastern pier and a stack of skulls on the northern face of the south-western pier (see Pls 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109). It is possible that the Christ–judge, flanked by the canonical intercessors, the Virgin and the Forerunner, was depicted on the lunette of the west wall.392 The placement of this Judgement composition follows Byzantine tradition, typically situated on the western part of the nave or in the narthex, with the exception of funerary chapels. The Mar Elias (St Elijah) church in Bziza and the Saydet Hamatura church in present-day Lebanon also feature Judgement scenes in their western part.393
The Last Judgement represents the ultimate judgement of all humanity at the end of time,394 different from the Individual Judgement that determines the immediate fate of souls after death.395 Painted compositions may intertwine aspects of both judgements, showcasing the dual temporality of the action: the present time for Individual Judgement after one’s passing; and the eschatological temporality of the Last Judgement, which signifies the Second Coming of the Lord and the resurrection of the dead. These depictions address key concerns of medieval societies, such as death, sin, resurrection, divergent destinies for the righteous and the damned, hell and the heavenly beatitudes.
In Enfeh the event’s duality is suggested by certain characters. The two angels who are depicted as preparing to roll up the scroll of the sky signify the end of time. This motif, commonly seen in scenes of the Last Judgement from the 11th century onwards,396 typically features a single angel rolling up the sky. However, in some cases, such as in the narthex of St Nicholas tis Stegis in Kakopetria, Cyprus, two angels are shown rolling up the sky, which may be explained by the presence of curved spaces, like the intrados of an arch or a vault.397
The apostles form part of the celestial tribunal (see Pl. 105), along with the angelic choir (Matt. 25:31–32). This tribunal is described in the Bible, which states that, during the renewal of all things, the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, and the apostles who followed him will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:28). At Enfeh the enthroned apostles serve as assessors of Christ the Judge, who should sit beside them, possibly on the lunette of the western wall, at the centre of an eschatological Deesis.398
The trumpeting angels (Matt. 24:31) are closely intertwined with the theme of the Universal Judgement and, specifically, the resurrection of bodies from tombs, the land and sea. One of the trumpeting angels in Enfeh is depicted above a personification of the earth, preparing to pour the first bowl of divine wrath on the earth, in accordance with the apocalyptic text (Rev. 16:1). At the Panagia in Moutoullas, Cyprus (1280), personifications of the earth and the sea are each crowned with an angel playing a trumpet, accompanied by creatures that appear to be vomiting human limbs.399 This representation is intended to symbolise the resurrection of the dead, buried in the earth or drowned in the sea, through the sound of the trumpet.400 In contrast to what is customary, the allegory of the sea and the earth at Enfeh, under the trumpeting angels, does not feature any discarded human limbs or bodies (see Pls 106, 107). The image encourages viewers to understand that the events of the Last Judgement, emphasised by the angels rolling up the sky and the trumpeting angels, will take place at the end of time, in contrast to the Individual Judgement, which occurs in the present.401
The infernal cave in Enfeh (see Pl. 109), which holds a pile of stylised skulls, was intended as evidence of the existence of temporary hells, which relate to the concept of the Individual Judgement. Within these hellish dwellings, sinners are punished according to the transgressions they committed.402 The Tetraevangelion of the Stoudios monastery (11th century; Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS Grec 74, fol. 51v), icons no. 150 (11th century) and no. 151 (12th century) of Sinai and the mosaics of Santa Maria Assunta of Torcello (created in the 11th century and reworked in the 12th)403 combine both the Eschatological and Immediate Judgements and depict temporary hell divided into compartments, with some of these featuring the same motif of piled-up skulls seen in Enfeh. The presence of the skulls emphasises the perishable nature of the human body and the fact that it is man’s actions that will be judged.404 In the Individual Judgement the souls of the condemned do not suffer physical torments; it is only at the end of time that their souls will join their resurrected bodies and suffer the pain of the flesh. The scene painted at Karşı Kilise (1212) in Cappadocia represents only the Immediate Judgement, featuring a representation of psychostasia (the weighing of souls), earthly paradise and temporary hell.405
The absence of human limbs and the presence of temporary hell, shown by the skulls plunged into the infernal cave, in Enfeh’s image accentuate the Individual Judgement that takes place in the present, as stated by Estephan Douaihy.406 The fate of separated souls after death depends on the prayers and alms dedicated to them, and the eucharistic sacrifice is often offered on behalf of the deceased for the remission of sins and eternal salvation.407 This could stress the role of the Church and clergy in the Immediate Judgement and the salvation of separated souls.
In this perspective, the Judgement scene at Enfeh brings together the two judgement sequences, the Immediate and the Eschatological, by showing that separated souls undergo an initial judgement in the present and that Christ will appear with the heavenly tribunal to judge all of humanity at the end of time. The purpose of this was to inspire the living faithful to repent and offer prayers and sacrifices for the deceased with the assistance of the Church and its clergy.
2.7.2 The Second Layer of Painted Plaster
2.7.2.1 The Holy Horseman with a Female Figure
A bearded holy horseman with a female figure in front of him is depicted on the western end of the south wall of the nave (see Pl. 110). This scene dates back to the 13th century and belongs to the second phase of the church’s decoration.408 The equestrian’s horse is red, and the hagionym, written in Greek, has only the letter
Rather than moving towards the apse, as is customary, the horse moves towards the western part of the church, where the Judgement scene is illustrated, suggesting a possible relationship between the holy soldier and this scene, similar to other instances found in Syria, Cappadocia and Georgia,410 where the holy soldier represents the victory of faith over evil and the ultimate triumph of piety.411 In this context the female supplicant appears to be addressing her prayer and intercession for her salvation towards the holy rider. Her figure symbolises the deliverance of her soul through divine grace – depicted by the hand of God emerging from the celestial orbit in the upper right-hand corner.412 This concept becomes more compelling when we consider the funerary posture of the female figure, which confers her with the status of a deceased individual. She maintains a frontal stance with her hands clasped together over her chest, following the Latin tradition of prayer, distinguishing it from the more commonly observed crossed hands in Eastern funerary customs.413 Her posture, evoking the pose of a departed soul within a tomb,414 appears to have drawn inspiration from engraved tomb slabs featuring Latin individuals, such as the tombstone of Simone de Gibelet, located in the parish church of the Panagia Angeloktisti, Kiti (1302).415 The arrangement of the female figure in a funerary posture and the depiction of the Judgement scene might collectively indicate a funerary function for the western section of the chapel.416
By revealing her hair,417 the deceased woman embraces the vulnerability of her departed soul, placing unwavering trust in the hands of the holy soldier.418 Her attire, a long-sleeved bliaut reserved for the Western elite, serves as a symbol of the wearer’s wealth and power,419 suggesting her likely association with the Latin aristocracy.420 Her Western hand gesture of prayer and the proximity of the crusader castle of Nephin further strengthens this hypothesis. In Ibn Jubayr’s travel narrative, it appears that affluent Latin families in the Lebanese region maintained Western fashion customs, especially at their public events.421 The presumed Latin family of the deceased woman thus publicly represented her in Western attire as an expression of their own cultural traditions. The bliaut remains a clear indicator of this woman’s high status and of the presence of Western fashion in the region.422
2.7.3 Synthesis
Despite being heavily damaged, the paintings of Saydet el-Rih in Enfeh appear to feature a well-organised and clearly defined iconographic programme. The apsidal Deesis represents the unseen presence of Christ as Priest, who performs the eucharistic sacrifice behind the main altar and receives prayers from the intercessors, namely the Virgin and John the Baptist. It is likely that the iconographic programme of Enfeh, like that of church of St John in Güllüdere no. 4, includes a dual Deesis image, with one located in the apse and the other included in the Last Judgement.423 This duality served to highlight the two-fold nature of the scene and emphasises the distinction between the apsidal Theophany–Deesis and the parousiatic one, present intercession and eschatological intercession, and the Christ–priest and the Christ–judge. Unfortunately, the eschatological Deesis did not survive in Enfeh, due to the destruction of a significant portion of the Judgement scene.
The imagery featured on the intrados of the barrel vault serves to reinforce the liturgical symbolism transmitted by the apsidal Deesis. The image of Isaac’s immolation effectively conveys the concept of sacrifice, which is mirrored by the eucharistic sacrifice performed on the main altar. The standing figures of saints, likely apostles accompanied by prophets and bishops, represent the earthly Church. As for the holy soldiers on the northern and southern walls of the nave, they are renowned for their miraculous and protective qualities.
The images portrayed at the western end of Saydet el-Rih may have conveyed the concept of both the Individual and Eschatological Judgements. The former is underlined by the cave of skulls, representing temporary hell, and the absence of human limbs thrown from the sea and the land, while the latter is marked by two angels unfurling the scroll of the heavens and two trumpeting angels. The duality of the Judgement image could serve to encourage the faithful to engage in penance, in order to be among the chosen ones at the end of time, while also motivating them to offer prayers and eucharistic sacrifices in the present in honour of the separated souls. This highlights the active role of ecclesiastics, who could intervene in the Individual Judgement and the destiny of separated souls through prayer and sacrifice. These ideas may reflect the concurrent theological discussions between the Eastern and Western Churches on the existence of a third place for separated souls to reside, which would eventually evolve into the concept of purgatory in the 13th century.424 The scene of the Judgement may reveal an ecclesiastical or political intent – possibly the political motives of the prelates of the church – in the choice of this theme.
The holy horseman and the female figure depicted on the second layer of painted plaster face towards the western part of the church. It is possible that this scene was created to replace a damaged image from the first layer of plaster, and it may be associated with the Judgement theme, which it faces. In this scenario, the horseman symbolises the triumph of faith over evil, while the female supplicant represents the salvation of righteous souls through the intercession of saints and divine grace. This notion is further enhanced by the funerary posture of the female figure. Her depiction would, therefore, have been created for the sake of her soul, perhaps following her final wishes. Michele Bacci characterises this form of representation as ‘pro anima imagery’, wherein compositions portray dead individuals expressing their yearning for admission to paradise by simulating closeness to the saints.425 Furthermore, her attire, the bliaut, unmistakably highlights the elevated social status and power associated with her family. Her placement alongside the holy horseman galloping westwards could suggest a connection to the Latin aristocracy of Nephin Castle.
2.8 The Chapel Attached to Mar Girgis in Rashkida: Sts Peter and Paul (?)
2.8.1 The Theophany–Deesis
The southern apse of the chapel annexed to Mar Girgis (St George) in Rashkida features a Theophany–Deesis, the lower part of which is completely destroyed (Pls 119, 127, 128, 129).426 In the conch directly above the altar (no longer extant), Christ sits on a throne covered with a white cloth with red stripes, alluding to the one covering the holy table (Pls 127, 128).427 On either side of his cathedra stand two four-winged angels. Their appearance does not match the scriptural sources, leading us to speculate that the limited space in the apse prevented the painter from fully developing their horizontal pairs of wings or even giving them the holy standard with the triple hagios. Yet, their physical aspect is explained in liturgical texts, specifically in the prefaces of certain anaphora in which seraphim, cherubim and various types of angels gather around the heavenly altar to celebrate the liturgy in concert with the earthly Church.428 The image of the four-winged angel in Rashkida could be considered a synthesis of these different angelic categories.429 It is possible that these angels partook in the Lord’s holiness, but the absence of the triple hagios standard does not support this hypothesis. Instead, the two angelic creatures in Rashkida appear to be guardians of God’s throne.430
The Theophany of Rashkida, with the intercession of the Virgin and St John the Baptist, is grounded in the temporality of the daily liturgy, as emphasised by the scene of Isaac’s immolation on the apsidal arch.431
2.8.2 The Sacrifice of Isaac
The sacrifice of Isaac is depicted on the north side of the south apse arch (Pls 119, 121). Indeed, the presence of this scene in this location is a deeply rooted tradition in the Near East spanning from the late 12th century to the 13th. In addition to the 13th-century examples found in Lebanon, depictions of the sacrifice of Isaac can also be observed on the triumphal arch of the Syrian church of Mar Yakub in Qara432 and in the Cypriot church of the Panagia Phorbiotissa in Asinou.433 Additionally, there are four surviving instances from the late 12th century and the 13th in Coptic churches in Egypt: one in St George at Deir Seifein in Old Cairo;434 another in St Mark at Abu Makar435 and one in the church of the Holy Virgin at Deir al-Baramus,436 both situated in the Wadi el-Natrun; and the fourth in St Anthony on the Red Sea.437
The upper part of this scene in Rashkida, along with the southern side of the same arch, is heavily covered by calcite and dirt, accumulated over the centuries. As a result, it is difficult to determine the image that mirrors Abraham’s sacrifice on the opposite side of the apsidal arch with any certainty. We might suggest an image of Moses receiving the Tablets of the Law, like the depiction in Mar Tadros of Behdidat.438 However, only after cleaning will it be possible to identify the figures in this painting accurately.
Abraham, whom we can suppose holds the knife, is seen bending towards his bound son. However, the upper part of his figure is not visible. Based on the similar scenes at Behdidat and at Enfeh, we might infer that Abraham is looking at the divine hand or the angel stopping his sacrificial gesture: both must have been positioned at the top of the apsidal arch. The replacement ram is placed underneath the figures of Abraham and Isaac.
As mentioned above with regards to Behdidat and Enfeh,439 the scene depicting Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac is strategically placed within the Holy of Holies, because of its eucharistic connotations.440 It serves as an Old Testament foreshadowing of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and the eucharistic sacrifice.441 In framing the entire northern side of the Theophany–Deesis, this Old Testament motif reinforces the liturgical significance of the Theophany, while highlighting the present temporality of the intercession.442
2.8.3 The Theotokos
The conch of the north apse holds an image of the Virgin and Child Enthroned in Majesty (Pls 118, 124, 125, 126) with Peter and Paul framing this central composition. A similar representation can be found at the church of the Holy Apostles in Pera Chorio, Cyprus, with the two apostles surrounding a standing Virgin with the medallion of the Child on her breast (the Virgin of the Sign).443 Positioned alongside the depiction of the Virgin, the images of Peter and Paul strongly imply that the chapel annexed to the church of St George in Rashkida is dedicated to these apostles, following the example of the Cypriot church.444
The image of the Theotokos attests to Mary’s divine motherhood and the Incarnation of the Logos, while emphasising his human nature. It can also convey dogmatic, devotional or thaumaturgical values, as well as referring to the cult of the Virgin and, likely, her liturgical invocation. Nevertheless, the placement of the Virgin and Child in the sanctuary lends the image a liturgical interpretation. It is located directly above the altar and next to the sacrifice of the cross on the right. The altar that was once placed in front of the northern apse of Rashkida should serve as a prothesis altar.445 The latter, reminiscent of Bethlehem and the manger, is always placed next to the main altar and on the north side to show that Bethlehem is in proximity to Jerusalem and the Holy Sepulchre.446 This is where the species are prepared before being moved to the main altar during the Great Entrance. In numerous cases the phenomenon of churches with double apses and altars, so widespread on Mount Lebanon, can be explained in this way:447 the first altar would serve for the preparation of the gifts, while the second would be dedicated to the actual sacrifice.448
The Theotokos is seated with the Infant on a lavish throne that underscores their shared majesty. Draped in voluminous fabric, the throne evokes the altar,449 suggesting Mary’s offering of her Son as a sacrificial gift. She holds the Child along the central axis of her body, gripping his arm with her left hand, an uncommon gesture in Eastern iconography that may allude to the Child’s destined sacrifice that will take place on the altar opposite.450 In this light, Mary appears as a paradigm of the priest holding, through the Holy Species, the true body of her Son.451 The symbolism of sacrifice and the Passion is further reinforced by the adjoining image of the Crucifixion to the right.
Peter and Paul (Pls 125, 126),452 standing on either side of the Virgin and Child, can be seen as privileged witnesses to the Incarnation of Christ resting in the lap of his Mother. The Child extends both hands almost horizontally towards the two apostles, as if presenting them as patrons of the Rashkida chapel, founders of the Church and bearers of his Word. This interpretation is reinforced by the scroll held in the Child’s left hand. Notably, both apostles also hold a scroll in one hand, while extending the other towards the Child, creating a visual connection among the three figures. The image of the Virgin flanked by the apostles thus becomes an embodiment of the earthly Church in liturgical communion with the heavenly Church, whose presence is materialised by the Theophany–Deesis.453
2.8.4 The Crucifixion
A Crucifixion is featured on the spandrel that separates the two apses, above a niche that could have served as the eucharistic tabernacle (Pls 114, 120). Christ is suspended on the cross, between his Mother and his disciple John. The holy woman and Longinus are added to this central group.
The depiction of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is a common feature in the sanctuaries of Cappadocia and beyond, including at Rashkida. In Tokalı Kilise in Göreme, Cappadocia, a 10th-century Crucifixion scene is placed in the central apse, with a liturgical Theophany in the southern apse and possibly a Virgin and Child scene in the northern apse. This placement suggests a liturgical interpretation, although the meaning of the Crucifixion scene extends beyond the realm of the liturgy.454
The Crucifixion marks the end of the Messiah’s earthly life and serves to glorify the human nature of Christ, who willingly suffered the Passion and died on the cross. It is an image that represents one of the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith: the redeeming Passion. From the Early Christian period theologians and exegetes recognised the potentially eucharistic significance of the Crucifixion. John Chrysostom, Isidore of Pelusium and Theodore of Mopsuestia stated that the immolation of Christ on the cross is commemorated through the eucharistic sacrifice.455 This sacramental typology of the Eucharist remained traditional, particularly among the Antiochenes, and was further developed by Theodore of Mopsuestia, who regarded the eucharistic celebration as a reproduction of the essential stages of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.456
Viewed from this angle, some Crucifixion images show the Church receiving the blood of the Lord in a chalice, such as the example of the enkleistra of St Neophytos near Paphos in Cyprus.457 Additionally, the physical support for the Eucharist is often adorned with depictions of the cross or the Crucifixion. For instance, a paten from the church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople (mid-12th century; Halberstadt Dom und Domschatz) portrays a Crucifixion scene with an inscription from the account of the inception of the Eucharist around the composition: ‘Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you for the remission of sins.’458 This juxtaposition symbolically affirms that the eucharistic sacrifice is a re-enactment of the sacrifice on the cross.
The Crucifixion at Rashkida, placed above a niche that could have served as the eucharistic tabernacle between the altar of preparation and the altar of sacrifice, seems to strengthen its association with the Eucharist. Moreover, it is directly juxtaposed with the sacrifice of Isaac. Placing these two scenes together in the holiest area of the chapel, near the holy table, highlights their eucharistic nature. Thus, these two scenes enhance the liturgical significance of the Theophany–Deesis and the Virgin and Child images.459
2.8.5 Synthesis
In the Rashkida chapel the eastern part features three primary themes: the Virgin and Child, a Crucifixion and a Theophany–Deesis. This iconographic triad aligns with the directive of Gregory the Great in his Epistle LII which outlines a tripartite portrayal of Christ: resting on his mother’s knees, suspended on the cross and seated on the throne.460
These three themes represent fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith, including the Incarnation, the redemptive Passion and the glory of the Lord. They also emphasise the duality of Christ’s human and divine nature. However, the theological and iconographic depth of these images extends beyond these doctrinal dimensions. The fact that they are jointly represented in the most sacred space of the building imbues them with a liturgical significance.
The Theophany–Deesis dominates the main altar, while the Virgin and Child preside over the prothesis altar. The Crucifixion is located above the eucharistic tabernacle, positioned between these two altars. This arrangement mirrors the liturgical structure: the prothesis, typically located north of the main altar, is where the offering is prepared, while the main altar is where the sacrifice is enacted. This configuration may help to explain the architectural phenomenon of churches with a double apse and altar.
The Theophany–Deesis serves to materialise the invisible presence of Christ in the church, with the image positioned above the main altar. Acting as high priest, Christ officiates the unbloody sacrifice, symbolised by the adjacent images of the sacrifice of Isaac and the Crucifixion. Guarded by two four-winged angels, Christ receives prayers from, and the intercession of, the Virgin and the Forerunner in the present time. The placement of the Theotokos, above the prothesis altar, likely reinforces her liturgical significance as a model for the celebrant holding the host. The draped throne and Christ Child emphasise the sacrificial nature of the image and its relation to the Eucharist. Together with Peter and Paul, presented as founders of the Church, the Virgin and Child represent the earthly Church. The Crucifixion, placed between this image and the Theophany–Deesis, further underscores their shared liturgical function. Therefore, the iconography and spatial arrangement of the Rashkida chapel articulate a vision of two Churches, centred around an ongoing and ever-present reality: the celestial Church, represented by the Theophany–Deesis, and the earthly Church, embodied by the Theotokos with Peter and Paul.
Nasr 2022a, 235–266; Nasr 2019a, 259–278; Nasr 2019c, 123–146.
Hunt, Doumet-Skaf and Capriotti 2017, 337; Zibawi 2009, 34, 68; Hélou and Immerzeel 2007, 315–317; Nordiguian and Voisin 1999 (2009), 219–235; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 32–36; Hélou 2006b, 32‑47; Hélou 1998, 33–59.
Brock 2018.
Duwayhī 1895b, I: 104–105, 197.
Ibid., 155–158.
This history of the Near East exists in two versions, one traditionally called ‘History of Christians’ ranging from the First Crusade (1095) to the year 1699 (Duwayhī 1951), and another called ‘History of Muslims’, covering the time period from the Hijra in 622 to the year 1686 (Duwayhī 1976).
Duwayhī 1890.
Duwayhī 1895b, I: 104–105, 197.
Ibid., 155–158.
Ibid., 104–105.
Duwayhī 1895a; Duwayhī 1895b.
This type of small window can be seen in many medieval churches in Lebanon, such as Mar Tadros in Behdidat, Saydet el-Kharayeb in Kfar Helda, Mart Berbara in Barghoun and Mar Girgis in Rashkida.
Duwayhī 1895b, I: 107–108.
Ibid., 158.
Ibid.
Ibid., 197.
Ibid., 353.
Cyrille de Jérusalem 1966, 150–151; Théodore de Mopsueste 1949, 539–541. For Theodore of Mopsuestia, the eucharistic liturgy is the image of heavenly realities (Théodore de Mopsueste 1949, 497; Hellemo 1989, 236–238, 246–247, 259–262, 281–282).
Bornert 1966, 125–180; Brightman 1908, 248–265, 387–397.
Brightman 1908, 392–393, 396.
Duwayhī 1895a, II: 545.
Duwayhī 1895b, I: 443.
Ibid., 156.
Ibid., 455–456; Duwayhī 1895a, II: 417–420.
Nasr 2019c, 123–146.
This is the same Judgement that Marcello Angheben and Jérôme Baschet called ‘Immediate’ (Angheben 2002, 105–134; Baschet 2009, 103–123; Baschet 1995, 150–203).
Duwayhī 1895b, I: 455–456.
Ibid., 457.
Ibid., 459.
Duwayhī 1895a, II: 419.
Duwayhī 1895b, I: 460–461.
Ibid., 457–458.
Frugoni 2010, 67–86.
Angheben 2013b, 22–34.
Duwayhī 1895b, I: 157–158.
Angheben 2013b, 29.
Frugoni 2010, 79–83.
Angheben 2013b, 29.
Duwayhī 1895a, II: 206–210.
These fit with the interpretations suggested by Marcello Angheben (Angheben 2013b, 22–34).
Duwayhī 1895a, II: 206–210, 353–356.
Ibid., 208.
See pp. 142–143 herein; Duwayhī 1895a, II: 545.
See pp. 55–56 herein.
Angheben 2013b, 29.
See pp. 53–55 herein.
Bornert 1966, 70.
Théodore de Mopsueste 1949, 509.
Isidore of Pelusium 1859a PG 78: 264D–265A.
Brightman 1908, 257–265, 391–392.
Duwayhī 1895b, I: 148.
Hélou 1998, 42; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 56.
See pp. 88–92 herein.
Tarby 1972, 33–34.
See pp. 85–88 herein.
According to the Syriac prayer read during the Matins of Monday: ‘Behold, the altar has become a chariot and the priests, like the seraph, distribute the body and blood of the Son of the Virgin’ (Duwayhī 1895b, I: 141).
Angheben 2011a, 337–338.
Immerzeel 2009, 102, 113; Zibawi 2009, 34, 48; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 339–340; Hélou 1998, 38.
See p. 86 herein.
Ibid.
Bornert 1966, 57.
Ibid.
Ibid, 56–57. On the manifestation of the Word in scripture, see also Lubac 1950, 336–346.
Philip the Solitary (1081–1118) explored this thoroughly (Philip the Solitary 1864 PG 127: 875).
See pp. 59–63 herein.
See pp. 59–85 herein.
See pp. 59–63 herein.
See pp. 62–63 herein.
See pp. 64–68 herein.
See pp. 60–63 herein.
Ibid.
On the four living creatures serving as horses of the divine chariot, see Angheben 2011a, 337–338. For Christ intervening on his chariot to officiate the Eucharist, see Cantone 2008, 97–98.
See pp. 139, 142–143 herein; Duwayhī 1895b, I: 104, 107–108; Duwayhī 1895a, II: 545.
Douaihy made several trips and pilgrimages to Syria, Palestine, Cyprus, Italy and elsewhere (Moubarac 1984b, 3–5).
Angheben 2008, 82.
See pp. 25, 29–31 herein.
Duwayhī 1895a, II: 229–230.
Moubarac 1984a, 176.
See p. 78 herein.
Duwayhī 1895b, I: 417–420.
Duwayhī 1895a, II: 203.
See pp. 142–143 herein; Duwayhī 1895a, II: 545.
See pp. 140–141 herein; Duwayhī 1895b, I: 158.
See p. 140 herein; Duwayhī 1895b, I: 158.
Duwayhī 1895b, I: 443.
Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 339–341; Hélou 1998, 39–40; Hélou 2006b, 33–36.
Hunt, Doumet-Skaf and Capriotti 2017, 331. For 13th-century fabrics found in Lebanon, see Figuié and Kallab 1999.
See pp. 53–55, 150–151 herein.
See pp. 60–63, 154–155 herein.
See pp. 62–63 herein.
See pp. 60–63, 153 herein.
Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 342; Hélou 2007, 13.
Hélou 1998, 42.
See pp. 88–93, 151 herein.
Grabar 1979, 70–72; Grabar 1957, 209–210.
Nasr 2018b, 106–107; Nasr 2017, 330; Bacci 2006, 212; Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 158, 174, 198; Glichitch 1990.
This image is no longer extant, but was still present when Erica Cruikshank Dodd visited (Cruikshank Dodd 2001, 31–34, 128, pls V, 9a-b; Cruikshank Dodd 1982, 171; Cruikshank Dodd 1992, 61–132; Immerzeel 2009, 64–65; Westphalen 2007, 122–123, n. 48a).
Nicolaïdès 1996, 66–71.
Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 174.
Nasr 2018b, 106–107; Nasr 2017, 330; Schroeder 2008, 33–38; Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 61–132. Niketas Choniates specifically emphasised the association between the infant Christ and the Eucharist in the 12th century (Niketas Choniates 1894, PG 140: 164AB, 165D).
Galavaris 1969, 172–173.
Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 159; Nordiguian and Voisin 1999 (2009), 367–368.
Nasr 2019a, 261; Nasr 2018b, 100; Duwayhī 1895b, I: 107–108.
Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 342; Hélou 1998, 43–44.
Nasr 2022a, 240–243; Nasr 2019a, 266–267.
Nasr 2019a, 266–267.
Westphalen 2005, 69–153.
John Chrysostom 1992, 14–24.
Dulaey 1994, 3–40. The concept of the eucharistic sacrifice being prefigured and foretold by the sacrifices of the Old Law finds affirmation in the writings of Early Church Fathers, such as St Gregory of Nazianzos (Gregory of Nazianzos 1885, PG 35: 497B) and St Cyril of Alexandria (Cyril of Alexandria 1864, PG 69: 14A). The commentary of the Historia Ecclesiatica took up this same symbolism, while insisting on the fact that the Old Testament sacrifices are only the prefiguration of the sacrifice of the cross and that the eucharistic celebration is only its antitype; Brightman 1908, 257–259, 300, 390–391, 397. On eucharistic prefiguration in the Old Testament according to patristic catechesis, see Bornert 1966, 61, 65, 73, 75, 77, 81, 173, 175–176, 205.
Nasr 2022a, 242; Nasr 2019a, 267.
Salaville 1942, I: 113; Mercier 1946, 194–195.
Mulard 2011, 99; Origène 2003, 230; Clément d’Alexandrie 1960, 152; Cyril of Alexandria 1864, PG 69: 14A.
Nasr 2022a, 242.
The stepped mountain has been identified by some scholars with the burning bush. See Hélou 1998, 45; Zibawi 2009, 31; Nordiguian and Voisin 1999 (2009), 31.
Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 342.
Brightman 1908, 258.
See pp. 162–163 herein.
Nasr 2019a, 267.
Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 342; Hélou 1998, 44–45.
U 2019, 27–28; Dell’Acqua 2015, 102–125; Maguire 1994, 44–52.
Nasr 2018a, 34; Hélou 2009a, 16; Jolivet-Lévy 2002b, 48.
Nasr 2018a, 35; Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 154.
Nicholas of Andida 1894, PG 140: 429CD.
Bornert 1966, 203.
Grabar 1954, 172.
Maximus the Confessor 1865a, PG 91: 688BC.
Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 154.
Ibid.
Lidova 2020, 3–28; Nasr 2018a, 35.
Nasr 2018a, 35.
Brightman 1908, 395.
For more information on the depiction of the dove in the aureole of the Virgin, see Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 57–59.
Nasr 2018a, 35.
Regarding the location of the Annunciation, see Kitzinger 1949, 269–292.
Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 154.
Ernst Kitzinger revived the significance of this symbolism (Kitzinger 1949, 277 and n. 41).
Jean Damascène 1961, 105–107.
The motif of arcades adorned with interlacing hexagons in the Seljuk chain-pattern style is prevalent in the Syro-Palestinian region. It features prominently in various 12th- and 13th-century paintings, including those at Mar Phoca in Amiun, Mar Elias en-Nahr in Kfar Qahel, Saydet Hamatura in the Qadisha Valley, Mart Shmuni in the Houlat Valley (the paintings of which have been destroyed), the chapel of St Barbara (?) in Beirut (on display at the National Museum of Beirut) and Mar Sarkis and Bakhos in Qara. An identical motif can also be observed on the arches crowning the images of the Virgin and Christ at the church of the Panagia in Moutoullas (1280) and surrounding the nimbus of St George at the church of the Panagia Phorbiotissa at Asinou (end of the 12th century), exemplifying the vibrant artistic interaction between Cyprus and the Syrian-Lebanese sphere; see Andronikou 2022, 84–85; Andronikou 2017, 6–29. Additionally, the elongated hexagonal motifs of the Seljuk chain pattern featured in these murals is reminiscent of the hexagons observed in royal Mamluk basins; one exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is estimated to have been crafted around 1300, potentially commissioned for either Baybars I (reigned 1260–1277) or Baybars II (reigned 1309–1310); see Atil 1981, 64, cat. no. 15, and 69–71, cat. no. 18.
Jolivet-Lévy 2001b, 138; Hélou 1998, 40.
Nasr 2019b, 28; Velmans 1981, 67.
Roxburgh 2013; Bolshakov 2018; Gallin 2017; Grabar 1963; Buchthal 1940. On Mamluk architecture, see Rabbat 2010; Blair and Bloom 1994; and Behrens-Abouseif 2007. On Mamluk manuscripts, metalwork, glass, ceramics, woodwork, textiles and rugs, see Atil 1981.
Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 340–341; Hélou 1998, 40.
Iacobini 2000; Maspero 1931; Clédat 1904a; Clédat 1904b; Zibawi 2003, 78–82.
Bacci 2006, 210.
Nasr, Šćepanović and Zoitou 2023, 74–82; Akiki and Hélou 2023–2024; Kahwagi-Janho 2016, 95–135; Immerzeel 2009, 105–162; Hélou 1999a, 139–162; Chausson and Nordiguian 1996, 37–46.
Nasr 2025, 135–164; Nasr 2018a, 26–46; Abdul Massih, Chaaya and Hajj 2014, 187–222; Immerzeel 2009, 1118–119; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 49–50, 89, 92, 250–261.
Immerzeel 2009, 89–92; Immerzeel 2004b, 15–17; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 158–179; Westphalen 2000, 491–493; Nordiguian and Voisin 1999 (2009), 363–364; Hélou 2006b, 40–43; Sader 1997, 165–177.
Immerzeel 2009, 93–99; Nassif et al. 2007, 366–377; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 192–200; Nordiguian and Voisin 1999 (2009), 394–395; Hélou 2006b, 37; Sader 1997, 178–189.
Only the lower part of the figures remains; the Apostle Peter can still be identified by his keys.
Immerzeel 2009, 56–57; Immerzeel 2007b, 127–131; Cruikshank Dodd 2001; Cruikshank Dodd 1992, 61–132; Cruikshank Dodd 1982, 167–182; Westphalen 2000, 493–496.
Zibawi 2009, 34; Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 340; Walter 1970, 169.
Nasr 2019b, 31; Nasr 2018a, 30; Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 340.
Nasr 2018a, 30; Nasr 2022a, 245; Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 52.
See pp. 93–94 herein.
Nasr 2022a, 246; Nasr 2019b, 31–32; Angheben 2012, 69–70, 74; Thérel and Daniélou 1973, 125–133.
Nasr 2020a, 119–134; Nasr 2020b, 56–65; Nasr 2018b, 98–113; Angheben 2012, 29–74; Bogevska-Capuano 2011, 1–21; Milliner 2011, 106–113; Lidov 2009, 225–255.
Nasr 2022a, 246; Nasr 2019b, 31–32; Angheben 2012, 69–70, 74; Thérel and Daniélou 1973, 125–133.
Nasr 2022a, 246; Nasr 2019b, 32–33; Nasr 2018a, 33–34.
Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 341–342; Hélou 1998, 41–42.
Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 71.
Kantorowicz 1942, 80.
Brightman 1896, I: 169.
Kühnel 1988, 65–69.
Nasr 2018a, 31–33; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 48; Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 74.
According to the testimony of Jacques de Vitry, Bishop of Acre (1214–1228), the Maronites adopted the traditions of the Latin Church under the mandate of Amalric of Nesle, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem (1158–1180) (Issa 2014, 325–339; Vitry 1825, I: 156–158).
Zibawi 2009, 36–37; Hélou 2007, 13–14; Hélou 2006b, 34; Hélou 1998, 41.
Dulaey 1998, 38–50.
Igarashi-Takeshita 1980, 46–47; Cassin 1951, 129–162; Ntedika 1971, 72–73.
Nasr 2025, 142–143; Nasr 2018a, 33; Abdul Massih, Chaaya and Hajj 2014, 210.
Nasr 2019b, 23–35.
Angheben 2011b, 114–115; Cantone 2008, 99; Iacobini 2000, 52–59, 114; Millet 1945, 54; Clédat 1904a, I: 80.
Nasr 2019b, 32.
Nasr 2018a, 34.
Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 342–343; Hélou 1998, 45–46.
Vanderheyde 2012, 203; Arkhipova 2007, 225–228, fig. 1; Iamanidzé 2005, 39; Grabar 1976, 88–90, pl. LXII-b.
Jolivet-Lévy 2008, pl. 11, fig. 2.
Ibid., pl. 12, fig. 1.
Ibid., pl. 16, fig. 2.
This can also be seen in depictions in the church of the Panagia in Moutoullas (Cyprus, 1280) and the church of St George in Ortaköy (Cappadocia, 13th century) (Jolivet-Lévy and Lemaigre Demesnil, 2015, 1: 252, 254; Jolivet-Lévy 2001b, 346; Stylianou and Stylianou 1997, 328, fig. 195).
Vanderheyde 2012, 202–203; Jolivet-Lévy 2008, 359.
Immerzeel 2009, 102; Hélou 2007, 16; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 343.
Vanderheyde 2012, 205–206; Meinardus 1973, 148–151.
Grotowski 2003, 27–77.
Festugière 1971, 315.
Jazarī 1974, pls XX–XXI.
The Italian traveller Simone Sigoli (1349–1401) noted in his 1384 account that all men carried a scarf or kerchief, either in their hands or draped over their shoulders (Sigoli 1831, 18). On Mamluk attire, see Behrens-Abouseif 2023; Fathy and Zidan 2017, 50–66; Mayer 1952; Stowasser 1984, 13–20; Taghizadeh Borujeni, Bozorgmehr and Akbarzade Niaki 2021, 94–108.
On the holy riders, see Bormpoudaki 2017, 143–156; Vanderheyde 2012, 201–211; Grotowski 2010; Velmans 2009, 233–239; Folda 2007, 87–107; Immerzeel 2004a, 29–60; Immerzeel 2003, 265–268; Walter 2003.
Velmans 2009, 233; Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 190.
Velmans 2009, 233; Folda 2007, 87–107; Immerzeel 2004a, 29–60; Immerzeel 2009, 104.
On St Theodore, see Jolivet-Lévy 2008, 357–372; Walter 1999, 163–195. On St George, see Walter 1999, 109–144.
Nasr 2022a, 246–247, 259; Vanderheyde 2012, 205; Jolivet-Lévy 2001b, 343; Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 190.
Vanderheyde 2012, 203.
Nasr 2022a, 246–247, 259; Vanderheyde 2012, 201–211; Walter 2003, 133–134.
Immerzeel and Snelders 2021, 156–157; Immerzeel 2009, 102–103; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 342; Hélou 2020, 237–238.
Nasr, Šćepanović and Zoitou 2023, 79.
Ciggaar 2006, 261–282.
Bacci 2022, 10.
Similarly, the male supplicants of Mar Elias Btina in Beirut and Mar Phoca in Amiun wear a long white tunic with snug sleeves, layered with a sleeveless coat (Nasr 2024, 68–72, fig. 10; Immerzeel and Snelders 2021, fig. 6.1; Hélou 2020, 243, fig. 16.8). Additionally, the male supplicant of Mar Sharbel al-Qadim in Maad also wears a white shirt with fitted sleeves beneath a wide, short brown waistcoat (Nasr, Šćepanović and Zoitou 2023, 77–80, fig. 4; Immerzeel and Snelders 2021, 153, fig. 6.9; Hélou 2020, 236, fig. 16.3).
For a 13th-century skullcap in Lebanon, see Baroudy et al. 2011, 100–109, 116–131; Abi Aoun et al. 1994, 39, 43–44.
In 1596 Girolamo Dandini (1554–1634) documented that ‘Frankish Christians usually dress in black’ and that ‘Italian and Greek Christians wear a black hat or cap’ (Dandini 1675, 45, 50).
Norris 1999, 176–177; Boucher 1983, 184, fig. 332.
Meyer-Fernandez 2020, 215.
Meyer-Fernandez 2019, no. 29; Immerzeel 2018, 143–144, pl. 13; Bitha 2012, 192, fig. 17; Stancioiu 2009, 211–212, 376, fig. 6.8; Kalamara 2004, 107–108, 114, 130, fig. 2; Christoforaki 1999a, 14–15, pl. 3; Christoforaki 1999b, 97–102, 254–255, n. 4, pls 38b, 39; Stylianou and Stylianou 1997, 425–427, fig. 256.
Baroudy et al. 2011, 98–99; Abi Aoun et al. 1994, 36.
Hélou 2020, 239–240.
Meyer-Fernandez 2020, 209; Parani 2016, 137.
Chookaszian 2017, 9–10; Grigoryan 2017, 135–136.
Meyer-Fernandez 2019, 252–254, fig. 143, no. 27; Immerzeel 2018, 144, 164, pl. 14; Bitha 2012, 192–193, 195, figs 18–19; Kalopissi-Verti 2012, 125; Stancioiu 2009, 209–211, 213–214, 227, 229–230, 256, 372–373, figs 6.4–6.5; Kalamara 2004, 109–110, 131, fig. 3; Christoforaki 1999b, 89–96, 258, no. 5, pls 35–36.
Bormpoudaki 2017, fig. 3; Gallas, Wessel and Borboudakis 1983, 207, fig. 159.
Nasr, Šćepanović and Zoitou 2023, 90; Semoglou 1995, 5–12.
Imhaus 2013, 67, n. 11.
According to David Talbot Rice, approximately 30 families adopted this type of eagle with outstretched wings as their emblem (Talbot Rice 1937, 156).
Meyer-Fernandez 2019, 259–285; Olympios 2014, 48–50, 55–56, fig. 1; Wollesen 2013, figs 8, 16, 19, pls 6–7, 9; McNulty 2010, 75–97; Stancioiu 2009, 277, 389, fig. 6.2.
According to Burchard of Mount Sion, ‘Besides these there are the Syrians or Syri. The whole land is full of them […] They are clothed wretchedly, are thrifty and do not give alms. They live among Saracens and, like most of them, work as servants. In dress they are like the Saracens, being only distinguished from them by a woollen girdle’ (Burchard of Mount Sion 2011, 315).
Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 343. These are similar to the ones found in various locations in the Lebanese sphere, such as on the south wall of the annex chapel at Mar Girgis in Rashkida (Nasr 2019a, 262), near the entrance of the Saydet Hamatura and in the apse of St Michael in Hamatura (Nordiguian 1998, 67–89).
On cryptogram crosses and their prophylactic meaning, see Rhoby 2017; Walter 1997, 193–220; Walter 2006, 139–166; Babić 1979, 1–13.
The two-barred cross, also known as the patriarchal cross, was historically associated with pilgrimages and the Crusades in the Holy Land. Around 1244 a relic of this form was brought back from the East and came to be venerated by the Dukes of Anjou, notably under Louis I of Anjou in the 14th century, becoming known as the Cross of Anjou. In 1477 René II, Duke of Lorraine, a descendant of the Anjou dynasty, adopted the cross as his emblem following his victory at the Battle of Nancy, thus marking its transformation into the emblematic Cross of Lorraine.
Duwayhī 1895b, I: 151.
Hélou 2016b, 352.
See pp. 150–151 herein.
See p. 159, n. 87 herein.
The Trisagion of the Small Entrance is sung only by the cherub.
See pp. 60–63, 153 herein.
Hélou 2016b, 350.
Hélou 2016b, 350; Nordiguian 2003, 187–192.
Jolivet-Lévy 2009, 175; Babić and Walter 1976, 269–280.
Jolivet-Lévy 2009, 174–193; Gerstel 1999, 21–23; Walter 1982; Walter 1977, 321–331.
Jolivet-Lévy 2017, 118.
Hélou 2016b, 353.
Sinkević 2000, 35–39.
Both the church of the Panagia in Veljusa (North Macedonia; 1085–1094) and the church of St John Chrysostom in Koutsovendis (Cyprus; 1092–1118) feature frontal bishops and officiants together.
Hélou 2016b, 352; Jolivet-Lévy 2009, 175.
Jolivet-Lévy 2017, 116; Hélou 2016b, 352–353; Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 341.
Immerzeel 2009, 49–55.
Hélou 2016b, 359–364.
Immerzeel 2007a, 185–194.
Hélou 2016b, 354.
Bīṭār 1995, 232.
Bolman 2002, 55, fig. 12.1.
Sauma 1994, 234–240.
Immerzeel 2009, 114–115; Nordiguian and Voisin 1999 (2009), 410–411; Hélou 2007, 28; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 362–372.
Immerzeel 2009, 100; Nordiguian and Voisin 1999 (2009), 284, 374; Hélou 2008, 40–43; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 394–398, pl. XCIV.
Ouspenski 1993, 230; Hélou 2016b, 355–356.
Nasr 2017, 327; Mercenier and Paris 1953, 238.
Grabar 1954, 172.
Hélou 2016b, 354; Ouspenski 1993, 230; Nilgen and Franciscono 1967, 311.
Nasr 2017, 328; Brightman 1908, 395.
Nasr 2017, 328; Grégoire le Grand 2005, 214–219; Nilgen and Franciscono 1967, 311–312; Schiller 1966, I: 70, 74–75.
Nasr 2017, 330–331; Brightman 1908, 265–266.
Nasr 2017, 324; Nilgen and Franciscono 1967, 311; Bornert 1966, 79.
Nilgen and Franciscono 1967, 311; Bornert 1966, 206; Capelle 1949, 19–20.
Nilgen and Franciscono 1967, 311.
Nasr 2017, 326.
Nasr 2017, 319–332; Nilgen and Franciscono 1967, 311–316.
Gerstel 1999, 87; Herrin 1987, 308.
Hélou 2010a, 382–384; Immerzeel 2009, 113; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 307.
See pp. 88–93, 151 herein.
See pp. 59–63, 153 herein.
Georgius Pisida 1865, PG 92: 1335–1346.
See pp. 85–88, 151–152 herein.
See p. 149 herein.
Hélou 2010a, 368; Immerzeel 2009, 113; Zibawi 2009, 48.
Davidson Bekker 2022, 1–12; Bolman 2017, 13–22; Muller and Mathews 2017, 3–11; Cotsonis 2011–2012, 193–207; Hélou 2010a, 387–391; Cutler 1987a, 335–350; Lazarev 1938, 27–36.
Hélou 2010a, 387–391; Immerzeel 2009, 113; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 307–308.
Bolman 2017, 13–22.
Folda 1995, pls 6.14a-b.
Immerzeel 2009, 69, pl. 38; Westphalen 2000, 496.
Hélou 2010a, 387, 395; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 46; Langener 1996, 133–135, 145–146.
Jean Damascène 1961, 65, 71–73.
Bolman 2017, 13–22; Hélou 2010a, 390–391.
Bolman 2017, 17–18; Budge 1915, 719–721; Clément d’Alexandrie 1960, 183–195.
Bolman 2017, 17–18; Clément d’Alexandrie 1960, 183–195.
Bolman 2017, 17–18; Budge 1915, 719–721.
Nasr 2020a, 119–134; Nasr 2020b, 56–65; Nasr 2018b, 98–113.
Hélou 2010a, 390–391.
These minimal traces of paint have been interpreted in several ways. Nada Hélou and Mat Immerzeel, for example, have assumed that it may be a seated Virgin with a donor (Hélou 2010a, 378, 391; Immerzeel 2009, 113), while Erica Cruikshank Dodd and Glenn Peers have reconstructed a Virgin Nicopeia (Bringer of Victory) (Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 42–43; Peers 2007, 46).
Hélou 2010a, 391; Immerzeel 2009, 113–114; Peers 2007, 44–53; Nordiguian 2005, 163–169; Nordiguian 1995, 100; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 308.
Buchthal 1957, pl. 136d.
Hélou 2010a, 391; Immerzeel 2009, 114; Zibawi 2009, 48; Nordiguian 2005, 163–169; Nordiguian 1995, 100.
Amprazogoula 2008, 163–172; Jolivet-Lévy 1991a, 205–218; Jolivet-Lévy 1991c, 101–106; Thierry 1991, 33–100; Koumoussi 1985, 51–60; Delehaye 1966, 212–239.
The representation of St Eustace shooting a bow is rare in the East, but is frequent in the Western world (Amprazogoula 2008, 165–166).
The stag is often compared by liturgists either to Christ or the faithful. On the Christian symbolism of the stag, see Bayet 1954, 21–68; Puech 1949, 17–60.
Renan 1864, 251–252; Lammens 1913, I: 88.
Immerzeel 2009, 113; Hélou 2010a, 391–393.
Nordiguian 1995, 103.
Hélou 2010a, 392–394.
Folda 2005, 329; Cormack and Mihalarias 1984, 132–141.
Folda 1992, 107–132; Frinta 1981, 333–347.
Nordiguian and Voisin 1999 (2009), 228; Hélou 2007, 28; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 363.
See pp. 156–157 herein.
Marinis 2021b, 259.
Duwayhī 1895a, II: 229–230.
Angheben 2008, 82. On the ritual of censing the offering in the Byzantine liturgy, see Taft 1975, 154–157.
Nordiguian and Voisin 1999 (2009), 410–411; Immerzeel 2009, 114; Hélou 2007, 28; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 363.
On the two midwives at the Nativity, see Bogevska-Capuano 2015, 237–238.
Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 363.
Nasr, Šćepanović and Zoitou 2023, 74–82; Akiki and Hélou 2023–2024; Kahwagi-Janho 2016, 95–135; Nordiguian and Voisin 1999 (2009), 395–396; Immerzeel 2009, 105–108; Immerzeel 2004b, 12–13; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 96–97; Hélou 1999a, 139–162; Sader 1997, 101–119.
Nordiguian and Voisin 1999 (2009), 162–163; Immerzeel 2009, 108–111; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 21–22; Hélou 2003, 397–434.
See pp. 182–184 herein.
Nasr 2017, 328; Brightman 1908, 395.
U 2019, 29–30; Evangelatou 2017, 117–131; Daley 2001, 155–177; Maguire 1994, 59–68; Hadermann-Misguich 1975, 181–186; Wenger 1955; Okounev and Wratislaw-Mitrovic 1931, 134–180.
Evangelatou 2017, 118; Maguire 1994, 59–68.
Sarabyanov 2010, 177–181.
Evangelatou 2017, 118; Sarabyanov 2010, 178; Maguire 1994, 59–68.
Nasr, Šćepanović and Zoitou 2023, 74–82; Akiki and Hélou 2023–2024; Kahwagi-Janho 2016; Immerzeel 2009, 105–62; Hélou 1999a, 139–162; Chausson and Nordiguian 1996, 37–46.
Evangelatou 2017, 119; Walter 1982, 140–141.
Hélou 2003, 397–434.
Nordiguian and Voisin 1999 (2009), 410–411; Immerzeel 2009, 114; Hélou 2007, 28; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 364.
Sauma 1994, 244–253.
Immerzeel 2009, 89–92; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 158–179; Westphalen 2000, 491–493; Nordiguian and Voisin 1999 (2009), 363–364; Hélou 1999b, 22–23.
Immerzeel 2009, 93; Zibawi 2009, 59; Nordiguian and Voisin 1999 (2009), 230; Hélou 2006b, 36; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 193; Hélou 1998, 37.
See p. 159, n. 87 herein.
See pp. 59–63, 154–155 herein.
Immerzeel 2009, 93; Nordiguian and Voisin 1999 (2009), 264; Zibawi 2009, 59; Hélou 2006b, 36; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 194; Hélou 1998, 38. For examples in Cappadocia, see Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 11, 14, 25, 28, 40, 42, 48, 53, 59, 84, 89, 162, 168, 178, 222, 242, 246, 248, 262, 303, 309, 322, 325, 326.
In Mren and Talin, Armenia (7th century), busts of prophets can be found on the intrados of the apse. They are depicted alongside a Theophany scene (Thierry and Thierry 1971, 76–77).
Velmans 1981, 66–72.
Ibid., 48; Lafontaine-Dosogne 1968, 135–144.
Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 11.
Ibid.
Hélou 2006b, 36; Zibawi 2009, 59.
Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 193–194.
Immerzeel 2007a, 185–193; Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 341; Walter 1982, 166–167; Walter 1977, 321–331; Walter 1974, 81–98; Chatzidakis 1959, 91–95.
Bornert 1966, 61.
Ibid., 79; Isidore of Pelusium 1859b, PG 78: 272C.
Théodore de Mopsueste 1949, 491.
On hermits and monks in mural painting, see Tomekovic 2016.
Hélou 2006b, 36; Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 20.
Iacobini 2000; Maspero 1931; Clédat 1904a; Clédat 1904b; Zibawi 2003, 78–82.
Brodbeck 2010, 131; Hélou 2006b, 36.
Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 101.
Brodbeck 2010, 131.
Reudenbach 1980, 310–351.
See pp. 150–151 herein.
See pp. 53–55, 150–151 herein.
See pp. 146–147 herein.
Ibid.
See pp. 164–166 herein.
Nasr 2018a, 35; Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 154.
Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 154.
Ibid., 154.
Lazarev 1971, 221–238; Povstenko 1954.
Lidov 1998, 381–405; Epstein 1980, 314–329; Grabar 1965, 257–265.
Sinkević 2000, 30–39.
Gouma-Peterson 1991, 111–129, figs 6–7; Gouma-Peterson 1976, 168–183.
Hélou 2009a, 10; Grigorovich-Barsky 2005, 67. Translated by Natalia Chitishvili.
Jolivet-Lévy 2009, 175. In the church of the Panagia in Veljusa (North Macedonia; 1085–1094) and in the church of St John Chrysostom in Koutsovendis (Cyprus; 1092–1118), frontal bishops are depicted alongside the Officiating Bishops.
Hélou 2009a, 16; Hélou and Immerzeel 2007, 315–317; Hélou and Immerzeel 2005, 453–455.
This idea does not in any way suggest that Christ conducts a separate liturgy or offers communion in heaven; on the contrary, Christ, along with the saints and angels, takes part in the same liturgy celebrated on earth. This iconographic concept stems solely from the belief held by artists and their patrons that if Christ is the High Priest, then there must be a heavenly worship that mirrors the earthly one – a service in which the Eucharist is distributed (Marinis 2021b, 255–268).
Hélou 2009a, 16.
It is worth mentioning that Peter is accompanied by a Syriac inscription that mistakenly identifies him as Paul, whereas the intended inscription for Peter was meant for the now-destroyed figure of Paul on the opposite wall. Unlike the painter responsible for these depictions, it seems the calligrapher was unaware of the distinct iconographic characteristics of Peter and Paul, leading to this error.
Brightman 1908, 258. Theodore of Mopsuestia asserted that Christ is placed on the altar in a manner similar to that of a tomb (Théodore de Mopsueste 1949, 509).
Brightman 1908, 258.
On the Communion of the Apostles, see Marinis 2021a, 1–20; Varalis 2014, 43–64; Jolivet-Lévy 2009, 162–174; Coulson 2003, 145–156; Gerstel 1999, 48–59; Walter 1982, 184–189, 195–196, 215–217.
Chmielewski et al. 2013, 316; Hélou 2009a, 13; Immerzeel 2009, 97; Hélou and Immerzeel 2007, 315–317; Hélou and Immerzeel 2005, 453–458.
Marinis 2021b, 255–268.
John Chrysostom 1862b, PG 48: 681.
John Chrysostom 1862g, PG 59: 262.
Giorgi 2014, 95.
Thierry 1983, I: 157. For examples of archangels protecting the church or bema, see Koumoussi 1987, 125–126. On the guardian archangels of the gates, see Tatić-Djurić 1989, 359–366.
See pp. 168–170 herein.
Nasr 2025, 141–144; Nasr 2018a, 26–46; Abdul Massih, Chaaya and Hajj 2014, 187–222; Immerzeel 2009, 118–119; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 49–50, 89, 92, 250–261.
Nasr 2018a, 31–33; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 48; Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 74.
Croiset 1886, 687.
See pp. 198–199 herein.
Hélou 2009a, 17; Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 19–20.
See p. 202 herein.
Chmielewski et al. 2013, 317; Hélou 2009a, 16; Hélou and Immerzeel 2007, 315–317.
This is the case at Mar Tadros of Behdidat and at Mar Saba of Edde el-Batrun in Lebanon.
See pp. 170–172, 190–191 herein.
Nasr 2022a, 235–266; Nasr 2022b, 287–298.
Filvedt and Wessbrandt 2015, 96–114; Holmes 2007; Barker 2003.
Nasr 2022a, 238–240.
John Chrysostom 1992, 14–24.
See pp. 162–164 herein.
Dulaey 1994, 3–40.
Méliton de Sardes 2008, 234; Origène 2003, 222; Amphilochius Iconiensis 1978, 300, 405–409; Irénée de Lyon 1965, 434; Clément d’Alexandrie 1960, 151; Cosmas Indicopleustes 1860, PG 88: 241B.
John Chrysostom 1992, 18.
Brock 2006, 229–243; Siman 1971, 222–242.
Méliton de Sardes 2008, 234, 236; Amphilochius Iconiensis 1978, 302, 413–417; Jean Chrysostome 1703, II: 80–81.
Origène 2003, 230; Clément d’Alexandrie 1960, 152; Cyril of Alexandria 1864, PG 69: 144A.
Mulard 2011, 99; Dulaey 1994.
Van Woerden 1961, 214–220.
On eucharistic prefigurations in the Old Testament according to patristic catechesis, see Bornert 1966, 61, 65, 73, 75, 77, 81, 173, 175–176, 205; Gregory of Nazianzos 1864, PG 35: 497B; Cyril of Alexandria 1864, PG 69: 14A; Brightman 1908, 257–259, 300, 390–391, 397.
See pp. 166–168 herein.
Jolivet-Lévy and Lemaigre Demesnil 2015, 153–154.
Nasr 2022a, 245.
See pp. 168, 199 herein.
Nasr 2022a, 246; Nasr 2019b, 31–32; Nasr 2018a, 31; Angheben 2012, 69–70, 74; Thérel and Daniélou 1973, 125–133.
Nasr 2022a, 246.
Pancaroğlu 2004, 151–164.
Nasr 2022a, 246–247, 259; Vanderheyde 2012, 201–211; Walter 2003, 133–134.
Nasr 2022a, 248–258.
Nordiguian 2015–2016b, 397–405; Immerzeel 2009, 93–94; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 93, 208–217; Nordiguian 1998, 67–89.
Rapti 2015, 95–118; Angheben 2013a; Angheben 2002, 105–134; Pace and Angheben 2007; Baschet 2009, 103–123; Baschet 1995, 159–203; Christe 1973, I: 68; Duwayhī 1895b, I: 455–465.
Baschet 2009, 103–123; Pace and Angheben 2007; Angheben 2002, 105–134; Baschet 1995, 159–203; Duwayhī 1895b, I: 455–465.
Bérard 2004, 51; Kepetzi 1994, 99–112.
The motif of two angels rolling up the sky became common in the Palaiologan era; see Kepetzi 1994, 104.
Nasr 2022a, 251–252.
Nicolaïdès 1995, 75.
The allegorical representation of the earth and the sea with their creatures, yielding rising bodies, was commonly used in 12th- and 13th-century Cyprus, which was closely associated with the County of Tripoli and Enfeh. This representation can be observed, for example, at St Nicholas tis Stegis in Kakopetria (late 13th–early 14th centuries), at the church of the Transfiguration in Sotira (second half of the 13th century) and at the Panagia Kanakaria in Lythrankomi (14th century).
Nasr 2022a, 253–254.
For details of Individual Judgement, see in particular Angheben 2013a, 113–128; Angheben 2002, 105–134; Baschet 2009, 103–123; Baschet 1995, 159–203; Duwayhī 1895b, I: 455–466.
Krauze-Kołodziej 2019.
Nasr 2022a, 254.
Jolivet-Lévy 2001b, 272–274.
See pp. 144–145 herein; Duwayhī 1895b, I: 455–461.
Symeon of Thessaloniki 1866d, PG 155: 733A; Duwayhī 1895b, I: 455–466.
Nasr, Šćepanović and Zoitou 2023, 90–94; Nasr 2022a, 258–264; Nasr 2022b, 292–296.
Nasr, Šćepanović and Zoitou 2023, 90; Nasr 2022a, 258–259. St Theodore Tiron (St Theodore the Recruit) should be distinguished from the Egyptian St Theodore of Shotep (St Theodore Stratelates), who in Coptic iconography is shown on a white horse. For this reason, the well-known story of the Egyptian Theodore saving a widow’s two sons from a dragon in Euchaita cannot be applied to the Enfeh image, where the saint is unmistakably mounted on a red horse and the supplicant’s Western-style attire and, above all, her Latin gesture of prayer with joined hands do not correspond to the traditional portrayal of the widow. An example of this specific life episode of St Theodore of Shotep, mounted on a white horse, survives in a 1232–1233 mural at the monastery of St Anthony of the Red Sea. Another was found in the church of the Dragon Slayers, Tebtunis (Fayum); although the building has since disappeared, photographs of the paintings are preserved in the Griffith Institute, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; see Bolman 2002, 42–44, figs 4.8, 4.10; Walters 1989, 193–194; Winstedt 1979, 123–132; O’Leary 1937, 262–264; Immerzeel 2023–2024, pp. 130–132, pl. 2.
As in Mar Musa el-Habashi in Syria (Immerzeel 2007b, 127–131; Cruikshank Dodd 2001); St Theodore (Pancarlık Kilise), church no. 2b in Göreme and Karşı Kilise in Cappadocia (Jolivet-Lévy 2001a, 163–181); and a carved relief in St George (Mcxet’a) in the village of Joisubani in the Rač’a region of Georgia (Iamanidzé 2015, 59–63).
Iamanidzé 2015, 59–63.
Nasr, Šćepanović and Zoitou 2023, 90; Nasr 2022a, 260.
Semoglou 1995, 5–12.
A prevalent posture among the uncovered female bodies discovered at Asi-l-Hadath is with their hands positioned over their chest and secured by a leather belt. This tradition persisted throughout modern times (Baroudy et al. 2011; Abi Aoun et al. 1994; Figuié and Kallab 1999; Hourani 2000, 103–109).
Imhaus 2004, I: 142–143, 525, pl. 121; II: 243, pl. 285, fig. 271. For further examples, see Imhaus 2004, I: pl. 3, fig. 2; pl. 11, fig. 13; pl. 13, fig. 15; pl. 14, fig. 16; pl. 15, fig. 17; pl. 16, fig. 18; pl. 17, fig 19; pl. 20, fig. 22; pl. 22, fig. 25; pl. 25, fig. 32; pl. 26, fig. 35; pl. 40, fig. 81; pl. 45, fig. 95; pl. 52, fig. 104; pl. 67, fig. 142; pl. 116, fig. 261; pl. 120, fig. 269; pl. 121, fig. 271; pl. 123, fig. 275; pl. 126, fig. 278; pl. 127, fig. 279; pl. 135, fig. 287; pl. 138, fig. 292; pl. 145, fig. 310; pl. 198, fig. 470; pl. 244, fig. 660.
The only burial within the church grounds dates back to the 18th century, leading to speculation about whether this burial might have replaced an earlier one, given that it was unearthed at the 13th-century ground level.
The daughter of the depicted knight and his wife, kneeling near the Virgin Glykophilousa (of Tenderness) in the church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, also reveals her uncovered hair; see Bacci 2022, 36. See also the 14th-century tomb slab of the French woman Jaque Visconte from the cathedral of St Sophia in Nicosia (now in the Lapidary Museum, North Nicosia), where she is portrayed without a veil, her hands clasped in prayer over her chest; Imhaus 2004, II: 229, pl. 271, fig. 158.
Nasr, Šćepanović and Zoitou 2023, 91; Bacci 2017, 131.
Nasr, Šćepanović and Zoitou 2023, 91–92; Nasr 2022a, 261; Snyder 2016, 85–102; Wilson and Burns 2017, 100; Wright and Burns 2017, n. 78.
Nasr, Šćepanović and Zoitou 2023, 91–92; Nasr 2022a, 261.
This is evident from his detailed description of the clothing worn by a Latin bride in Tyre when he visited in 1194; see Lindsay and Mourad 2021, 22.
Nasr, Šćepanović and Zoitou 2023, 94.
See pp. 123–125 herein.
Le Goff 1990, 283–284.
Bacci 2016, 76–105.
Nasr 2019a, 259–278; Immerzeel 2009, 111–112; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 22–23, 272–279; Hélou 2006b, 37–40.
See pp. 55, 150–151 herein.
See pp. 59–63, 154–155 herein.
Nasr 2019a, 264–265.
Ibid., 265.
Ibid., 265–266.
Westphalen 2005, 111.
Weyl Carr 2012, 219–223.
Van Loon 1999, 4, 22–30, figs 23–26.
Ibid., 4, 30–59, figs 47–48.
Ibid., 4, 65–74, figs 83–85.
Bolman 2002, 66, fig. 4.32; van Loon 1999, 4, 91–107; van Moorsel 1997, I: 35–36; II: pls 9–10.
Nasr 2019a, 266.
See pp. 162, 209 herein.
Van Woerden 1961, 214–220.
See p. 162, n. 109 herein.
Nasr 2019a, 266–267.
Megaw and Hawkins 1962, fig. 12.
Nasr 2019a, 268.
Nasr 2019a, 270.
Symeon of Thessaloniki 1866a, PG 155: 263, 274, 286; Symeon of Thessaloniki 1866c, PG 155: 347.
This type of church, with dual apses and altars, has generated various interpretations among researchers. These include speculation that the church was dedicated to two saints, that the religious service was conducted in two languages or that the two aisles served different religious communities. Others believe the design may have been intended to separate men and women or to provide more space or cost-effective construction. See Kahwagi-Janho 2019, 107–140; Nordiguian 2018, 408–483; Cruikshank Dodd 2004, 23–26; Pringle 1993, I: 206; Dimitrokallis 1978, 577–579; Lassus 1947, 191–193.
Nasr 2019a, 270.
See pp. 53–55, 150–151 herein.
Nasr 2019a, 272.
Nasr 2020a, 119–134; Nasr 2020b, 56–65; Nasr 2018b, 98–113; Angheben 2012, 29–74; Milliner 2011, 106–113; Bogevska-Capuano 2011, 1–21; Lidov 2009, 225–255.
Tatić-Djurić 2002, 129–136.
Nasr 2019a, 272–273.
Jolivet-Lévy 2019, 392–394; Jolivet-Lévy and Lemaigre Demesnil 2015, I: 345–348; II: fig. 84.2; Jolivet-Lévy 2006, pl. 56; Jolivet-Lévy 1991b, 96–98; Epstein 1986, figs 83–87; Restle 1967, II: figs 117–119.
Bornert 1966, 78 (for John Chrysostom), 82 (for Isidore of Pelusium and Theodore of Mopsuestia).
Ibid., 1966, 75–82.
Jolivet-Lévy 2004, 43–72; Mango and Hawkins 1966, 148–149, figs 32, 34.
Boyd 1998, 180–183; Wixom 1997, nn. 30, 68–69.
Nasr 2019a, 276.
Gregory the Great 1849, PL 77: 991.