Posts in category: Το Καθολικό – Διονυσίου

The present-day icon screen in the cathedral, made of walnut wood, gilded, and sculpted with a rich floral design, is an example of high-quality woodcarving of the 18th century. According to written statements, the icon screen it was transported to the Monastery in 1796 after its construction, and cost 2,827 grosia. In 1803, the next Abbot, Stefanos Vizuotis, sent to Konstantinople to buy pure gold for the gilding, which cost 2,000 grosia, a sum donated by the monk Chatzi Angelakis from the Dionysios Monastery.
The older icon screen, parts of which are kept behind the new one, had been constructed in 1553 with financing by the Abbot Alexandros Lepousneanos shortly after the construction of the cathedral. This fact only recently became known from an inscription that was discovered on a piece of silk fabric. Examples of the important art which had been on the old icon screen are provided by two painted sections which have also survived: St John the Theologian (during the suffering of Christ), and the Crucification.
The sculpted despotic throne is also made from walnut wood, and is dedicated to St John the Baptist. It includes sculptured portrayals of the birth and the decapitation of the Baptist, an angel with the scales of justice, and two vestment-clad deacons. On the back support, there is an icon of the Baptist dating to the 15th century.
Another important example of artistic skill and craftsmanship is the square-shaped shrine with columns that support five small domes, decorated with ivory and mother of pearl. It bears the characteristic inscription: ‘Accept this gift, Baptist, from the worthless Isaios. 1707.
Four more shrines at the western columns are part of the ciborium of the holy altar. All are woodcarved and gilded. The interior of the ciborium is painted, and bears an inscription.

The frescoes of the cathedral are works of the important Cretan artist Tzortzi. They are characterized by their great size, the beauty of the faces, the peaceful expression of the saints, and the artist’s attempt to convey the interior spirituality of their lives. However, after careful examination of the paintings, differences in their design and their attitudes in general become noticeable, which is likely an indication that Tzortzi had a group of students working with him, whose personal styles were reflected in the sections they completed. All the surfaces of the cathedral are painted, from the altar to the outer nave, and the area is divided into zones.
The order of the themes or subjects depicted follows the known iconographic programme found without deviation in Byzantine and post-Byzantine churches: In the center of the dome is the depiction of Christ the Ruler of All (Παντοκράτορας), flanked by the Host of Angels, the Virgin Mary, and John the Baptist. Below, between the windows of the drum, are the prophets, and further down, in the area of the pendentives (‘triangular spheres’), are the four Evangelists. Lower still, at the outer ring of the arches, are the semi-domes of the side apses, and in the next two zones, scenes depicting the 12 Great Feast Days of the Orthodox Church and the miracles of Christ. In the lowest zone and in the apses of the two areas are full-figure depictions of the martyrs and apostles; on the north side are the five martyrs Eustratios, Auxentios, Eugenios, Mardarios and Orestes, while the founder, Price Petru and his family are depicted on the south. The surfaces of the west wall depict ascetics in full-figure, and in the next zone, above the lintel and the ‘ownership’ inscription, the Dormition of the Virgin. In the semi-dome of the apse of the holy altar, Panagia Platitera (an attribute referring to the particular representation of the Virgin Mary which is very large and also appears in this central position) is depicted, enthroned and holding the Christ child, and below, in the semi-circular space, the Holy Mass, with the angels participating and with the Apostles receiving the holy Communion. In the lower zone, the co-celebrant hierarchs are present, flanking the holy altar and holding open scrolls with text. At the right and left, there are scenes from the Old Testament.