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.
