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Apse Fresco

The fresco in the apse depicts the Virgin Mary of the Burning Bush, with the Prophet Moses removing his shoes on the left, and receiving the Tablets of the Law on the right. Below are icons of the twelve Apostles.

Στάμνον σε χρυσῆν, καὶ πλάκα καὶ τράπεζαν, προδιεγράψατο, Μωϋσῆς Πανάμωμε, καὶ βάτον Κόρη ὅλην πυράφλεκτον· ὧν νῦν ἡμεῖς τὴν ἔκβασιν πιστῶς θεώμενοι, Θεοτόκον εὐσεβῶς δοξάζομεν, ὡς Θεὸν τῶν ἁπάντων γεννήσασα.

Moses wrote of thee beforehand as the golden vessel and the tablets and the table, O All-blameless one, and as the bush wholly unconsumed by fire, O Maiden; wherefore now, beholding the fulfilment with faith, we piously glorify the Theotokos who gave birth to the God of all.

Both now of the second canon of the Ninth Ode of Matins in the service to Moses the God-seer, Περιγραφὴ τοῦ Θεοβαδίστου Ὄρους Σινᾶ (Venice: Nicholas Glykis, 1817), p. 52.

3 comments to Apse Fresco

  • Maria

    Dear Father Justin,
    It’s unbelievable! Such an interesting alive depiction ..
    I have been just once (maybe twice) in the chapel at the peak, but
    I did not see the depiction of Moses!
    I love it!

  • Dominique BARON

    Dear Father Justin,
    Thank you for this splendid image of the fresco.
    Do you know the when this work was completed ?
    Thank you

    • Father Justin

      There is a door leading from the small narthex into the nave, with the same inscription painted above on both sides. The painter gives the date and his name at the end. On the side of the narthex, it reads, ΖΟΓΡΑΦ ΜΟΝΑΧ ΜΕΘΟΔΗΙΑ ΖΟΓΡΑΦΣΚΗ. On the side of the nave, it reads, ΖΟΓΡΑΦ. ΜΟΝΑΧ ΜΕΘΟΔΗ ΖΟΓΡΑΦΣΚΗ. The date given is 1937, August. Perhaps the archives of the monastery would have information about this iconographer.

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