Icon of Christ Pantocrator (Patmos) - Jesus Icon

Beautiful icon of Jesus in 6 x 8” size

The Lord is “Pantocrator” (from the Greek for “Ruler of All”) in this beautiful contemporary icon from a convent on the Isle of Patmos, the island where St. John the Evangelist and Theologian was exiled and subsequently wrote the last book of the New Testament, Revelation, in about the year a.d. 95.  There is a large monastery dedicated now to St. John at the site of the cave that was by tradition the place where God revealed much to St. John in a vision on a Sunday when he dictated what he saw and heard to a young man St. Prochorus, St. John’s disciple, who was also one of the first seven deacons of the Church.

With His right-hand upraised Christ blesses us. His fingers are in one of the two traditional positions in His icons, here with the lower two fingers joined with the thumb to represent the Holy Trinity, and the upper two fingers together representing His two Natures, but with one bent, symbolizing His human Nature which was humble in the Incarnation.  In His left hand He is shown carrying the Gospel with His message for us.  We need to carefully open our hearts to hear and do what God lovingly asks us.