The transformation of the Transfiguration in the church of St Catherine
The resurrection of one of the most important art works in Christendom can be celebrated this Easter. The magnificent mosaic of the Transfiguration in the church of St Catherine, in Sinai, has been brought back to new life. Now, as a long and extremely delicate conservation project reaches its conclusion, The Times can show the first pictures from the freshly restored apse that for some 1500 years has glimmered in the imagination of religious pilgrim and cultural traveller alike.
St Catherine's Monastery, built in the 6th century by the Emperor Justinian, once lay at the heart of the Holy Empire of Byzantium. It might seem a bleak outpost to the contemporary visitor - only a few drifting Beduin inhabit the desolate landscapes of the Sinai peninsular and the desert heaves ridges of barren granite against a hard sky. And yet St Catherine's, built around the site where God spoke from the burning bush to Moses and at the foot of the mountain that he climbed to collect the Ten Commandments, remains to adherents of three faiths - Christianity, Judaism and Islam - a piece of hallowed ground. The reclusive community of Greek Orthodox monks who now live there keep up sacred traditions that have remained unbroken for a millennium and a half.
Glittering at the heart of the monastery, like the flickering flame in a sanctuary lamp, is the great mosaic of the Transfiguration. This image represents that moment described in the Gospels when, in the presence of Moses and Elijah, Christ was divinely transfigured upon a mountain top. To the three witnessing apostles - Peter, James and John - he is revealed as the true Son of God.
Every day for 15 centuries the first rays of the sun streaming over the crest of the mountains have rekindled this image with their glorious light. To many it may be most important as an extremely rare surviving example of an early Byzantine mosaic. But to millions it is far more than just a piece of art; it is one of the most profound depictions of the revelation of God to Man...
Read entire article at Times (UK)
St Catherine's Monastery, built in the 6th century by the Emperor Justinian, once lay at the heart of the Holy Empire of Byzantium. It might seem a bleak outpost to the contemporary visitor - only a few drifting Beduin inhabit the desolate landscapes of the Sinai peninsular and the desert heaves ridges of barren granite against a hard sky. And yet St Catherine's, built around the site where God spoke from the burning bush to Moses and at the foot of the mountain that he climbed to collect the Ten Commandments, remains to adherents of three faiths - Christianity, Judaism and Islam - a piece of hallowed ground. The reclusive community of Greek Orthodox monks who now live there keep up sacred traditions that have remained unbroken for a millennium and a half.
Glittering at the heart of the monastery, like the flickering flame in a sanctuary lamp, is the great mosaic of the Transfiguration. This image represents that moment described in the Gospels when, in the presence of Moses and Elijah, Christ was divinely transfigured upon a mountain top. To the three witnessing apostles - Peter, James and John - he is revealed as the true Son of God.
Every day for 15 centuries the first rays of the sun streaming over the crest of the mountains have rekindled this image with their glorious light. To many it may be most important as an extremely rare surviving example of an early Byzantine mosaic. But to millions it is far more than just a piece of art; it is one of the most profound depictions of the revelation of God to Man...