This icon of the 19th century is a rare iconographic type of Christ Pantokrator. In traditional iconography such depiction of Christ shows him as the King of Heaven, Christ in Majesty. This is also indicated by the translation of the name Pantokrator from Greek: almighty. It correlates with the way Jesus Christ is represented in the Old and New Testaments.
The key difference between Pantokrator and icons of similar types is that the figure of Christ in depicted in simple, mundane clothes, but with a crown on his head. He holds the orb – the symbol of the divine power – in his left hand. In other iconographic variations, Christ has the Gospel Book in his left hand. The holy book often contains only two characters: Greek Alpha and Omega. The first and last letters imply that the Gospel is the whole world that the Lord holds in his hands. According to the canon, Jesus Christ blesses everyone who prays in front of the icon with his right hand: his fingers are folded in a special way – his ring and little fingers are pressed against the thumb.
The key difference between Pantokrator and icons of similar types is that the figure of Christ in depicted in simple, mundane clothes, but with a crown on his head. He holds the orb – the symbol of the divine power – in his left hand. In other iconographic variations, Christ has the Gospel Book in his left hand. The holy book often contains only two characters: Greek Alpha and Omega. The first and last letters imply that the Gospel is the whole world that the Lord holds in his hands. According to the canon, Jesus Christ blesses everyone who prays in front of the icon with his right hand: his fingers are folded in a special way – his ring and little fingers are pressed against the thumb.
