Dimitrios E . Kalomirakis
Name- Surname: Dimitriοs Kalomirakis
Name of Father: Emmanuel
Place of Birth: Athens
Year of Birth: 1949,
Director emeritus of Antiquities of Greek Ministry of Culture
Primary Occupation, Organization:
1. Greek Ministry of Culture
2. Sinai Archive of Monuments of Mount Sinai Foundation
3. Director of Antiquities of Archaeological Service of Greek Ministry of Culture since 2011:
1977-2011
4. General Secretary of Hellenic Scientific Association "Ptolemy 1st" of Alexandria Egypt, 2015-
Member of Greek Archaeological Service of the Greek Ministry of Culture on Protection, Restoration, Conservation of relics, monuments, groups of settlements on areas of Byzantine and Post Byzantine times, mainly at Cyclades and Crete. Digitization of National Archive of Monuments and National Electronic Thesaurus of Terms of Monuments
1977-1979: Supervisor on Byzantine and Post Byzantine Antiquities, Attica and Cyclades Islands.
1980-1994: Vice Director of Byzantine and Post Byzantine Antiquities, Crete Island and responsible of the protection of Venetian city of Rethymnon and other cities of East part of Crete Island.
1980-1994: Restoration of more than 600 historical buildings of Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman period at Crete.
1994-2010: Head of Department of National Archive of Monuments and Vice Director at the Directory of National Archive of Monuments /Greek Ministry of Culture
2010-2011: Greek Ministry of Education and Religions, Directory of Byzantine Antiquities of Messinia.
2005-2011: Director of Sinaitic Archive of Monuments in Mount Sinai Foundation, Athens, under the supervision of God Trodden Mount Sinai Holy Monastery, St Catherine’s (Egypt).
1985-2011: Technical responsible on computer applications regarding the analysis the specifications of the monuments and their terminology in collaboration withَ: 1. Archaeological Service of Greek Ministry of Culture, 2. the Institute of Computer Science (ICS) of the Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH) at Heraklion of Crete, 3. The Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications, NCSR Demokritos, of Athens, 4. The Research Centre for Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Art of Academy of Athens, 5. Sinaitic Archive of Monuments of Mount Sinai Foundation at Athens.
Supervisors: Director Εmeritus of Antiquities of Greek Ministry of Culture
Name of Father: Emmanuel
Place of Birth: Athens
Year of Birth: 1949,
Director emeritus of Antiquities of Greek Ministry of Culture
Primary Occupation, Organization:
1. Greek Ministry of Culture
2. Sinai Archive of Monuments of Mount Sinai Foundation
3. Director of Antiquities of Archaeological Service of Greek Ministry of Culture since 2011:
1977-2011
4. General Secretary of Hellenic Scientific Association "Ptolemy 1st" of Alexandria Egypt, 2015-
Member of Greek Archaeological Service of the Greek Ministry of Culture on Protection, Restoration, Conservation of relics, monuments, groups of settlements on areas of Byzantine and Post Byzantine times, mainly at Cyclades and Crete. Digitization of National Archive of Monuments and National Electronic Thesaurus of Terms of Monuments
1977-1979: Supervisor on Byzantine and Post Byzantine Antiquities, Attica and Cyclades Islands.
1980-1994: Vice Director of Byzantine and Post Byzantine Antiquities, Crete Island and responsible of the protection of Venetian city of Rethymnon and other cities of East part of Crete Island.
1980-1994: Restoration of more than 600 historical buildings of Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman period at Crete.
1994-2010: Head of Department of National Archive of Monuments and Vice Director at the Directory of National Archive of Monuments /Greek Ministry of Culture
2010-2011: Greek Ministry of Education and Religions, Directory of Byzantine Antiquities of Messinia.
2005-2011: Director of Sinaitic Archive of Monuments in Mount Sinai Foundation, Athens, under the supervision of God Trodden Mount Sinai Holy Monastery, St Catherine’s (Egypt).
1985-2011: Technical responsible on computer applications regarding the analysis the specifications of the monuments and their terminology in collaboration withَ: 1. Archaeological Service of Greek Ministry of Culture, 2. the Institute of Computer Science (ICS) of the Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH) at Heraklion of Crete, 3. The Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications, NCSR Demokritos, of Athens, 4. The Research Centre for Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Art of Academy of Athens, 5. Sinaitic Archive of Monuments of Mount Sinai Foundation at Athens.
Supervisors: Director Εmeritus of Antiquities of Greek Ministry of Culture
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Papers by Dimitrios E . Kalomirakis
These comparisons show some contradictions between the main character of the wall paintings, and the current academic exegesis of them as a reasons for their origin. The iconography of the mandorla of the Thabor Light from the icon of Transfiguration, is more close to the realistic doctrines of the Patristic mystical texts, than the symbolic form of the mandorla in the same icon of the church of Holy Apostles at Thessaloniki, which is widely recepted as Hesychastic.
The iconography of the Transfiguration of Protaton looks more archaic going back to the post iconoclastic period and afterwards, than the iconography of the well known tradition of 14th. On the other hand the symbolic iconographic type of the mandorla of 14th century looks more familiar to the symbolic way of thinking of the scholars, than the written in texts realistic experience of the Hesychasts of the same period.
Also important similarities are found between the Protaton paintings and the general administrative dogma of the emperor Andronicus II of that years. The main orientation of this dogma was focused on the reestablishment the historical and spiritual tradition of his state. Historically this reestablishment begun during the first four years period that of ecumenical patriarch St. Athanasius I (1289-1293).
At that period, both emperor and patriarch had found big support from St. Theoliptos, metropolitan of Philadelphia. Both saints were spiritual students of St. Nikephoros the Hesychast, who at that period was still living near Karyes of Mount Athos. More than this, some years later both Saints had as their student St. Gregory Palamas.
Inside the mentioned period of that years, a lot of Patristic and historical texts as well as the nihilistic documentation, give a stable chronology for the creation of Protaton paintings.
1984, Ἡ ἐμπειρία τῆς ἐσωτερικῆς ἀλήθειας τῆς Ἐκκλησίας μας στὶς τοιχογραφίες
τοῦ Πρωτάτου. Σύναξη 12 (1984) Αθήνα 1984, 18-32·
https://www.academia.edu/37051817/The_experience_of_inner_truth_of_our_Church_in_the_wall_paintings_of_Protaton_in_Greek_1984_.pdf .
2006. Experiencing the Inner Truth of the Church in the Frescoes of the Protaton·
An Anthology of the Most Significant Orthodox Theology in Greece appearing in the Journal Synaxis, translated by Fr. Peter A. Chamberas, edited by Liadain Sherrard, Vol. II. Icon and Person, Chapter 20,Alexander Press, Montreal, Quebec, 2006. 167-182.
(the last page of the English text is not inclouded)
https://www.academia.edu/37210492/Experiencing_the_Inner_Truth_of_the_Church_in_the_Frescoes_of_the_Protaton_English_edition_2006_
στὴν Ζ΄ Συνάντησi Βυζαντινολόγων Ἑλλάδος καὶ Κύπρου, Δημοκρίτειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θράκης, Κομοτηνὴ 2007 -2011, 383-384.
Περίληψις ἀνακοινώσεως. Ἐπισκαιροποιημένο τὸ πλῆρες κείμενο θὰ ἀποτελέσῃ τμῆμα στὴν προετοιμαζομένη τελικὴ δημοσίευσι τῆς Ἱστορήσεψς τοῦ Πρωτάτου ὑπὸ τὸν τότλο: «Ἡ οἴκοθεν Καινὴ καὶ ὄχι Καινοτόμος ἀνάγνωσις τῆς ἱστορήσεως τοὺ Ἱεροῦ ναοῦ τῆς Κοιμήσεως τῆς Θεοτόκου, Καθολικοῦ τῆς Μοναστικῆς Πολιτείας, Καρυές Ἁγίου Ὀρους».
Τὸ pdf ἀρχεῖο περιέχει σαρωμένο τὸ πλῆρες κείμενο τὸ ὁποῖο συντάχθηκε τὴν ἀνοιξι τοῦ 1983, τμῆμα τοῦ ὁποίου δημοσιεύθηκε κατὰ τὸ 1984 στὸ περιοδικό: Πρωτᾶτον, 9 (Μάρτιος-Ἀπρίλιος 1984), ἔκδ. Πανσέληνος, Καρυές, Ἅγιον Ὄρος 1984, 33-36.
Ἐπάνω στὸ κείμενο αὐτὸ δομήθηκε ἡ ταινία μικροῦ μήκους «Πρωτᾶτο», ἡ ὁποία προέκυψε ἀπὸ μία κινηματογράφησι Πρωτάτου 13 ὡρῶν γενομένη τὸ 1978. Κείμενο καὶ ἐπιλογὴ κινηματογραφημένου ὑλικοῦ: Δ. Καλομοιράκης· σκηνοθέτης: Γιῶργος Ζερβουλάκος καὶ Βαγγέλης Σερντάρης· ἀφηγητής: Κῶστας Καστανᾶς· παραγωγή: CINEVIDEO· χρηματοδότησις παραγωγῆς: Ὑπουργεῖο Πολιτισμοῦ, Ἀθήνα 1983.
Τὸ δημοσιευμένο ἀπόσμασμα ζητήθηκε καὶ δόθηκε στὸ περιοδικὸ : Πρωτᾶτον, 9 (Μάρτιος-Ἀπρίλιος 1984), ἔκδ. Πανσέληνος, Καρυές, Ἅγιον Ὄρος 1984, 33-36.
Στὸ τέλος τοῦ κυρίως κειμένου, περιέχεται μία σελίδα κειμένου τοῦ ἀρχικοῦ συνταγμένου ἐπιλόγου μὲ περιεχόμενο δίκην μελετητικοῦ ἀπολογισμοῦ γιᾶ τὴν ταινία· αύτὴ ὅμως ἐξαιρέθηκε κατὰ τὰ τὴν σύνθεσι τῆς ταινίας ἐπειδὴ κρίθηκε ὅτι δὲν ἦταν δυνατόν νὰ καλυφθῆ είκαστικῶς. Ἀντί αὐτοῦ συντάχθηκε ἑπίλογος τεσσάρων συνοπτικών παραγράφων. πολιτιστικοῦ ἀπολογισμοῦ.
The Summary, from the 2nd Spring Symposium of Christian Archaeological Society in Athens 1982, pp.38-39.
The Full text, at Myriovivlos, 7 (1985) Athens, pp. 3-7.
I.
A revised and updated edition of a text published in "EGERIA", Monuments of faith in the Medieval Mediterranean, Greek Ministry of Culture, God Trodden Mount Sinai Holy Monastery of saint Catherine, Greek Ministry of Culture Athens 2008, 243-244.
II. [2019]
"The Sinai Testament of Prophet Muhammad"· An eighteen Commandments text.
Two papers under publication in English and Greek.
A Pre-publication of the frontispiece and key points of the two papers as a short preamble
(without the footnotes) .
ΙΙ.a.
The "puzzle" of the Sinai Testament of the Prophet Muhammad,
a Contribution to the reconsideration of the historical and Academic Scholarly Tradition on the Sinai Testament.
II.b.
A Mongol-Persian Miniature with the Prophet Muhammad Delivering His Testament to the Monks of the God-Trodden Mount Sinai Holy Monastery, (~1310).
Δημήτριος Καλομοιράκης, Μαίρη Πάντου.
Αναλυτική παρουσίαση της δομής και των δυνατοτήτων της 1ης εκδόσεως του Εθνικού Αρείου Μνημείων (Προερχομένη από PowerPoint)
Δημήτριος Καλομοιράκης, Μαίρη Πάντου.
Οδηγός διαχείρισης της 1ης ἐκδόσεως του Αρχείου
Δημήτριος Καλομοιράκης, Μαίρη Πάντου.
Δύο επεξηγηματικά κείμενα γιά την δομή και τις δυνατότητες του 1ου προγράμματος Καταγραφής και διαχειρίσεως των Μνημείου του Εθνικού Αρχείου, βασισμένου στο πρόγραμμα Πολέμων.
The POLEMON project aims to deploy coordinated technology services for the recording, documentation, management and presentation of the cultural heritage, implemented at a national level. This project has addressed the requirements for computerization of the National Archive of Monuments, which is a major priority for the Greek Ministry of Culture. The system is geographically distributed and covers both movable and immovable objects. It supports a range of administrative functions, authority service, map display, images and text, and it has federated database architecture implemented over interconnected local and wide area computer networks. In this paper, the rational behind and basic requirements for the National Archive of Monuments information system are presented its technical characteristics are outlined.
IN: "Our Fragile Heritage, Documenting the Past for the Future" Edited by Henrik Jarl Hansen & Gillian Quine· Linguistic revision by Gillian Quine· Layout and typesetting in PageMaker 6.5 by Henrik Jarl Hansen· Font: AGaramond. Helvetica· Cover by bØving design. The publication has been supported by CIDOC. The documentation committee within the international Council of Museums (ICOM). Published by The National Museum of Denmark, DKC, Copenhagen, 1999, pp.139-145.
The first reading reveals a visual epic catholic, sacro-secular historiography, mainly of a triadic, ecclesiological, and salvific dimension, regarding the human being.
The second gives the annually repeated liturgical calendar on movable and immovable feasts of the Church of Constantinople.
The third shows that the topographic layout of 96% of the icons corresponds to the daily ceremony of the Mystagogy of the Divine Liturgy.
The 4th reading, -based on the study of the remaining 4% of the icons- suggests a parabolic reference to the period around 1290. In several ways it emerges that the Protaton Historesis was possibly created to express a visual aspect of the Renovation/Anakainisis of the Orthodox Cæne politography that Andronicus planned/implemented during the 1st Patriarchate of St. Athanasius A’ (1289-1293).
Ἡμερίδα τῆς Ἁγιορειτικῆς Ἑστίας, τὴν 8η Δεκεμβρίου 2017, στὸ πλαίσιο τοῦ Β΄Διεθνοῦς Ἐπιστημονικοῦ ἐργαστηρίου καὶ τῆς Ἡμερίδος: «Ὁ Ναὸς τοῦ Πρωτάτου καὶ ὁ Ζωγραφος του»,
The “Cæne Icon” of the Protaton Historesis (in Greek with English summary)[2017/2018]
Its placement, archaeological, philological and historical reading
This article is under publishing, written under given edition rules by The Mount Athos Center / Agioritiki Estia at Thessaloniki. The text is more enriched than the one presented during the meeting and the 2nd International Work Shop “The Church of Protaton and its Painter”, December 8th 2017. For the audiovisual presentation see:
https://www.agioritikiestia.gr/el/ergasthria/779-2018-08-07-11-00-36
At that time a summary was given in Greek and English under the title: «Ἱστορικὴ τοποθέτησις, ἀνάγνωσις καὶ γενικὴ ἐξήγησις τῆς «Καινῆς Εἰκόνος» τῆς ἱστορήσεως τοῦ Πρωτάτου» [2017], or «Historic placement reading and general exegesis of the "Caene Icon" of the Protaton Historesis [2017]», see:
https://www.academia.edu/35257903/Historic_placement_reading_and_general_exegesis_of_the_Caene_Icon_of_the_Protaton_Historesis_2017_
* Διόρθωσις:στὴν σελίδα 9 άναφέρεται ὁτι στὸν πίνακα 20 εἰκονίζεται ὁ "Θεοπάτωρ Ἰσαάκ". ἀντὶ τοὺ ὀρθοῦ "Θεοπάτωρ Ἰακὼβ". Correction: In the page 9 is written that the plate 20 represents the "Forefather Isaac" instead the correct "Forefather Jacob" .
The technical basis for these memorandums were three related projects of Greek Ministry of Culture, all developed under the technical supervision of D.E. Kalomirakis:
1.”Polemon”, for the digitization of the Greek Archive of Monuments, according the needs of the Archaeological Service of Greek Ministry of Culture,
2. “Pollux”, for the digitization of the Greek thesaurus of terms, according the needs of Archaeological Service of Greek Ministry of Culture,
3. “SAM”, for the digitization of the Sinaitic the Archive of Monuments, according the needs of God Trodden Mount Sinai Holy Monastery of Saint Katherine in Egypt.
The texts of four memorandums of agreement and cooperation:
Between the Greek Ministry of Culture and:
A.The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople..2-8•
B..Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem.9-15•
C.The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa..16-21•
D..The God-Trodden Mount Sinai, Holy Monastery of the Saint Catherine...22-2.7
* As a result of these Memorandums, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople got a related project from EU
This identity recalls its essential meaning by the way it is used in the Daskalogiannis‘ romantic "epos", composed by the folk poet Barba Pantzelios. In this “epos” its folk poet narrates events and results of a horrible killing or deportation of the population at Sfakia of Crete and the absolut collapse of all their previous prosperity.
All that happened after a revolution against Ottoman Empire, during the end of 18th century. The leader of this revolution was the tragic hero Daskalogiannis, a well educated representative of nationalism, inspired by the ideological movement during his age of enlightenment
https://www.academia.edu/37051817/The_experience_of_inner_truth_of_our_Church_in_the_wall_paintings_of_Protaton_in_Greek_1984_.pdf
The article as Essay compares details of the iconography and “realistic” style of the of Protaton wall paintings with the texts of orthodox Mystagogy since the beginning of Christianity till the end of 13th century, especially of the patristic live tradition in Holy Mountain of that period.
For the edition in English of the same article see
https://www.academia.edu/37210492/Experiencing_the_Inner_Truth_of_the_Church_in_the_Frescoes_of_the_Protaton_English_edition_2006_
These comparisons show some contradictions between the main character of the wall paintings, and the current academic exegesis of them as a reasons for their origin. The iconography of the mandorla of the Thabor Light from the icon of Transfiguration, is more close to the realistic doctrines of the patristic mystical texts, than the symbolic form of the mandorla in the same icon of the church of Holy Apostles at Thessaloniki, which is widely recepted as Hesychastic.
The iconography of the Transfiguration of Protaton looks more archaic going back to the post iconoclastic period and afterwards, than the iconography of the well known tradition of 14th. On the other hand the symbolic iconographic type of the mandorla of 14th century looks more familiar to the symbolic way of thinking of the scholars, than the written in texts realistic experience of the Hesychasts of the same period.
Also important similarities are found between the Protaton paintings and the general administrative dogma of the emperor Andronicus II of that years. The main orientation of this dogma was focused on the reestablishment the historical and spiritual tradition of his state. Historically this reestablishment begun during the first four years period that of ecumenical patriarch St. Athanasius I (1289-1293).
At that period, both emperor and patriarch had found big support from St. Theoliptos, metropolitan of Philadelphia. Both saints were spiritual students of St. Nikephoros the Hesychast, who at that period was still living near Karyes of Mount Athos. More than this, some years later both Saints had as their student St. Gregory Palamas.
Inside the mentioned period of that years, a lot of patristic and historical texts as well as the stilistic documentation, give a stable chronology for the creation of Protaton paintings.
Silver gilt with translucent small-sized enamels. Paris 1411. It is preserved in good condition. Latin and Greek inscription on the lower part of the base of the chalice. The presence of the chalice of Charles VI in the Monastery of Sinai is indicative of the great honor received by the monastery, not just by simple pilgrims, but also by the leaders of small and big countries of the Christian world, irrespective of their denomination.
These comparisons show some contradictions between the main character of the wall paintings, and the current academic exegesis of them as a reasons for their origin. The iconography of the mandorla of the Thabor Light from the icon of Transfiguration, is more close to the realistic doctrines of the Patristic mystical texts, than the symbolic form of the mandorla in the same icon of the church of Holy Apostles at Thessaloniki, which is widely recepted as Hesychastic.
The iconography of the Transfiguration of Protaton looks more archaic going back to the post iconoclastic period and afterwards, than the iconography of the well known tradition of 14th. On the other hand the symbolic iconographic type of the mandorla of 14th century looks more familiar to the symbolic way of thinking of the scholars, than the written in texts realistic experience of the Hesychasts of the same period.
Also important similarities are found between the Protaton paintings and the general administrative dogma of the emperor Andronicus II of that years. The main orientation of this dogma was focused on the reestablishment the historical and spiritual tradition of his state. Historically this reestablishment begun during the first four years period that of ecumenical patriarch St. Athanasius I (1289-1293).
At that period, both emperor and patriarch had found big support from St. Theoliptos, metropolitan of Philadelphia. Both saints were spiritual students of St. Nikephoros the Hesychast, who at that period was still living near Karyes of Mount Athos. More than this, some years later both Saints had as their student St. Gregory Palamas.
Inside the mentioned period of that years, a lot of Patristic and historical texts as well as the nihilistic documentation, give a stable chronology for the creation of Protaton paintings.
1984, Ἡ ἐμπειρία τῆς ἐσωτερικῆς ἀλήθειας τῆς Ἐκκλησίας μας στὶς τοιχογραφίες
τοῦ Πρωτάτου. Σύναξη 12 (1984) Αθήνα 1984, 18-32·
https://www.academia.edu/37051817/The_experience_of_inner_truth_of_our_Church_in_the_wall_paintings_of_Protaton_in_Greek_1984_.pdf .
2006. Experiencing the Inner Truth of the Church in the Frescoes of the Protaton·
An Anthology of the Most Significant Orthodox Theology in Greece appearing in the Journal Synaxis, translated by Fr. Peter A. Chamberas, edited by Liadain Sherrard, Vol. II. Icon and Person, Chapter 20,Alexander Press, Montreal, Quebec, 2006. 167-182.
(the last page of the English text is not inclouded)
https://www.academia.edu/37210492/Experiencing_the_Inner_Truth_of_the_Church_in_the_Frescoes_of_the_Protaton_English_edition_2006_
στὴν Ζ΄ Συνάντησi Βυζαντινολόγων Ἑλλάδος καὶ Κύπρου, Δημοκρίτειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θράκης, Κομοτηνὴ 2007 -2011, 383-384.
Περίληψις ἀνακοινώσεως. Ἐπισκαιροποιημένο τὸ πλῆρες κείμενο θὰ ἀποτελέσῃ τμῆμα στὴν προετοιμαζομένη τελικὴ δημοσίευσι τῆς Ἱστορήσεψς τοῦ Πρωτάτου ὑπὸ τὸν τότλο: «Ἡ οἴκοθεν Καινὴ καὶ ὄχι Καινοτόμος ἀνάγνωσις τῆς ἱστορήσεως τοὺ Ἱεροῦ ναοῦ τῆς Κοιμήσεως τῆς Θεοτόκου, Καθολικοῦ τῆς Μοναστικῆς Πολιτείας, Καρυές Ἁγίου Ὀρους».
Τὸ pdf ἀρχεῖο περιέχει σαρωμένο τὸ πλῆρες κείμενο τὸ ὁποῖο συντάχθηκε τὴν ἀνοιξι τοῦ 1983, τμῆμα τοῦ ὁποίου δημοσιεύθηκε κατὰ τὸ 1984 στὸ περιοδικό: Πρωτᾶτον, 9 (Μάρτιος-Ἀπρίλιος 1984), ἔκδ. Πανσέληνος, Καρυές, Ἅγιον Ὄρος 1984, 33-36.
Ἐπάνω στὸ κείμενο αὐτὸ δομήθηκε ἡ ταινία μικροῦ μήκους «Πρωτᾶτο», ἡ ὁποία προέκυψε ἀπὸ μία κινηματογράφησι Πρωτάτου 13 ὡρῶν γενομένη τὸ 1978. Κείμενο καὶ ἐπιλογὴ κινηματογραφημένου ὑλικοῦ: Δ. Καλομοιράκης· σκηνοθέτης: Γιῶργος Ζερβουλάκος καὶ Βαγγέλης Σερντάρης· ἀφηγητής: Κῶστας Καστανᾶς· παραγωγή: CINEVIDEO· χρηματοδότησις παραγωγῆς: Ὑπουργεῖο Πολιτισμοῦ, Ἀθήνα 1983.
Τὸ δημοσιευμένο ἀπόσμασμα ζητήθηκε καὶ δόθηκε στὸ περιοδικὸ : Πρωτᾶτον, 9 (Μάρτιος-Ἀπρίλιος 1984), ἔκδ. Πανσέληνος, Καρυές, Ἅγιον Ὄρος 1984, 33-36.
Στὸ τέλος τοῦ κυρίως κειμένου, περιέχεται μία σελίδα κειμένου τοῦ ἀρχικοῦ συνταγμένου ἐπιλόγου μὲ περιεχόμενο δίκην μελετητικοῦ ἀπολογισμοῦ γιᾶ τὴν ταινία· αύτὴ ὅμως ἐξαιρέθηκε κατὰ τὰ τὴν σύνθεσι τῆς ταινίας ἐπειδὴ κρίθηκε ὅτι δὲν ἦταν δυνατόν νὰ καλυφθῆ είκαστικῶς. Ἀντί αὐτοῦ συντάχθηκε ἑπίλογος τεσσάρων συνοπτικών παραγράφων. πολιτιστικοῦ ἀπολογισμοῦ.
The Summary, from the 2nd Spring Symposium of Christian Archaeological Society in Athens 1982, pp.38-39.
The Full text, at Myriovivlos, 7 (1985) Athens, pp. 3-7.
I.
A revised and updated edition of a text published in "EGERIA", Monuments of faith in the Medieval Mediterranean, Greek Ministry of Culture, God Trodden Mount Sinai Holy Monastery of saint Catherine, Greek Ministry of Culture Athens 2008, 243-244.
II. [2019]
"The Sinai Testament of Prophet Muhammad"· An eighteen Commandments text.
Two papers under publication in English and Greek.
A Pre-publication of the frontispiece and key points of the two papers as a short preamble
(without the footnotes) .
ΙΙ.a.
The "puzzle" of the Sinai Testament of the Prophet Muhammad,
a Contribution to the reconsideration of the historical and Academic Scholarly Tradition on the Sinai Testament.
II.b.
A Mongol-Persian Miniature with the Prophet Muhammad Delivering His Testament to the Monks of the God-Trodden Mount Sinai Holy Monastery, (~1310).
Δημήτριος Καλομοιράκης, Μαίρη Πάντου.
Αναλυτική παρουσίαση της δομής και των δυνατοτήτων της 1ης εκδόσεως του Εθνικού Αρείου Μνημείων (Προερχομένη από PowerPoint)
Δημήτριος Καλομοιράκης, Μαίρη Πάντου.
Οδηγός διαχείρισης της 1ης ἐκδόσεως του Αρχείου
Δημήτριος Καλομοιράκης, Μαίρη Πάντου.
Δύο επεξηγηματικά κείμενα γιά την δομή και τις δυνατότητες του 1ου προγράμματος Καταγραφής και διαχειρίσεως των Μνημείου του Εθνικού Αρχείου, βασισμένου στο πρόγραμμα Πολέμων.
The POLEMON project aims to deploy coordinated technology services for the recording, documentation, management and presentation of the cultural heritage, implemented at a national level. This project has addressed the requirements for computerization of the National Archive of Monuments, which is a major priority for the Greek Ministry of Culture. The system is geographically distributed and covers both movable and immovable objects. It supports a range of administrative functions, authority service, map display, images and text, and it has federated database architecture implemented over interconnected local and wide area computer networks. In this paper, the rational behind and basic requirements for the National Archive of Monuments information system are presented its technical characteristics are outlined.
IN: "Our Fragile Heritage, Documenting the Past for the Future" Edited by Henrik Jarl Hansen & Gillian Quine· Linguistic revision by Gillian Quine· Layout and typesetting in PageMaker 6.5 by Henrik Jarl Hansen· Font: AGaramond. Helvetica· Cover by bØving design. The publication has been supported by CIDOC. The documentation committee within the international Council of Museums (ICOM). Published by The National Museum of Denmark, DKC, Copenhagen, 1999, pp.139-145.
The first reading reveals a visual epic catholic, sacro-secular historiography, mainly of a triadic, ecclesiological, and salvific dimension, regarding the human being.
The second gives the annually repeated liturgical calendar on movable and immovable feasts of the Church of Constantinople.
The third shows that the topographic layout of 96% of the icons corresponds to the daily ceremony of the Mystagogy of the Divine Liturgy.
The 4th reading, -based on the study of the remaining 4% of the icons- suggests a parabolic reference to the period around 1290. In several ways it emerges that the Protaton Historesis was possibly created to express a visual aspect of the Renovation/Anakainisis of the Orthodox Cæne politography that Andronicus planned/implemented during the 1st Patriarchate of St. Athanasius A’ (1289-1293).
Ἡμερίδα τῆς Ἁγιορειτικῆς Ἑστίας, τὴν 8η Δεκεμβρίου 2017, στὸ πλαίσιο τοῦ Β΄Διεθνοῦς Ἐπιστημονικοῦ ἐργαστηρίου καὶ τῆς Ἡμερίδος: «Ὁ Ναὸς τοῦ Πρωτάτου καὶ ὁ Ζωγραφος του»,
The “Cæne Icon” of the Protaton Historesis (in Greek with English summary)[2017/2018]
Its placement, archaeological, philological and historical reading
This article is under publishing, written under given edition rules by The Mount Athos Center / Agioritiki Estia at Thessaloniki. The text is more enriched than the one presented during the meeting and the 2nd International Work Shop “The Church of Protaton and its Painter”, December 8th 2017. For the audiovisual presentation see:
https://www.agioritikiestia.gr/el/ergasthria/779-2018-08-07-11-00-36
At that time a summary was given in Greek and English under the title: «Ἱστορικὴ τοποθέτησις, ἀνάγνωσις καὶ γενικὴ ἐξήγησις τῆς «Καινῆς Εἰκόνος» τῆς ἱστορήσεως τοῦ Πρωτάτου» [2017], or «Historic placement reading and general exegesis of the "Caene Icon" of the Protaton Historesis [2017]», see:
https://www.academia.edu/35257903/Historic_placement_reading_and_general_exegesis_of_the_Caene_Icon_of_the_Protaton_Historesis_2017_
* Διόρθωσις:στὴν σελίδα 9 άναφέρεται ὁτι στὸν πίνακα 20 εἰκονίζεται ὁ "Θεοπάτωρ Ἰσαάκ". ἀντὶ τοὺ ὀρθοῦ "Θεοπάτωρ Ἰακὼβ". Correction: In the page 9 is written that the plate 20 represents the "Forefather Isaac" instead the correct "Forefather Jacob" .
The technical basis for these memorandums were three related projects of Greek Ministry of Culture, all developed under the technical supervision of D.E. Kalomirakis:
1.”Polemon”, for the digitization of the Greek Archive of Monuments, according the needs of the Archaeological Service of Greek Ministry of Culture,
2. “Pollux”, for the digitization of the Greek thesaurus of terms, according the needs of Archaeological Service of Greek Ministry of Culture,
3. “SAM”, for the digitization of the Sinaitic the Archive of Monuments, according the needs of God Trodden Mount Sinai Holy Monastery of Saint Katherine in Egypt.
The texts of four memorandums of agreement and cooperation:
Between the Greek Ministry of Culture and:
A.The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople..2-8•
B..Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem.9-15•
C.The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa..16-21•
D..The God-Trodden Mount Sinai, Holy Monastery of the Saint Catherine...22-2.7
* As a result of these Memorandums, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople got a related project from EU
This identity recalls its essential meaning by the way it is used in the Daskalogiannis‘ romantic "epos", composed by the folk poet Barba Pantzelios. In this “epos” its folk poet narrates events and results of a horrible killing or deportation of the population at Sfakia of Crete and the absolut collapse of all their previous prosperity.
All that happened after a revolution against Ottoman Empire, during the end of 18th century. The leader of this revolution was the tragic hero Daskalogiannis, a well educated representative of nationalism, inspired by the ideological movement during his age of enlightenment
https://www.academia.edu/37051817/The_experience_of_inner_truth_of_our_Church_in_the_wall_paintings_of_Protaton_in_Greek_1984_.pdf
The article as Essay compares details of the iconography and “realistic” style of the of Protaton wall paintings with the texts of orthodox Mystagogy since the beginning of Christianity till the end of 13th century, especially of the patristic live tradition in Holy Mountain of that period.
For the edition in English of the same article see
https://www.academia.edu/37210492/Experiencing_the_Inner_Truth_of_the_Church_in_the_Frescoes_of_the_Protaton_English_edition_2006_
These comparisons show some contradictions between the main character of the wall paintings, and the current academic exegesis of them as a reasons for their origin. The iconography of the mandorla of the Thabor Light from the icon of Transfiguration, is more close to the realistic doctrines of the patristic mystical texts, than the symbolic form of the mandorla in the same icon of the church of Holy Apostles at Thessaloniki, which is widely recepted as Hesychastic.
The iconography of the Transfiguration of Protaton looks more archaic going back to the post iconoclastic period and afterwards, than the iconography of the well known tradition of 14th. On the other hand the symbolic iconographic type of the mandorla of 14th century looks more familiar to the symbolic way of thinking of the scholars, than the written in texts realistic experience of the Hesychasts of the same period.
Also important similarities are found between the Protaton paintings and the general administrative dogma of the emperor Andronicus II of that years. The main orientation of this dogma was focused on the reestablishment the historical and spiritual tradition of his state. Historically this reestablishment begun during the first four years period that of ecumenical patriarch St. Athanasius I (1289-1293).
At that period, both emperor and patriarch had found big support from St. Theoliptos, metropolitan of Philadelphia. Both saints were spiritual students of St. Nikephoros the Hesychast, who at that period was still living near Karyes of Mount Athos. More than this, some years later both Saints had as their student St. Gregory Palamas.
Inside the mentioned period of that years, a lot of patristic and historical texts as well as the stilistic documentation, give a stable chronology for the creation of Protaton paintings.
Silver gilt with translucent small-sized enamels. Paris 1411. It is preserved in good condition. Latin and Greek inscription on the lower part of the base of the chalice. The presence of the chalice of Charles VI in the Monastery of Sinai is indicative of the great honor received by the monastery, not just by simple pilgrims, but also by the leaders of small and big countries of the Christian world, irrespective of their denomination.
The very aim of the POLEMON Project, entitled "Co-ordinated Informatics Services for the Documentation, Management and Promotion of Cultural Heritage", was the creation of an information system for the National Monuments Record, together with an Integrated Museum Information System, for implementation at national level.
The main structural and functional features of the National Monuments Record system are as follows:
• It relates to fixed sites and moveable monuments, their interrelationship and chronological context.
• It supports administrative documentation of the monuments and objects.
• It is geographically dispersed, in line with the official administrative plan and distribution of departments within the Greek Ministry of Culture. Archival information is collected and undergoes specialist processing at local level, while the Directorate Monument Record and Publications within the Ministry of Culture is responsible for planning and co-ordination, and retrieves data mainly for administrative purposes.
• It is in line with the latest (Greek) legislation on Archaeology.
• Its architecture is that of a federated database system.
• It is connected to a system which supports mapping documentation and related functions.
• It can be linked to domain-specific cultural documentation databases which are compatible with those of the integrated museum information system.
• It can be linked to the Museum Information System.
Mapping support within the system includes the following features:
• Infrastructure for drawing up the National Monuments Survey using Geographical Information Systems (GIS).
• Land registry documentation to cover areas in the vicinity of monuments (mainly archaeological sites), within the framework of the geodesic and administrative reference grid of the National Land Register.
• Necessary requirements for the topographic recording of monuments.
Given that functional complementarity between the two systems is desired, they have been developed within a common methodological framework. The overall makeup of the two systems is congruent as far as information and functions are concerned. In particular:
• They both manage a formalized data corpus, which serves the needs of basic documentation and enables basic management tasks ("management documentation") to be carried out.
• They permit the development of specialist scholarly databases, to be used in storing the results of cultural research ("cultural documentation").
• They handle a variety of documentation material (photographs, plans, maps, documents etc.).
• They support terminological thesauruses.
• Data held on them can be used in "external" applications to which they have access (e.g. catalogue publication, interactive multimedia, land registers, monument preservation programmers etc.).
• They can be linked up to national and international cultural information networks.
• SIS (Semantic Index System) has been used for the development of both systems, so as to ensure their interoperability, high performance and smooth future development.
Publication:
Polemon, A Federated Database Management System for the Documentation, Management and Promotion of Cultural Heritage, Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology. New Techniques for Old Times. Proceedings of the 26th Conference, Barcelona, March 1998 (BAR International Series 757), Archaeopress, Oxford 1999. pp. 317-330.
https://proceedings.caaconference.org/paper/49_bekiari_et_al_caa_1998/-
https://www.ics.forth.gr/isl/index_main.php?l=e&c=238
Referances:
Semanticscholar.org
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/POLEMON%3A-A-Federated-Database-Management-System-for-Barcel%C3%B3/09c4b4ad7656963969396333cdec01e21bd08c54
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Documentation-and-Reasoning-on-Parts-and-Potential-Doerr-Vouton/b41ef03ef8c2da064f4152c7a31878487f06a092
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/0bfd/e35098a279be9a5d354a1791d6c7780bbe74.pdf
The CIDOC Conceptual Reference Module:
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-CIDOC-Conceptual-Reference-Module%3A-An-Approach-Doerr/2c4c774d79363b78ead2550075b878432c5c24fa
The main scientific aim of DELTOS project was the development of an information system covering the needs for documentation, conservation and administration of site monuments and preserved buildings.
DELTOS is an information system, intended chiefly to address the needs of administrative documentation of site monuments and preserved buildings, including cartographic, geometric and photographic representation. The system also supports multimedia administration functions. DELTOS is designed to operate in a centralized or distributed environment and to co-operate with other systems or databases, thus to be used as building block in configuring a geographically distributed national record of monuments. DELTOS is an information system, intended chiefly to address the needs of administrative documentation of site monuments and preserved buildings, including cartographic, geometric and photographic representation. It is designed to operate in a distributed environment and to cooperate with other systems, thus to be used as building block in configuring a geographically distributed national record of monuments.
The analysis of requirements for DELTOS was carried out in close co-operation with the 23rd Ephorate of Classical and Prehistorical Antiquities and the 13th Ephorate of Byzantine and Post-byzantine Antiquities, under the terms of the homonymous project. The system has been installed and is in use at the Archeological Museum of Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
DELTOS is built on a relational database management system, but it can communicate with systems of different vendors or with systems other than databases. As the number of monuments in Crete alone is about 120.000, the system is designed to support records of hundreds of thousands of monuments, requiring several gigabytes of storage.
The system holds information concerning the physical location and state of a monument, its history, the legal status, bibliography, researchers, expropriations, funding, action approvals, etc. Monument descriptions are linked to cartographic and geometric representations, images and audio recordings. The system supports monument administration functions (e.g. registration, preservation monitoring, etc.) as well as data management functions, such as insertion, update and search operations, and multimedia presentation. Search operations support complex queries and are performed on both the structured data and the cartographic representation. All operations are performed and guided through a forms-based interface and facilitated by value lists where appropriate. For security purposes, DELTOS offers graded authorisation to users, access to tables, data entry and levels of use.
The system can operate in a centralized or distributed environment. It also supports operation over a network, according to a client-server scheme. For the implementation of DELTOS we used the Sybase RDBMS and AutoCad V12.0. The communication of the two systems is achieved using the C programming language.
The system has been installed and is in use at the Archeological Museum of Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
Information Systems Laboratory, Crete. Funding Organization: Region of Crete, ROP of Crete. Coordinator: ICS-FORTH, Panos Constantopoulos. Partners: 23th Ephorate of Classic and Prehistoric Antiquities (GR), 13th Ephorate of Byzantine and PostByzantine Antiquities (GR). Duration: 01/01/1992 - 31/12/1994. Expiration Date: 31/12/1994.
Contact Person: Chrysoula Bekiari.
https://www.ics.forth.gr/isl/index_main.php?l=e&c=239
Publication:
Archeologia e Calcolatori n. VII – 1996, Istituto di Studi sul Mediterraneo Antico del C.N.R., in Moscati P. (ed.), III International Symposium on Computing and Archaeology - Roma 22-25 Novembre 1995 pp. 821-829, http://www.archcalc.cnr.it/indice/PDF7/66_Bekiari_et_al.pdf Edizioni All'Insegna del Giglio, Cultural Resource Management
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/de59/558d7cf3a53e335a3aea8ba477a53b0a74f8.pdf
http://www.archcalc.cnr.it/indice/PDF7/66_Bekiari_et_al.pdf
http://www.archcalc.cnr.it/journal/id.php?id=oai:www.archcalc.cnr.it/journal/A_C_oai_Archive.xml:146
Researchgate, Deltos. Introduction One of the main objectives of the central and regional services of the Greek Ministry of Culture is the protection of antiquities and monuments. Particularly, Ephorates of Antiquities aim at safeguarding, preserving, studing, presenting and promoting cultural goods. Greek cultural heritage includes a great number of monuments spanned the whole of the historic and prehistoric periods. The Ephorates mainly perform administrative functions such as : data acquisition, surveying, monuments cataloguing and classification, preservation and restoration planning and control, administrative functions as expropriations, funding and action approvals. They often respond to inquiries about various aspects of a monument or a set of monuments. Carrying out the above tasks, the requirement of collecting a variety of information through various sources arises. This information includes formatted data and other, multimedia data (images, audio and video recordings, text...), designs, July 1996
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/2337989_DELTOS_A_documentation_system_for_the_administration_of_site_monuments_and_preserved_buildings
Referances:
Conceptual Modeling - ER 2001: 20th International Conference on Conceptual Modeling, Yokohama, Japan, November 27-30, 2001, Proceedings. Ed. Hideko S. Kunii, Sushil Jajodia, Arne Soelvberg Springer, Jun 30, 2003 pp.424
https://books.google.com.eg/books?id=L1xqCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA424&lpg=PA424&dq=DELTOS-+Documentation+system+for+the+administration+of+site+monuments+and+preserved+buildings+of+Crete&source=bl&ots=y0U2RZi4kU&sig=ACfU3U36SHFwIWXlWE2MPfV9J3bVp5g6Gg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwim5c6ulK3lAhVFyYUKHQJHCD0Q6AEwBHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=DELTOS&f=false
Άγιον Όρος: Το μεγαλείο του Πρωτάτου, Η διαχρονική συμβολή των Καρυών, Πρακτικά Α’ Επιστημονικού Συνεδρίου, Αγιορειτική Εστία, Θεσσαλονίκη, Οκτώβριος 2006.
During the conversion, for the figure of Josef is used that from the illumination in Menologium of Basil II (Vatican Library)
After any request to [email protected], the 3D conversion analysis of the icon can be delivered by wetransfer. Instructions for making in 3D the Icon will be included.
https://xdocs.pub/doc/pdf-vod73e3wg1o6
τοῦ πλέον σεμνοῦ, ἀκέραιου καὶ ἰκανοῦ Γενικοῦ Διευθυντοῦ Βυζαντινῶν Ἀρχαιοτήτων
τοῦ Ὑπουργείου Πολιτισμοῦ, πρώην Ἐφόρου, Κρήτης, Θεσσαλονίκης, Στεραιᾶς Ἑλλάδος, Κυκλάδων
καὶ Διευθυντὴ τοῦ Βυζαντινοῦ Μουσείου Ἀθηνῶν.
Ἐκοιμήθη, πλήρης ἡμερῶν στὶς ἀρχὲς Σεπτεμβρίου τοῦ 2020.
Ἑφημερίδα "Δημοκρατία",
Σελίδες πολιτισμού,
Επιμέλεια: Νίκος Παπουτσόπουλος,
6η Δεκεμβρίου 2020
Ἀπὸ τὸ 2014, μία κόπια ἐργασίας τῆς ταινίας, ὄχι ὑψηλῆς ἀναλύσεως, εὑρίσκεται ἀναρτημένη στὸν χῶρο τοῦ You-Tube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYTligr70Zo&feature=youtu.be
(οἱ τίτλοι τῆς ταινίας ἀρχίζουν άπὸ τὰ 10' μετὰ τὂ 1ο λεπτό:1:10'.)
Τὸ κείμενο ἀποτελεῖ φροντιστηριακὴ ἐργασία στὸ μάθημα τῆς Βυζαντινῆς Ἀρχαιολογίας στὸ Ἀριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο τῆς Θεσσαλονίκης. Ἡ σχετικὴ ἀνάθεση εἶχε δοθεῖ τὸ Φθινόπωρο τοῦ 1972 ἀπὸ τὸν ἀείμνηστο καθηγητὴ Στυλιανὸ Πελεκανίδη, σὲ περίοδο κατὰ τὴν ὁποία εἶχε ὡς βοηθοὺς τοὺς μετέπειτα καθηγητὲς κ.κ. Ἄννα Τσιτουρίδου καὶ Γ. Γούναρη.
Ἡ πρώτη καταγραφὴ στὸ μνημεῖο ἔγινε στὶς 24 Δεκεμβρίου τοῦ 1972 (κατὰ τὸ παλαιὸ ἡμερολόγιο), ὅταν στὴν Ἱερὰ Ἐπιστασία ἦταν οἱ μακαριστοί: Πρωτοεπιστάτης ὁ γέρων Κλεόνικος ὁ Ἰβηρίτης, καὶ Ἐπιστάτες, ὁ γέρων Παρθένιος Παντοκρατορινός, ὁ προηγούμενος Εὐγένιος Φιλοθεΐτης καὶ ὁ ἱερομόναχος Χρυσόστομος Σιμωνοπετρίτης. Τότε τὸ διακόνημα τῆς λειτουργίας τοῦ ναοῦ τοῦ Πρωτάτου εἶχε ὁ μακαριστὸς γέρων Ἱερόθεος.
Ἡ ὅλη φροντιστηριακὴ παρουσίασις ἐπραγματοποιήθηκε σὲ δύο ἑνότητες, διαρκείας τῶν τριῶν ὡρῶν ἑκάστη, κατὰ τὰ τέλη τοῦ Φεβρουαρίου τοῦ 1973.
Γιὰ τὴν ἐν λόγῳ φοιτητικὴ ἐργασία βλέπε σχετικῶς καὶ στό: Πρωτάτου Ἱστόρησις, Εἰκόνα ἀρχέτυπη καὶ ὁμολογιακὴ τῆς καθολικότητας τῆς ὀρθοδόξου χριστιανικῆς ἱεροκοσμικῆς ἀνθρωπολογίας καὶ πολιτογραφίας, Μαργαρίται, Μελέτες στὴν Μνήμη τοῦ Μανόλη Μπορμπουδάκη, ἐπ. Μ. Σ. Πατεδάκης, Κ. Δ. Γιαπιτζόγλου, Κοινωφελὲς Ἵδρυμα Παναγία ἡ Ἀκρωτηριανή, Ἱερὰ Μητρόπολις Ἱεραπύτνης καὶ Σητείας, Σητεία 2016, 172 ὑπ. 92., Βλέπε:
https://www.academia.edu/34840671/PROTATON_The_wall_paintings_1289-_1293_AD_Pre-Publication_in_Greek._2016_
St. Gregory the Theologian, Εἰς τὰ Θεοφάνεια, εἴγουν Γενέθλια τοῦ Σωτῆρος, Λόγος 38,13. P.G. 36, 325C.
From the unpublished texts of St. Athanasios, important information can be gleaned from his letters to monks and holy fathers (cod. Vaticanus gr. 2219, Colonensis 58) which comment on the general situation of the empire and betray, amongst other things, the fears of the holy fathers and their role in the troubled life of the time. From the likewise unpublished texts of St. Theoliptos, the letters relevant to the period of the Pentecost and to Monastic tradition (cod. Ottobonianus gr. 405) are particularly noteworthy. The study in hand benefitted greatly from a reading of these unpublished
texts.
Broadly speaking, the relevant studies on the iconographical programme of the Protaton have not concerned themselves in any depth with analytical study of its generally limited nature. No analytical investigation has been undertaken on the peculiarities of the general economy of the programme as well as those of their piecemeal components. This is surprising, considering that these peculiarities markedly differentiate the monument in certain aspects from corresponding programmes of other contemporary monuments. Furthermore, the position of the whole programme in the development of
Orthodox ecclesiastical iconography at the end of the 13th century has not been established.
The painted decoration of the Protaton, to the extent permitted by the architectural form of the church, took on a classic and particularly attentive nature as far as the traditional taxis of the Orthodox Church was concerned. The church's programme indicates that here we have the fruit of the Liturgical witness borne by the Athonite fathers in the annual cycle of services and in the Mysteries of the Orthodox Church. The monument's iconographical peculiarities correspond to these services and to Athonite spirituality. Particular associations can be discerned here between the Protaton and formulations in Liturgical text, as well as those in letters of the pupils of Osios Nikiphoros, the Patriarch Athanasios
and Theoliptos of Philadelphia. In accordance with the mystical tradition of the Eastern Church, Liturgical life and the Mystery of Holy Communion provide the possibility for every man to become
a "temple" or "monastery" of Christ, and finally to become One with Him. Clear traces of this tradition can be observed in the monument and, furthermore, they are reminiscent of the formulations of the great mystical fathers of the Orthodox Church vis-a-vis both Man and the Church. The particular characteristics of the church are not immediately apparent; their contents can only be comprehended after particular attention and speculation is paid to the location of the various scenes. Following from this, one can immediately discern the apophatic nature and the deep experience of the Liturgical life of the Orthodox Church and the monastic esoteric tradition. Although the programme's general economy does not reflect that development of iconographical themes observable in other churches after 1290, it does, on the other hand, concentrate all the traits of 13th century painting, and prefigures most of those of the 14th century.
In the same years as the Protaton was being decorated, the Patriarch Athanasios I had proclaimed that the then emperor Andronikos II Palaeologos was a worthy ruler on a par with the first emperor of Constantinople, and that his policies had facilitated the flowering of ecclesiastical art during this period. For their time, the wall-paintings of the Protaton are of a unique and almost "avant garde" character which set them aside as a landmark between two periods. The study of this monument elucidates certain processes that have remained unclear even for the specialist, processes which continued up to the crystallization of the many and varied trends at the end of the 13th century. The archaizing and classical introversion characteristic of art under the first Palaeologoi is complemented by a strong turn towards ancient ecclesiastical notions of taxis. While classicism had for some time been associated with the Greek kingdoms which sprang up after the conquest of Constantinople in 1204, the turn towards strictly religious principles in the years concerning us here is linked with the re-consolidation of the empire under Andronikos II to restore Orthodoxy, a re-consolidation which coincides with the supplications addressed by the Patriarch St. Athanasios I to both Andronikos II and to his flock for "a conscious return" and "repentance".