Introduction to the Mosaics of the Monastery

In the katholikon of the Monastery, the unique wall mosaics of Mount Athos are preserved. Their representations compose a total of four themes. This limited number must certainly be attributed to the nature of the material used for the construction of the mosaics and to their expensive technique. These are the following representations;

1. In the main church, on the pillars under the dome, is the scene of the Annunciation, dating from the early 11th to the early 12th century. The scene was placed in a prominent position to emphasize the dedication of the catholicon to the memory of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary.

2. In the exonarthex, above the entrance leading to the endonarthex, is a representation of Deesis from approximately the same period. The impeccable technique of the two above compositions and the large number of gold mosaics used in their construction lead us to the conclusion that these are works by an artist from Constantinople.

3. A second Annunciation scene, dating back to the late 13th – early 14th centuries, frames the mosaic of the Deesis. It is a work of high quality and is attributed to a related, if not the same workshop, as the Holy Apostles of Thessaloniki.

4. A mosaic bust of Saint Nicholas is also dated to the 13th-14th centuries, or according to another view to the late 11th-early 12th centuries; it is placed above the entrance leading to the southwest chapel of the catholicon, which is dedicated to the same saint.

According to the "Proskynetarion" of John Komnenos, there were other mosaics in the narthex, including some representations of kings and founders of the monastery that have not survived today. It is not excluded that the mosaics preserved in two boxes in the monastery's sacristy may come from these specific compositions.