Christ in Majesty at Cosmas and Damian, Rome
7th century
Mosaic
Church of Saints Cosmas and Damian, Rome
In the center Christ raises his left hand, which was a common way of signifying speech. His right hand holds a scroll, a symbol of his authority. On the left, St. Paul commends St. Cosmas and Pope Felix IV to him. Felix holds a maquette of a church on a book, a reference to his work converting this building from a pagan temple. Paul is identified by his long, pointy beard and his receding hairline.
On the right, St. Peter is identified by his short, square beard. He commends Damian and another saint to Christ. Several web sites identify the other saint as Theodore, but without providing documentation.
Theodore, Cosmas, and Damian were martyrs, so in this image they present their golden crowns to Christ, a detail drawn from Revelation 4:10b-11, where twenty-four ancients "cast their crowns before the throne, saying: Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory, and honour, and power: because thou hast created all things; and for thy will they were, and have been created." A similar offering, of wreaths, can be seen along the south wall of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna.
Read more about images of Christ in Majesty.
Read more about images of Saints Cosmas and Damian
Read more about images of St. Theodore.
Photographed at the church by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.