Christ Enthroned

The monumental figure of enthroned Christ was located on the wall of the eastern closure of the southern aisle of the cathedral. In the same place in the northern aisle there was a depiction of the Nativity, which could have been painted by the same artist, and probably funded by the same person.
Christ is seated on the gem-set throne with a footrest. In His right hand he holds a pointed cane with a cross, and in His left hand – the Book of Gospels. Written in Coptic, the text includes a fragment of the prologue of the Gospel of St John, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Christ is wearing the costume of a Roman consul and victorious commander, embellished with the motif of human eyes. Such decoration only appears in Nubian depictions. The eyes signify the divine omniscience, and at the same time they reflect symbolically the shining character of the divine person. The image of the shining robe concealing the divine being appears in the Old Testament and Apocalypse’s descriptions of Merkaba, that is, the divine throne-chariot.
Underneath the throne two angels were depicted who supported or adored the cross. The entire scene represented most probably the Second Coming of Christ on the Judgement Day. It would be announced by the appearance of the sign of the Human Son – the cross.
In the twelfth century AD the lower part of the painting was covered with a depiction of three figures of Christ surrounded by the assembly of apostles. It may have been a representation of the Holy Trinity. This type of depiction of the Trinity in the form of three identical figures of Christ appeared in the twelfth century AD in Western Europe, from where it found its way to Nubia.