We have seen a transformation in our Cathedral as the image of Christ has now been added to the Dome. Our iconographer George Papastamatiou was born on Samos Island and worked in Athens with his father and grandfather who were known iconographers in Greece. He is now the only studio in the United States who does the large icons on site.  Today 90% of mosaic work is done by the Italians who do it in their studios and then ship it to be installed.  His work began with a painting and when he brought it to the cathedral he saw the colors had to done differently due to the nature of the light in our cathedral.

The icon of Christ the Pantocrator is the largest mosaic of Christ in the United States in a dome.  It is 35 feet in diameter and will contain 350,000 tiles of Italian smalti (psifides in Greek).  The garments take 3 months with four people working and the face and hands take 3 months work by Brunileda Rizaj who is an excellent mosaic artist.

The prototype for this icon comes from the monastery in Chora in Constantinople (Istanbul).  It has been adapted to the architecture and colors of our Cathedral, drawing from later iconographic traditions.

The work is supported by the donation of one individual in our parish.  There are still other important projects  to do in the cathedral.  In addition to Christ in the dome, we need to add the 16 prophets, do the eight stained glass windows, and the four pedentives with the four Evangelists.  As the inscription behind our Altar reads, “Blessed are they who love the beauty of Thy temple.”