Quelques observations sur les peintures murales de l’église de Saint-Georges (Omorphi Ekklissia) à Galatsi

Abstract

St. George or Omorphi Ekklesia in Galatsi, a suburb of the Greek capital, is a church of the distyle, domed, cross-in-square type with a single-aisle chapel attached to the south and a narthex to the west extending across both the nave and the chapel, probably once the katholikon of a men’s monastery. All three parts of the church were decorated with mural paintings dated to the beginning of the 14^th century, constituting a very sophisticated iconographic programme. The purpose of this article is to offer insights and interpretations of two of the depicted saints. More specifically, the two hermits on the pilasters of the western wall of the main church, in the place of the Foremost Apostles Peter and Paul, are identified as St. John the Baptist and St. Onuphrius, two great figures and protectors of Eastern Orthodox monasticism, confirming the monastic character of the monument.