What you see is the icon of Christ Pantocrator at Saint Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula.  It is also called the Christ of Sinai.  The word “Pantocrator” is Greek, and it means “almighty”—literally, “ruler of all.”

There are plenty of details in the icon, with tons of commentary to explain it all, but the obvious feature is Jesus the “two faced.”  That’s not intended as an insult!  Reference has been made to the dual natures of Christ, human and deity.  Some speak of the side holding the Bible as divine (and stern!).  The other side, making the sign of peace, is tranquil and chill.  (I’m using proper theological language if you didn’t notice.)  Masculine and feminine aspects of Christ are also seen.

By the way, the image below reflects a mirror image of each side of his face.  (Sorry for the pun.)  It could be two different men.

A few years ago, something occurred to me about the image.  It seemed to me that the right side of his face—from our perspective—seems to have a droop about it.  I imagined a reason why.  Perhaps he had suffered a stroke or been struck with Bell’s palsy.  I renamed the icon, “Jesus the stroke victim.”  Again, I didn’t consider myself to be mocking this work.  If anything, I saw it as a sign of praise.

We are reminded of the resurrection body of Jesus, which still bore the wounds of the crucifixion.  There was no reason, apparently, for them to be erased.  There was no flawless, supermodel body.  Instead, there was one modeled to look like ours.  What a statement of solidarity and identification with human weakness!  There is no rebuke, but rather an act of glorification.

We also have our own failings, our own vulnerabilities.  Perhaps this unprecedented time in which we find ourselves is one on a global scale, with its own host of maladies.  Might there be a fitting icon?  “Jesus the COVID-19 victim”?