07 works, Today, August 27th, is Saint Phanourios' day, his story illustrated #239

Aggelos Akotantos  (–1450) 

Saint Phanourios, (second quarter of 15th c)

The Collection of Agia Aikaterini, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

Angelos Akotantos was a 15th-century Byzantine-Cretan Icon-painter and hagiographer who lived and worked at Heraklion, Crete, then part of the Republic of Venice. He was the first hagiographer to sign his name on his icons by writing in Greek: "Χειρ Αγγέλου" which, translated in English, means "By hand of Angelos".

Angelos Akotantos' known works consist of about 50 pieces, 30 of which are signed icons and an additional 20 which have been reliably attributed to the artist. Akotantos had a workshop in Candia, the capital of Crete, from which he supplied icons to Greek churches and monasteries on Crete, Patmos, Rhodes and elsewhere.

Akotantos was the most important Greek painter of the first half of the 15th century when the center of Byzantine art was transferred from the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, Constantinople, to Heraklion the capital of Crete, as a result of the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

Akotantos painted icons of Saint Phanourios in the act of killing a dragon, similar to Saint George, a local tradition found in icons of the 15th century in Crete. More on Angelos Akotantos 

We know nothing for certain about the background of Saint Phanourius, nor exactly when he lived. Tradition says that when the island of Rhodes had been conquered by Moslems, the new ruler of the island wished to rebuild the walls of the city, which had been damaged in previous wars. Several ruined buildings were near the fortress, and stone from these buildings was used to repair the walls at the end of the fifteenth century, or the beginning of the sixteenth.

Frescoes of the original church, Rhodes

Church of St Phanourios being dedicated to Christ 

I have no further description, at this time

While working on the fortress, the Moslems uncovered the ruins of a beautiful church. Several icons, most of them badly damaged, were found on the floor. One icon, of Saint Phanourius, looked as if it had been painted that very day. The local bishop, whose name was Nilus, was called to see the icon. It said, “Saint Phanourius.”

Unknown artist

Icon of St Phanourios showing his confession of faith, tortures and final martyrdom

Rhodes

I have no further description, at this time

The saint is depicted as a young soldier holding a cross in his right hand. On the upper part of the cross is a lighted taper. Twelve scenes from his life are shown around the border of the icon. These scenes show him being questioned by an official, being beaten with stones by soldiers, stretched out on the ground while soldiers whip him, then having his sides raked with iron hooks. He is also shown locked up in prison, standing before the official again, being burned with candles, tied to a rack, thrown to the wild animals, and being crushed by a large rock. The remaining scenes depict him standing before idols holding burning coals in his hands, while a demon stands by lamenting his defeat by the saint, and finally, the saint stands in the midst of a fire with his arms raised in prayer.

Kolyvas, Ioannis

Icon of St. Phanourios, c.  1688

Egg Tempera

St. Catherine's Monastery, Sinai, Egypt

I have no further description, at this time

These scenes clearly revealed that the saint was a martyr. Bishop Nilus sent representatives to the Moslem ruler, asking that he be permitted to restore the church. Permission was denied, so the bishop went to Constantinople and there he obtained a decree allowing him to rebuild the church.

Silvestros Desos

Photo: Philippe Fuzeau

Christ and Saint Phanourios, 1620-1630

Tempera on wood

73 x 66 cm 

Louvre Museum

This Cretan icon has several characteristics that make it exceptional. The work may have come from the monastery of Saint Catherine on Mount Sinai after the fall of Constantinople (1453) and may have been owned by the viceroy of Egypt Mohammed Ali. The icon entered the family of the current owner before 1843, so it has a history dating back to at least the 1840s, an extremely rare case for icons that can be acquired today on the art market. It was confirmed that it respects traditional techniques: glued canvas, underlying drawing, tempera technique…. The cliché infrared reflectography further revealed the signature of the artist: Silvestros Desos, active in the first half of the XVII century in Candia (Heraklion). Finally the icon has a prestigious model: it is a variation on a partially ruined icon of one of the biggest names of the Creto-Venetian icon Angelos Akotantos, kept at the Valsamonero monastery in Crete. More on this Icon

This work is based on a 15th work by the great Cretan iconographer Angelos Akotantos, see above

I have no information on Silvestros Desos

At that time, there was no Orthodox bishop on the island of Crete. Since Crete was under the control of Venice, there was a Latin bishop. The Venetians refused to allow a successor to be consecrated when an Orthodox bishop died, or for new priests to be ordained, hoping that in time they would be able to convert the Orthodox population to Catholicism. Those seeking ordination were obliged to go to the island of Kythera.

Unknown artist

Captured at sea

I have no further description, at this time

It so happened that three young deacons had traveled from Crete to Kythera to be ordained to the holy priesthood. On their way back, they were captured at sea by Moslems who brought them to Rhodes to be sold as slaves. Lamenting their fate, the three new priests wept day and night.

Unknown artist

Icon of St. Phanourios (Cretan, 1843)

Egg Tempera

Hodegetria Monastery, Crete, Greece

While in Rhodes the priests heard of the miracles performed by the holy Great Martyr Phanourius. They began to pray to him with tears, asking to be freed from their captivity. Each of the three had been sold to a different master, and so remained unaware of what the others were doing.

By the mercy of God, each of the priests was allowed by his master to pray at the restored church of Saint Phanourius. All three arrived at the same time and prostrated themselves before the icon of the saint, asking to be delivered from the hands of the Hagarenes (Moslems, descendents of Hagar). Somewhat consoled, the priests left the church and returned to their masters.

That night Saint Phanourius appeared to the three masters and ordered them to set the priests free so that they could serve the Church, or he would punish them. The Moslems ignored the saint’s warning, believing the vision to be the result of sorcery. The cruel masters bound the priests with chains and treated them even worse than before.

Then Saint Phanourius went to the priests and freed them from their shackles, promising that they would be freed the next day. Appearing once more to the Moslems, the holy martyr told them severely, “If you do not release your slaves by tomorrow, you shall witness the power of God!”

The next morning, all the inhabitants of the homes where the priests were held awoke to find themselves blind, paralyzed, and in great pain. They considered what they were to do, and so decided to send for the priests. When the three priests arrived, they asked them whether they could heal them. The priests replied, “We will pray to God. May His will be done!”

Once more Saint Phanourius appeared to the Hagarenes, ordering them to send to the church a document granting the priests their freedom. He told them that if they refused to do this, they would never recover their sight or health. All three masters wrote letters releasing the priests, and sent the documents to the church, where they were placed before the icon of Saint Phanourius.

Before the messengers returned from the church, all those who had been blind and paralyzed were healed. The priests joyfully returned to Crete, carrying with them a copy of the icon of Saint Phanourius. Every year they celebrated the Feast of Saint Phanourius with deep gratitude for their miraculous deliverance. More on Saint Phanourius

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

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