ΒΧΜ

The scene of the Annunciation is depicted on the largest surface of the sanctuary doors, while the prophets David and Isaiah, like the figures of the saints Andrew and Nicholas, are shifted to the upper part. Virgin Mary, on the right panel, is represented standing in front of the throne, looking towards the archangel Gabriel, arriving on the left panel with big steps to bless her. The prophets hold rolled-up parchments, where there are texts relating to the Incarnation. On the green ground under the archangel Gabriel the inscription ΔE(HCIC) TOY ΔOYΛOY TOY Θ(EO)Y/ ANΔPEOY TOY ΛIMOΓAΛ(ΛOY) “Prayer of the servant of God / Andrea Limogallo” informs us about the dedicator of the doors, for the iconostasis of one church in Messina, Sicily. The depiction was discovered in the conservation laboratories of the Byzantine Museum, under a more recent layer of painting, which also had as its theme the Annunciation and the prophets Moses and Aaron. The detachment of the two layers of painting realized by the pioneer conservator of antiquities Stavros Baltogiannis, with the assistance of the conservator Spiros Varotsis during the 80’s. These Sanctuary doors, dated in the 15th century, were transferred in 1909 in Greece after a big earthquake occurred in Sicily, together with the archive of the Greek consulate and other relics from churches of the Greek community in Messina. Some of those relics were referenced in the collections of the Byzantine Museum in 1915.