Atrium - Christ the Teacher Sculpture

St. Mark demonstrates throughout his Gospels that Jesus is a teacher - Jesus is called “teacher” no less than twelve times. “Christ the Teacher” symbolizes Jesus Christ watching over our campus, as we believe that he is our first teacher, and the figure after whom our teachers model their practice.

The image of “Christ the Teacher” is a hand carved bas relief by Carl Moroder of the Conrad Moroder Company in Oritsei Val Gardena, Italy. Carl Moroder has been in touch with wood carving since his childhood – his ancestors had been sculptors and artists for five generations.

After this piece was carved, 23.75 carat gold leaf with an antique finish paint was applied.

The sculpture is 3-D, weighs 250 lbs. and is 5 feet in height. The carving hangs in the vestibule and is the center visual point for students entering the main entrance.

This one-of-a-kind carving is based on an original 6th century icon preserved at St. Catherine Monastery in Sinai, Egypt. The monastery stands at the foot of Mount Horeb where, according to the Old Testament, Moses received the Tablets of the Law. Founded in the 6th century, it is the oldest Christian monastery still used for its original purpose. The sixth-century icon of Christ Blessing, or Christ “Pantokrator” (all-ruler) as this image would later become known, was painted using encaustic (a wax-based painting technique used in Egypt from at least the late 1st century). This icon was painted by a highly skilled artist, and therefore might have been made in the capital city of Constantinople.

Christ raises his right hand to give a blessing. His other hand holds an elaborate manuscript, which probably takes the form of a contemporary Gospel book, emphasizing Christ’s identity as the embodied “Word” of God. This bearded, mature version of Christ, one of several ways Christ appears in early Christian art, draws on pre-Christian traditions of rendering other male divinities.

This is the oldest icon of Christ and survived because of the monastery’s remote location, its dry desert climate, and layers of overpainting that hid it until later restoration.

The sculpture was donated in memory of Paul and Naomi Thomas …..