Cross - Bronze - Enkolpion

Byzantine enkolpion cross. Bronze cast. On the front the Holy Virgin in Orante ( praying) gestus, this pose was already used by priest in the Old Egypt and is still used by the priest in the Catholic Church today. Next to her body an inscription in Greek MR- THEOU, abbreviation for Mother of God. In the four roundels that surround the Virgin we see the four Gospel writers, St Mark, St Matthew, St. Luke and St. John. These type of crosses were used to store relics inside and therefore they can be folded open. Cast in bronze in the 14th century, a rare artefact of a Christian Empire that existed over 1000 years till it fell to the Turks in 1453. This enkolpion is in good original condition.