17.12 Seal of the Pantokrator Monastery
19th c.
Pantokrator Monastery
Copper alloy, diameter 3.5 cm, height 8 cm
The seal is divided horizontally into two halves. The reconstituted matrix bears a representation of the Transfiguration of the Saviour, to which the Monastery is dedicated. The end of the handle securing the two parts is shaped like a pinecone. Around the perimeter runs the legend : + ΣΦP(AΓI)Σ THΣ IEP(A)Σ MON(H)Σ TOY Π(AN)T(O)KP(ATOPO)Σ TOY EN TΩ OPI TOY AΘ(Ω)N(O)Σ ('Seal of the Athonite Monastery of the Pantokrator').
This double matrix reflects the particular administrative system of the monastery of Pantokrator, which since the late eighteenth century had been governed by two trustees. For more effective control of administrative acts, the seal was divided into two parts, of which each officer held one, thus requiring the presence (or approval) of both for a document to be sealed and therefore valid.