Benefactors Ginnie and Leo Koulos recently gifted Holy Trinity with a fine Byzantine mosaic icon from the Vatican Museum, entitled “Madonna In Trono” (Madonna Enthroned). The mosaic and shrine, which houses the icon, were offered in loving memory of Eva and Paul Koulos.

The mosaic was acquired in 1972 during a cultural trip to Europe, on which, the Koulos family was given a rare private tour of the Vatican Museum. One of the stops on the tour was the Studio Del Mosaici, Sc. Della Rev. Fabrica Di S. Pietro (Congregation of the Fabrica of St. Peter’s Basilica). There, artisan monks are charged with preserving the artistic heritage of the Vatican and maintaining the precious mosaics of St. Peter’s Basilica. As well, these monks perpetuate the craft of mosaic iconography by creating works in the fine tradition of their forebears.

“Madonna In Trono” was three years in the making and the last work of a pious monk from Venice, a cultural center significantly influenced by the Byzantine tradition. This monk personally selected each of the glass tesserae, which include a number of semi- precious stones. The minute size of the tesserae, executed in petite mosaic smalti, give brilliance to the icon’s detail and expression in the faces of Christ and the Virgin. Encased in a bed of slate and set in an exquisite Byzantine style gold decorated frame, the overall dimensions of the mosaic are 23” in width and 35” in height.

This ecclesiastical treasure is prominently displayed in a niche in the Church’s vestibule (narthex). A magnificent black lacquer shrine with gold leaf trim and rich marble altar was constructed to enhance the beauty of the icon and to spiritually inspire the worshipping faithful.

A formal blessing and dedication of this icon will take place on Wednesday, November 29, the eve of the Feast of Saint Andrew, as a prelude to an Ecumenical Doxology honoring the concurrent historic visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Constantinople. At that service His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco will welcome SF Roman Catholic Archbishop George Niederauer to the magnificent Holy Trinity sanctuary. “Madonna In Trono” finds a welcome home at Holy Trinity Church, surrounded by countless mosaics crafted over 40 years by the noted Mosaic Iconographer Robert J. Andrews. Currently, Andrews, in conjunction with his studio in Multepuciano, Italy, is engaged in the monumental task of completing “Christ the Pantocrator,” to be installed late next summer in the sanctuary’s 3,400 square foot dome. It is believed that this work will portray the largest mosaic face of Christ in a dome in this hemisphere