Martorana: Palermo’s Byzantine Jewel

Examples of Greek Orthodox culture can still be found in Palermo, Sicily at the Santo Maria dell’Ammriaglio, (Santa Maria of the Admiral), the Martorana, which features the only Byzantine mosaic outside of Constantinople showing the imperial blessing of a monarch by the Pantocrator (Jesus Christ). The Christian Middle East has produced great leaders who shaped western history. In the wake of the 22 Coptic Christians who died at a January 6 massacre in the Church of Saints Mark and the current Egyptian uprising, it is time to reexamine a time of glorious achievement of a Greek commander