The image on the gable is what a person sees first on raising their eyes to a church. Here the icon on the church gable is Christ the Saviour with the open Gospel. Around it are light scale-pattern cladding and a shaped, wavy roof edge.

Icon on a church gable: what a gable is

The gable is the upper part of a façade: a plane bounded at the sides by the slopes of the roof and below by the cornice. In classical architecture it is triangular, and its field is called the tympanum.

As early as the temples of antiquity the tympanum was adorned with sculpture. In other words, this place has long been set aside for the image a building shows to the outside.

Here the outline is more complex than the classical triangle: the roof edge is shaped and wavy, and around the image is light scale-pattern cladding. Together they work as a frame.

The image of Christ the Saviour with the Gospel: the Pantocrator

Christ with a book is an iconographic type called the Almighty, in Greek the Pantocrator, literally “ruler of all”. In this type the Saviour usually blesses with His right hand and holds the Gospel in His left.

In Byzantine churches this image was placed in the central dome or in the apse. On a gable it finds itself on the other side of the wall, and meets people while they are still outside.

The open and the closed Gospel: what it means

The book in the hand of the Pantocrator is sometimes closed, with a decorated cover and a cross on it. An image with an open book is also called “Christ the Teacher”: it is a variant of the same type.

The difference is simple. A closed book is a sign. An open one is words that can be read.

A verse from the Gospel or from Revelation is written on the open pages. Often it is the words “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12) is also found. Both verses are quoted here from the RSV.

A façade icon on stone: why height matters

For façade icons the height at which the icon is placed determines the size of the image and of the inscription. With an open Gospel the task doubles: not only the face but also the line on the page must be legible from the ground.

More on this in our article “An icon on a façade: what a person sees from the ground”.

What to decide before ordering

The height. The size of the image and of the letters depends on how high the icon is placed.
The text on the Gospel. Which verse and in which language: the longer the line, the smaller the letters.
The shape of the field. The image is fitted to the outline of the gable, not the other way round.
The surroundings. The cladding and the roof edge become the frame, so they should be seen on the sketch together with the icon.

Questions and answers

Does the Gospel in the icon have to be open? No. The Pantocrator’s book is sometimes closed. An open one is chosen when the image is to address a person with words as well.

How does an icon on a gable differ from an icon above the church entrance? In its distance from the viewer. Above the entrance the image is nearer; on the gable it is higher, so the size is calculated differently.

What is needed to determine the size? A photograph of the façade and the approximate height. Then a sketch and a drawing, approval, fabrication and installation.

Send a photograph of the façade and the approximate height, and we will suggest the size of the image and the inscription: +380 66 892 98 18. More about this line of work on the Icons on stone page.