Even before he became patriarch of
Antioch, Gregory
had quite a life. He was a monk in Jerusalem, and then was transferred to St. Catherine monastery of Sinai by
Justin II (565-578) where he became abbot. Around this time, the famous icon of
Christ pantokrator that virtually everybody will have come across one time or another (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_Pantocrator_(Sinai)) was painted and found its place there.
Also when Gergory was abbot, the monastery was attacked by Arabs who
had not heard of Muhammad yet. In 569 he was appointed patriarch of
Antioch. Around this time, paganism was
still a thing, and Gregory was accused of sacrificing a boy by an intriguing Byzantine official named Anatolius (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatolius_(Osroene)), but the charge was dismissed after the accuser was subjected to torture. He also
met the
Sassanian king Chosroes II when he
had to flee
his kingdom early in
his reign. Eventually Gregory died in 593 AD, and five of
his homilies survive.
The seal below is the first seal that can be attributed to him, even if in hand it doesn't look like the seal of one of the most important figures in Byzantine christendom. Unlike the later patriarchal seals from the Byzantine capital, with its 16mm
diameter, this is a really humble seal. But it is a
good incentive to always try to solve those
monograms.
Gregorios, patriarch of
Antioch 571-593. Byzantine lead seal (16mm, 3.61 gram)
Cruciform
monogram ΓPHΓOPIOV ('Gregoriou')
Cruciform
monogram ΠATPIAPXOV ('Patriarchou')
Unpublished.
