Bishop Petros from the Cathedral of Faras

Wall Painting with Bishop Petros Protected by Saint Peter, late 10th century (Nubian; Faras), tempera on plaster, 240 x 101 x 4.8 cm (National Museum in Warsaw; photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Map of Christian Nubia (map: Alfanje~commonswiki, CC BY 2.5)

Faras Cathedral

The wall painting that bears the likeness of a man named Petros comes from Faras Cathedral, once nestled in the ancient Nubian city of Pachoras (Faras). The cathedral (which is now under water) dated to the 7th century, though its architecture evolved alongside the theological and political life of the Nubian kingdoms. [1] During the Byzantine period, Nubia consisted of three kingdoms: Nobatia, Makuria, and Alodia. These kingdoms were Christianized by Byzantine missionaries between the 5th and 6th centuries C.E.

Detaching one of the paintings in the cathedral’s northern aisle, 1963/64, photograph by M. Niepokólczycki (Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures; Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw)

The cathedral was rediscovered during the UNESCO Nubia Salvage Campaign in the 1960s. A Polish archaeological team led by Kazimierz Michałowski undertook the painstaking work of rescuing its painted walls, transferring dozens of paintings to safety before the rising reservoir sealed the site beneath Lake Nasser. The excavators discovered 169 wall paintings—the largest collection of Christian Nubian painting ever found, showing its development from the 8th to the 13th century. Today, the paintings reside in Khartoum and Warsaw, fragments of a submerged sacred world.

Bishop Petros (detail), Wall Painting with Bishop Petros Protected by Saint Peter, late 10th century (Nubian; Faras), tempera on plaster, 240 x 101 x 4.8 cm (National Museum in Warsaw; photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Remembering a bishop’s life and legacy

Painted in vivid pigments on the wall of the cathedral, Bishop Petros stands tall, wrapped in episcopal robes, his hand raised in blessing, his fingers partially entwined in an enchirion, the liturgical scarf distinctive to Nubian clerical dress. He holds a book close to his chest, not just a symbol of learning or office, but a quiet affirmation of his role as a spiritual guide. Just behind him, Saint Peter hovers, one hand resting gently on Petros’ shoulder, the other raised in protection. This is not simply a portrait; it is a theological declaration, a visual petition, and a record of one life enfolded in layers of sacred memory.

The painting was once on the western wall of a side room in the Faras Cathedral, a space that scholars have interpreted as a baptistry. Directly across on the eastern wall was the List of Bishops, a long chronological record in Greek spanning over five centuries of ecclesiastical succession. Among those names is Petros, bishop of Pachoras from 974 to 997.

The inscription accompanying the image confirms his identity: “Abba Petros, bishop and metropolitan of Pachoras. [May he live] many years!” This phrase affirms that the painting was completed during his lifetime, suggesting it served as both an intercession and a commemoration. His image becomes part of the liturgical and architectural memory of the church, greeting all who entered the sacred space with his gaze.

Saint Peter and Bishop Petros (detail), Wall Painting with Bishop Petros Protected by Saint Peter, late 10th century (Nubian; Faras), tempera on plaster, 240 x 101 x 4.8 cm (National Museum in Warsaw; photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

A double portrait

This large-scale wall painting from Faras Cathedral presents a hieratic double portrait: the earthly figure of Bishop Petros, a prominent ecclesiastic of the Nubian Church, stands prominently in the foreground, while the apostle Saint Peter looms directly behind him, slightly larger and more ethereal in rendering. Executed in secco technique, tempera on plaster, the painting demonstrates the formal conventions and theological symbolism of Nubian Christian art in the 10th century.

The composition is vertically elongated and tightly framed, emphasizing the towering presence of both figures. Bishop Petros is depicted frontally, fully vested in richly decorated liturgical robes. His garments, particularly the outer cloak, are detailed with densely patterned crosshatching, simulating the appearance of woven textiles. The chromatic palette used for his attire, deep reds, warm browns, and pale ivory, creates a visual contrast with his dark complexion and the luminous tones of Saint Peter behind him.

Petros holds a Gospel book in his left hand, its jeweled cover clearly delineated with geometric motifs. His right hand is raised in a gesture of benediction, his fingers elongated and stylized. The attention to symmetry and frontal presentation imbues the portrait with an air of solemn authority and sacred presence. He is not depicted in narrative action, but in liturgical stillness. His stance is frontal and hieratic; his gaze, direct. This is a mode of seeing that demands reciprocity. The painting looked back at its viewers. It bore witness. For monks, clergy, or laypeople entering the baptistry, the image affirmed continuity: between past and present, earth and heaven, local bishop and universal Church.

Saint Peter and Bishop Petros (detail), Wall Painting with Bishop Petros Protected by Saint Peter, late 10th century (Nubian; Faras), tempera on plaster, 240 x 101 x 4.8 cm (National Museum in Warsaw; photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Importantly, this is not a portrait in the modern sense. The image of Petros is stylized, his skin rendered in warm ochre tones, his features generalized. He is made to resemble other holy men painted nearby, part of a visual vocabulary rooted in Coptic, Byzantine, and Nubian traditions. But this abstraction does not diminish individuality. Instead, it elevates the subject, making him a symbol as much as a person. In Nubian painting, style was a form of theology. It made visible what was otherwise unseen.

Behind him, the figure of Saint Peter is identifiable by his inscription and his iconographic features, white hair, a full beard, and a golden halo. Unlike Petros, Peter wears a simpler, pale tunic, rendered in faint lines that almost dissolve into the background. His hands rest protectively on Petros’s shoulders, a tactile gesture in Christian iconography that communicates both blessing and spiritual transmission. Peter’s larger scale and lighter palette convey his sanctity and divine origin while his physical touch grounds his presence in earthly reality.

The use of overlapping figures is both symbolic and spatially strategic. Rather than creating a naturalistic illusion of depth, the artist flattens the two figures into a unified frontal plane. This stylistic flattening, typical of Nubian wall painting, shifts focus from the narrative to the theological. The viewer is not invited into a story, but rather into a moment of intercession and communion, between saint and bishop, heaven and earth.

The inscriptions that flank the figures, written in Greek, confirm their identities and offer prayers. The text above Petros includes the formulaic phrase “May he live many years,” confirming that the painting was created during his episcopate, functioning simultaneously as a petition for divine favor and as a public affirmation of his office.

The condition of the painting is fragmentary yet well-preserved. The outlines remain sharp, particularly in the detailing of robes and facial features. Some areas, especially the lower section and periphery, show signs of plaster loss and pigment fading, consistent with its removal from the cathedral wall during the 1960s UNESCO-led Nubian Salvage Campaign.

Wall Painting with Bishop Petros Protected by Saint Peter, late 10th century (Nubian; Faras), tempera on plaster, 240 x 101 x 4.8 cm (National Museum in Warsaw; photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Visual theology

This painting is not merely a devotional image; it is also a visual theology. The physical embrace of saint and bishop asserts a claim about apostolic legitimacy: that the Nubian Church, though geographically distant from Constantinople or Rome, shares in the same spiritual lineage. Petros is not isolated, he is rooted in sacred history, visually aligned with the apostle whose name he bears.

Overall, this secco painting exemplifies the visual language of medieval Nubia: bold symmetry, stylized abstraction, rich color, and a deep integration of liturgical function and political symbolism. It is a painting that sees, speaks, and remembers—an image meant to last not only in pigment but in prayer.

By the time of Petros’ tenure in the 10th century, the cathedral’s interior had become a layered palimpsest. Paintings overlapped, were plastered over, repainted, and reinterpreted. Bishop Petros continues to bless. Not just his community in 10th-century Nubia, but us, those who encounter his image centuries later, in a museum gallery, through a digital screen, in a field of academic study. His painting is not just a relic. It is a declaration that faith leaves marks: on walls, in paint, in memory. It insists that to remember well is to see again, to draw close, to honor the hands that painted, the people who prayed, and the life that still radiates from plaster.