An Unexpected Epigraphic Find in the Athonite Monastery of Vatopedi and Its Comparative Study

The author focuses upon an inscription revealed in the circular baseline of the dome in the Catholicon (the cathedral church) of the monastery of Vatopedi at Mount Athos. Athanasius, who is mentioned in the inscription, can be identified with the abbot Athanasius recorded in the documents from 1020 until 1048. This recently uncovered dedicatory inscription and the similar in structure inscription on the pavement of the Catholicon of the monastery of Iviron are important examples promoting church officials in donation or renovation of the Catholicons in the flourishing Athos during the eleventh century. Through targeted expressions containing the quotations of psalms, the patron’s images are constructed, and their reputation after their death is strengthened. The discovery of the inscription is extremely important, the evidence undoubtedly shedding light on the early architectural history of the Catholicon. The latter has been thoroughly documented, but its study continues to be of interest to researchers until today.