The Chancel at Cefalù Cathedral: Detail, Eight Latin Saints
12th century
Mosaic
Cathedral of the Transfiguration, Cefalù, Sicily
The upper register presents four tonsured saints in dalmatics: two holding books and crosses, two with censers. The tonsures signify that the person is in the clergy, and the dalmatics and censers signify that he is a deacon. The one on the left is labeled "Peter" and is almost certainly St. Peter the Exorcist, an obscure figure today but one who was the subject of an active cult for centuries (Butler II, 453). The others are the familiar deacon saints Vincent, Lawrence, and Stephen.
In the lower register, complementing the four deacons in dalmatics, are four bishops wearing chasubles and pallia: Saints Gregory, Augustine, Silvester, and Denis. They are individualized only by the labels in the mosaic.
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View the entire chancel.
Read more about St. Peter the Exorcist, St. Vincent, St. Lawrence, St. Stephen, St. Augustine, St. Gregory the Great, and St. Denis.
Photographed at the cathedral by Claire Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.