Doctors and Fathers of the Church

In the painted niches at the attic level stand eight monumental figures wearing Byzantine vestments and identified by Greek inscriptions. They are bare-headed and wear halos. Closest to the chancel are Sts Basil, John Chrysostom, and Gregory of Nazianzus, venerated as hierarchs in Eastern Church. Secondary to them are the doctors of the church Cyril of Alexandria and John of Damascus, as well as the church fathers Athanasius the Great and Gregory of Nyssa. The eighth figure is St Nicolas of Myra.

The patriarchs' bright colours and animated faces have been traced to Venetian precedents; however, the pattern for the overall arrangement could have been the fifteenth-century papal portraits in the Sistine Chapel. The distinct shadows the figures cast on the wall are prefigured there.

The picture shows the niche which is located on the inner façade. It is occupied by St Nicholas of Myra (Bari), pictured with a bishop's crosier and an open codex. This bishop does not belong to the groups of church fathers, his presence could be related to the fact that Nicholas was the name given to St Nilus at his baptism.