John the Apostle Writes to the Churches of Sardis and Philadelphia

The image is divided into two horizontal registers against a dark brown background. In both, Saint John the Apostle appears on the left with a halo, bearded, and holding a stylus to an open codex. On the right, a winged angel emerges from drapery, gesturing with an extended finger toward a stylized fortified building with crenellated walls, red roofs, and towers. The upper register depicts the Church in Sardis, while the lower register depicts the Church in Philadelphia, both rendered in a Romanesque style with pale masonry and simplified geometric forms.

This folio is part of the Bamberg Apocalypse, a key example of Ottonian manuscript illumination that provides a visual commentary on the Book of Revelation. It illustrates the command given to John to dictate letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor, specifically those addressed in Revelation 3.