The Curch of Holy Apostles, 13th century
A structure
added to an earlier place of worship near Hvosno at the point where the
Bistrica River emerges from its lengthy and picturesque gorge was of
far-reaching significance for the overall subsequent life of the Serbian
Church. The site itself with its fortification was called "The
Gorge," while the numerous caves scattered about on its rugged cliffs,
deep and often hardly visible, gave the neighbouring village its name of Pec
(cave). Because these grottoes were very early populated by anchorites this
locality was placed under the aegis of the Zica Monastery and together with them,
mentioned in the very first deed granted by King Stefan Provovencani (the
"First-Crowned"). Moreover, the entire region was called Metohija
(Metochion, in Greek) by token of these monastery estates
 |
| Patriarchate of Pec 13-14th c. |
The extensive
lice holdings and the monastic community were governed by the Archbishop; it
was therefore logical that the churches on these estates were built at his
behest, often under his direct supervision. The renewal of an earlier
single-nave church in the Pec area and the structures added to it are ascribed
by Archbishop Nikodim in 1319 to St. Sava himself, who is also mentioned as its
founder in an inscription under his somewhat younger portrait inside the
church. It may well be that this first Serbian Archbishop was engaged in the
raising of a church in the remote locality of Zica, but there is reason to
believe that Sava's successor Arsenije (12331263) deserves full credit for the
undertaking. The long ceremonious inscription under the Deesis in the altar
apse ends in a prayer with his name at the close of it. The interior of the
church dedicated to the Holy Apostles was painted in the years between 1250 and
1260. The Archbishop himself manifested his ties to this locality by his
decision to be buried there. After his death, when it became known that
miracles occurred about his tomb, the church was referred to as
Arsenije's.
Of the earlier
building, dating from the 11th century the elongated naos was retained, while
the remaining parts were expanded on in the Raska architectural mode. Here,
too, a dome was built over the central space against the gently pointed arches
with pendentives whose lower, square area was shaped into a circular base of
the drum. The subdomical area was, by custom, enlarged with rectangular choirs
while on the eastern side the altar space was extended with a bay that enabled
freer circulation. At the same time, a separate prothesis and diakonikon were
erected on the north and south sides, both vaulted and ending in semi-circular
apses.
 |
| The funeral of Archbishop Savva II of Serbia in Pec Patriarchate |
The remains of
the walls outside the present foundation have not been sufficiently
investigated; it may well be that there were parakklesia originally on the
lateral sides which were later removed when larger churches were raised on
these sites.
The fairly rough
manner of construction here was perhaps a reflection of the modest monastic
environment for which the church had been commissioned. However, the forms and
construction design of the church demonstrate the builder's skill and
assurance. He covered the facade of the building with mortar and, as in Zica by
emulating the Mt. Athos churches, he painted it in a vivid shade of red. The
monastic tradition interpreted this colour as being the blood of the martyrs
who perished for the sake of their faith.
Regarded as a
part of the Raska architectural school in which every monument - despite its
similarity and kinship with other monuments - had specific traits of its own:
the Church of the Holy Apostles had a plan and spatial conception as well as
certain forms that corresponded to the ecclesiastical needs of the Eastern
Church and belonged to Byzantine tenets. At the same time, however, the
specific method of construction revealed elements indicating that the skills
and practice of western builders had been mastered and that analogous edifices
could be found along the coast and on the opposite shore of the Adriatic
Sea.
 |
| The Holy Apostles Church 13th c. |
The interior
decorative elements of the Holy Apostles, despite its damaged aspect in its
present-day impoverished ambience and the changes that took place in later
centuries, still present a fairly rich picture of the spiritual life and
sophisticated ideas of the time. The church's iconography and artistic
craftsmanship, more than the edifice itself, its size and character, prove that
on the estate of the Archbishopric, it had acquired a special place not only
within the borders of lice, but also throughout the land. Above all, the
wall-paintings show that already by Archbishop Arsenije's time the sepulchral
character of the church was emphasized by the presence of a sarcophagus in the
western part. Moreover, the idea that the church should become the resting
place of other Serbian prelates had certainly been widely adopted when
Arsenije's successor, the second member of the Nemanjic dynasty, namely, the
youngest son of Stefan the First-Crowned, Sava II (1263-1271) was buried there.
The dedication of the church to Christ's disciples was undoubtedly inspired by
the grand Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, built at the time of
Justinian. the Serbs were well aware that the church, with its appearance,
reliquaries and other treasures as described by countless pilgrims, was the
mausoleum of a number of Byzantine emperors, and especially of the Ecumenical
Patriarchs. The dedication was, of course, linked to the missionary calling of
the highest ecclesiastical dignitaries in the Orthodox world, so that the
choice of patron for the church for the church that was being built, had the
same role in Serbia.
The
historiography of art has long endeavoured to discover the specific thematic
and iconographic elements that reflect the spiritual atmosphere of the
environment to which a church belonged, as well as to ascertain the immidiate
historical circumstances that could have influenced the choice of depiction to
be drawn and the ideas they purported to express. In this sense, much attention
was earlier paid to Zica, the first independent see of the Serbian Church. The
bulk of its wall-paintings had been damaged and replaced at a later date
(1309-1316), but it is assumed that they repeated the earlier themes and
disposition of St. Sava's times. The conclusions arrived at also refer to the
Pec Church, because it was precisely the cathedral church that they took as
their model not only for its construction but also for its decorative elements.
 |
| Archbishop St. Arsenios - the founder of the Patriarchate Monastery in 13th c |
The sepulchral
nature of the church was primarily expressed by the monumental painting of the
Deesis in the spherical part of the broad apse, clearly visible above the low
altar screen. The church-goers knew that the prayer to the enthroned Christ
offered by the Virgin and St. John Prodromos referred mainly to the dignitaries
buried there. But the believers were themselves comforted by their faith in
salvation and by the knowledge that grace would be granted them on Judgment
Day, the depiction of which on the walls showed the same personages in
iconographic form as defenders of the human race.
In the lower part
of the church, as was customary from the end of the 12th century onward, there
is depicted the Service of the Hierarchs together with a series of the most
prominent representatives of Christian teachings, holding scrolls with excerpts
from liturgical prayers. It is noteworthy that this procession ends with the
figures of St. Sava of Serbia, the already deceased and widely venerated
founder of the autocephalus Serbian Church. Even earlier custom allowed that
eminent prelates of local churches could be portrayed in the altar space, while
from the 11th century onward they appeared not only as a part of the
autocephalous archbishopric, as in Ohrid and Cyprus, but also in a series of
other bishoprics, principally in the Greek ones. It was natural for the image
of St. Sava to have first appeared in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Pec as
it was most closely linked to the very heart ot the Serbian Church. Possibly
about the same time an artist of less expressive power repeated Sava's image in
the prothesis, representing him as officiating together with his successor
Arsenije, but without the other holy fathers to whom this act should have been
a priority honour.
 |
| Mother of God - Pec Patriarchate, 14th century |
The frescoes in the cupola and subdomical
area express a complex and unique notion: on the broad circular surface painted
in ochre tones conjuring up the light enhanced with gleams of the gold leaf in
the painting, Christ seems to ascend towards the dark azure of the sky, leaving
behind him the disciples with the Virgin and the Archangels disposed between
the windows of the tympanum. As usual, on the pendentives below them the
Evangelists are shown as engaged in writing the Saviour's life. Between them
are the figures of Christ in Mandylion and Keramidion. But on the divided
surfaces formed by the substructure of the dome, a number of episodes are
illustrated in a special layout which totally differs from that depicted in
other cycles. On the western side is the Sending Out of the Apostles; on the
southern side is the Resurrection of Lazarus and the Doubting Thomas, while on
the northern side is the Last Supper and the Descent of the Holy Spirit. In
this unusual disposition, the paintings on the eastern surface, probably of the
Annunciation, are no longer visible. The reasons for this manner of linking
scenes from various thematic entities have been sought in the statements made
by Archbishop Nikodim (13171325). In the Preface to his translation of the
Jerusalem Typikon from Greek, done in 1319, the head of the Serbian Church
notes that St. Sava built the church in Pec modelling it on the famous and
sacred Jerusalemn edifice visited by Sava in his journey through Palestine.
This refers to the church in Zion and the monastery of St. Sabbas the
Consecrated. This connection should not be interpreted as meaning that the
shape of the models was emulated, but that their significance was invoked. Of
the episodes to be painted in the central part of the church, three were chosen
from the upper part of the Zion church: the Last Supper' the Doubting Thomas
and the Descent of the Holy Spirit.
The supposition
that it was precisely the Zion church that served as a model for the Serbian
sees in Pec and Zica, becomes more convincing if we bear in mind that up to the
12th century, Zion, too, had been dedicated to the Holy Apostles and that
Christ, before the Ascension, sent his disciples out to preach the new faith
from that very church. The iconography of the Pec church, closely connected
with Serbian Church leaders, was directly concordant with the scene recalling
their apostolic role. Finally, in view of its significance, the church in Zion
was called "The Mother of all Churches" and therefore this
appellation was conferred in Serbia on the cathedrals in Zica and later in
Pec.
 |
| Archbishop Daniel the founder of the church of Theotokos |
By being arranged
along church's walls whose surfaces were not always suitable for complex
compositions, biblical scenes were adapted to the space available, but not
always in a harmonious relationship in the architectural framework. Their
simple depiction with an orthogonal projection of the ambience and its forms
belong mainly to the tradition of earlier artwork. A new period in the
development of the so-called monumental 13th century style portrayed mature and
powerful plastic forms. The pictures are dominated by figures interpreting
events in darkly resonant colors with surfaces lit by sudden rays of light and
faces with gleaming eyes and finely modulated brighter tones. The surprising
facial expressiveness is barely supported by the ancillary elements as, for
instance, in the Ascension episode which is a veritable masterpiece but has
only frail treetrunks in the background. The highest achievement of these
artists - analyses indicate that a number of hands were at work here - are
testified to by the individual portraits and group figures deftly accompanied
by seemingly neutral yet tastefully coloured surfaces and interiors. The scenes
of the Doubting Thomas and the Resurrection of Lazarus are examples of such a
pictorial language, though an archaic one, due to the exaggerated size of
Christ's figure which nonetheless is successfully adapted to the requirements
of the available space. The former scene is depicted with firm symmetry under a
gently pointed arch, and the latter on an irregular segment of the vaulted
field. Both evince an exciting rhythm in which the elements of the richly
narrated stories are arrayed.
Certain figures
of the Apostles, especially the younger ones, evoke reminiscences of the Hellenistic
legacy, so discernible in the radiance and gentle sensuality of the figures
that could not have been seen in the works of an older, severer spirit. It was
as if the artisans glanced back to the earlier works and directly copied their
delineations, their plasticity and color harmonies. This was not a new
phenomenon: Byzantine art always relied on classical models, sometimes in waves
felt powerfully during specific epochs, creating unique paraphrases leading to
a distinct style. Broadly speaking, the Pec artwork was not isolated in this
sense but it came at the outset of a period in Serbia that reached its fullest
expression in the more recent Sopocani church.
 |
| Lord Jesus Christ, The church of the Holy Apostles, Pec Patriarchate, 14th c. |
It is not easy to
fathom the environment in which the Pec artisans were trained nor the traditions
they followed. It must assuredly have been a matter of the involvment of some
larger centres where a broad artistic culture could be attained and where there
were monuments and collections of old manuscripts that preserved the
traditional artistic accomplishments and transmitted them to subsequent
generations.
During the
ensuing decade, the Archbishopric's Metochion in Pec enjoyed a calmer existence
than the Zica centre which was threatened a number of times and which finally
suffered from hostile incursions from the north. This was why the remains of
Archbishop Joanikije (1279-1286) were transferred to the Holy Apostles. At the
same time, valuable objects which were a temptation to attackers were also
removed for safe-keeping. It was recorded that the governor of Vidin, John
Sisman, descended to "The Gorge" itself (1291-1292) with the
intention of seizing the treasures of the Church of the Saviour. It was under
this name that historical sources referred to the Church of the Saviour's Ascension
in Zica. But the same appellation was later also given to the Pec church
together with the role it had acquired in the last decade of the 13th century.
For after the calamity that had befallen Zica, the Serbian Archbishops
temporarily moved to Pec. In recent times, it has justly been observed that
this move did not simply mean transferring the see of the Archbishopric, but
also taking over some of its functions. Zica continued to be regarded as the
centre of the Serbian Church whose prelates occasionally sojourned there in
later centuries as well. Neverthless, the ecclesiastical administration
gradually shifted southwards where, in the following period, the residences of
the Serbian kings were frequently located.
Parallel with
these developments, the anchorites continued their peaceful lives in their
nearby cave abodes. At the time of the Archbishop Jakob (1286-1292), two Greek
monks left a Decani cell for Kotrulica, doubtlessly one of the caves in the
Bistrica river Gorge of Pec. Their cave was "enclosed" with walls for
their needs. Like other hermits, they spent most of their time in isolation and
only on Sundays descended to the Church of the Holy Apostles for prayers and
communion. Today one can
still see a number of these hermits' caves on the left side of the river. As in
Korisa, the Pec du ellings u ere enclosed that walls that have been preserved
in many places. some of them several metres high. Here, likewise, in places set
aside for religious activities, traces of frescoes are still visible. These
rough-hewn abodes were usually inter-connected by steps carved into the rock or
else made of wood which also covered the light roofs and the narrow passages.
Incised supports that carried the wooden beams can still be seen on all sides.
However, some of the cells could be reached only by rope ladders while heavy
loads had to be raised by pulleys.
 |
| The Resurrection and the Preaching of St. Baptist in the Hades |
Thus these modest
dwellings whose living conditions were made even more arduous by rain and snow,
and their accessibility most hazardous, were neverthless islands of intensive
intellectual activity. The renowned writer and subsequent Patriarch, Jefrem,
between 1355 and 1371 wrote most of his canons and 170 stychiria in such a
cell, where the scribes did not enjoy any better conditions. Thus, there are no
grounds for the generally held belief that the scriptoria were housed in
spacious, specially built premises. Examples from the Meteore in Thessaly
likewise confirm the fact that those cells, clinging to the cliffs like nests,
also produced exeptional works in the fields of transcription and
illumination.
The sudden
assaults from the north were a concrete reason why the site of the Church of
the Holy Apostles had to be protected by a fortification. Like other
monasteries in similar locations, attacks on the monastery and church coming
from the heights above them, had to be withstood. Ramparts were therefore built
up on a steep incline forming a stronghold of a triangular base. From its
highest point, one can still clearly see the lower portions of the formerly
stalwart tower.
The frescoes in
the western part of the Church of the Holy Apostles were painted during the
closing years of a century that brought about certain changes. These were
probably the work of Archbishop Jevstatije II (1292-1309). We learn from his
biography that he had earlier been engaged in restoring the burned church in
lice. In Pec, it was necessary to undertake the first indispensable renovative
work in the interior of the church where complex divine services had to be held
with the participation of a numerous clergy.
At present we do
not know what all the wall-pairings were like, since the original frescoes in
one part of the subdomical area were replaced by later ones. But the faithful
entering the church were welcomed here by impressive scenes on walls that had
in the past been better illuminated. In two of the highest zones of the church,
along the broad, vaulted western wall, the episodes of the Sufferings of Christ
and above the entrance, the figures of SS Constantine and Helena, are portrayed
while on the left and right sides, we can see the large busts of St. Nicholas
and the Virgin. In the lowest zone where, judging by the fragments, there were
the portraits of the members of the dynasty, the only remaining figures are
those of Kings Stefan the First-Crowned and Uros I. Both are clothed in
monastic vestements and both are named Symeon, a name they assumed after
retiring from the throne in order to emulate the venerated founder of their
family. These latter portraits no longer belong to the traditional donor
composition in the form of a procession headed by Symeon Nemanja and
approaching Christ or the Virgin to receive their Grace. Nor are they
characterized by earlier assiduously delineated facial features. These scenes
were done by painters who favoured robust shapes while eschewing delicate
modelling and creating artwork of totally different configuration. Their
spirituality was best expressed in the dynamic scenes of Christ's Sufferings
drawn in a continuous sequence with emotional gestures in a setting of
intricate architectural tracery. Among the Serbs, this was the first "new
wave" monument, usually referred to as the Palaeologian style in Byzantine
art. Somewhat prior to the Pec frescoes, the distinct new traits were
manifested in 1294-95 by masters Michael Astrapas and his assistant Eutychios
in their first famous monument, the Virgin Peribleptos in Ohrid. These
accomplished artists, schooled in Thessalonica where other members of the
Astrapas family also participated in the city's intellectual and artistic life,
worked together long afterwards, predominately in Serbia. It has not been
proven that they made additions to the frescoes in the Church of the Holy
Apostles, but this could have been done by one of their assistants or by
artisans with a similar training background. Parallel to them, other painters
traversed the same developmental path, altered the church programmes and
iconography and, in particular, the artistic expression. Members of the old
Constantinople studios whose monuments are less known today, also had a large
share in effecting these changes. The Protaton frescoes in the large
three-aisled church in Karyes on Mt. Athos are essentially similar to those in
the church of the Holy Apostles, although they exhibit a greater measure of
refinement and softer modelling. The two monuments, however, display a greater
degree of refinement and the softness of modulation. They did not conserve the
signatures of the artists nor any other inscriptions relating to the patrons of
the church or the dates of their painted creations. It is only the Athonite
tradition that has long and insistently been attributing the frescoes of its
main church to well-known artist Manuel Panselinos. Those frescoes could have
originated around the year 1300, as did those in the Church of the Holy
Apostles. The subsequent development of this style, it will be seen, can be
followed in the somewhat later churches in Kosovo itself.
 |
| Church of Saint Demetrios |
The
church of Saint Demetrios (architecture) 14th century
The Home of the
Savior in lice was considered the see of the Arcbishopric, but in the first
decades of the 14th century Serbian church dignitaries preferred Pec, as it was
safer and closer to the royal court. The archbishop's obligations regarding
supervision of spiritual life, ecclesiastical judiciary and other matters
imposed the need for more capable and broadly educated clerics; conditions for
their work should have been but were not provided in the old metochion. Also
some of the services which the archibishop needed to conduct were complex and
required a more elaborate ritual space. The heads of church, therefore, rebuilt
2;ica and added new churches to the Holy Apostles in Pec, enlarging the ritual
space and adapting it to various religious rites.
The first archbishop,
Nikodim (1317 - 1324), added a church to the northern side dedicated to St.
Demetrios, patron saint of Thessalonica, whose cult, due to close ties with
this Greek town, was revered by the Serbs. Nikodim replaced the 13th-century
lateral parekklesion, its length corresponding to the western part of the Holy
Apostles, up to the height of the added transept. Appended to the main church,
St. Demetrios was constrained in its design; best suited was the concise form
of a single-nave church. It had an octagonal dome, large apse and certain
extensions in places where the choirs were located in the older tradition of
the Raska school. From the outside, in the roof construction, this is
noticeable on the northern, open side.
In accordance
with the spirit of earlier architecture, the interior of the church is well-lit
and designed of a piece, while the altar space is separated from the nave by a
well-preserved stone iconostasis. Parapet panels with door-ways in the middle,
where the royal door is situated, are placed between nicely fashioned
colonnettes; they, too, stand on the northern side in front of the prothesis,
while everything in the upper part is joined a whole by a horizontal beam
(epistyle). The low-relief ornaments on the panels belong to the elegant and
strict dictates of Byzantine sculptural art and probably are the work of the
same master who made the frame of the church portal, also resorting to
ornaments from the classical repertoire (astragal, vine with palmettes and
billet moulding). Broader analogies attest to sculptural work dlstmgulshlng
parts or tne sculptural decoration in Banjska as well.
In appearance and
construction - the already mentioned "cellular" (i.e. cloissone)
style of building with cubic stones, tiers of bricks and mortar links - St.
Demetrios is an articulation of the Byzantine concepts. The procedure itself is
closely aligned with the manner of building of the Decani entrance tower, the
work of master-builder Djordje (George) and his brothers. A wider circle of
builders and stone-masons from Serbia and the Adriatic coastal area was
employed on raising shrines in Serbia, particularly in Kosovo, during the
entire first half of the 14th century.
The character and
position of the church of St. Demetrios in relation to the Holy Apostles can
hardly be understood if taken in isolation, out of the context of the entire
complex of the Patriarchate of Pec, which was to be built at a later date.
Subsequent construction on the southern and western sides gave full meaning to
the endowment of Archbishop Nikodim. One may well wonder whether the first,
early deceased, donor had in mind the same design achieved in the following
decade by his teacher and successor to the spiritual throne, Danilo II (1325 -
1338). Similar examples show that both of them may have been inspired by the
same idea.
 |
| The Church of the Virgin Mary Hodegetria 14th c |
The
Virgin Mary Hodegetria
Archbishop Danilo - as recalls Danilo's anonymous biographer - had the church of the Virgin "Hodegetria of Constantinople" built to the south of the Holy Apostles. He did so out of gratitude for the support given to him in days of distress by the protectress of Mt. Athos and the imperial capital, and he provided ".Greek books and all church necessities" for the shrine and let monks "of Greek origin to ... perform divine service according to their custom." Broadly educated, Danilo was emotionally tied to Greek-language literature, as was his predecessor Nikodim who had translated from Greek the famous Jerusalem typikon (rule) of St. Sabbas the Consecrated with its regulations of monastery life and description of divine services. Experts in Greek language and literature were needed in Serbia for many reasons, particularly after 1334 when Stefan Dusan conquered extensive areas of the Byzantine Empire.
Archbishop Danilo - as recalls Danilo's anonymous biographer - had the church of the Virgin "Hodegetria of Constantinople" built to the south of the Holy Apostles. He did so out of gratitude for the support given to him in days of distress by the protectress of Mt. Athos and the imperial capital, and he provided ".Greek books and all church necessities" for the shrine and let monks "of Greek origin to ... perform divine service according to their custom." Broadly educated, Danilo was emotionally tied to Greek-language literature, as was his predecessor Nikodim who had translated from Greek the famous Jerusalem typikon (rule) of St. Sabbas the Consecrated with its regulations of monastery life and description of divine services. Experts in Greek language and literature were needed in Serbia for many reasons, particularly after 1334 when Stefan Dusan conquered extensive areas of the Byzantine Empire.
 |
| Holy Bishops, the church of the Holy Apostles, 13th c |
The Virgin's
shrine was symmetrical to the church on the northern side. With its forms and
internal structure it repeated the widespread cross-in-square layout typical of
Byzantine architecture, clearly manifested not only in the ground plan, but
also in the lead-sheathed roofs. The central part is topped by an octagonal
dome on a low cubic base supported by four piers; laterally, the arms of the
cross are barrel-vaulted, making the upper section cross-like, while lower,
longitudinally vaulted bays are in the corners. In accordance with the ideas of
Archbishop Danilo himself, the prothesis chapel and the diakonikon as
independent ritual areas are dedicated to St. Arsenije of Serbia and St. John
the Forerunner. At a later date, when Archbishop Danilo was buried there, the
north-western part of the nave was separated by a canopy. The interior,
however, retained its original layout which was not disturbed by the
installation of a stone altar screen with Romanesque capitals.
The apertures
which were executed, either at the wish of the donor or by their own intent, by
masters from coastal workshops, render a more complex image of the stonework.
Single-light and two-light windows, generally distinct both in profile and in
the selection of modest decorative motifs, display, in this case as at Decani,
Romanesque forms and Gothic slightly pointed arches, sometimes with quatrefoil
apertures in the lunette. To them belongs the two-light mullioned window on the
northern side of the St. Demetrios, executed at a later date, perhaps because
the Archbishop Nikodim died before the building was finished.
 |
| Lord Jesus Christ, Holy Apostles' church, 13th. century |
The
Narthex
To the south of
the Virgin Hodegetria, Danilo added a chapel dedicated to St. Nicholas, and at
the front of all three buildings he built an open narthex. The appearance of
the whole viewed from the south is represented on a model which the donor, by
the mediation of the prophet Daniel, offers to the patron, the Virgin Mary on a
throne. The vividly modulated representation shows only the structures raised
by Danilo II, and carefully registers their appearance. For this reason the
model represents a precious source for reconstruction of those parts of the
complex which disappeared at a later date or were rebuilt in another form. The
portico on the southern side which protected the entrances to all three
structures built by the Archbishop Danilo - the church of the Virgin, the
narthex and St. Nicholas's chapel, belongs to them, as well.
Construction of
religious buildings close to one another, particularly within the confines of a
monastery, was a familiar feature of the architecture of the Byzantine Empire
and Constantinople itself. The Pec donors had opportunities to see similar
complexes, particularly at Mt. Athos. Both Nikodim and Danilo were priors of
the Hilandar Monastery for several years and knew other monasteries well, the
oldest of which, the Lavra of St. Athanasios, had similar spatial coordinates:
three parallel churches with a common narthex. It is our belief that the
monastery of Vatopedi, very close to the Serbian monks, may have been of
special significance for Pec. Before founding their own monastery, St. Sava and
Symeon Nemanja had lived there, lavished it with rich gifts and commissioned
many buildings there; the fraternity of Vatopedi respected them as
donors.
The cluster of
katholika in Vatopedi is laid out in a similar fashion and dedicated to the
same saints: the northern church to St. Demetrios, the southern one to St.
Nicholas, and the oldest one, situated in the center, to the Virgin, the
protectress of Mt. Athos. In Pec, at the Holy Apostles, all the shrines which
by their position and ritual correspond to the Vatopedi complex were added in
the course of a single decade. Both donors, who arrived from Mt. Athos to take
high positions in the Serbian church wanted to transfer to Serbia prototypes
from this great Orthodox monastic center.
This was
reflected on the fa,cades with strong red hues like those on the churches of
the most prominent Athonite monasteries. It is likely that the walls of the
original Hilandar church, replaced later by King Milutin, had been painted in
the same way. The earliest traces of red color were found in Pec on the Holy
Apostles which were painted having Zica as a model, and that practice, within the
framework of emulating Athonite customs, continued to be pursued in finishing
the other churches in the complex.
 |
| The sheperds of Betlehem |
Archbishop Danilo's buildings with their dark red fa,cades had rich ornaments covering the entire surface below the roof cornices, archivolts, lunettes and window frames. Earlier,
the rows of stones and bricks had been painted to imitate builders' facing,
covering the coarse tissue of walls and mortar. Only some of the decorative
elements were adopted in Pec, for example: the checker board. However,
ornaments typical of wall painting and book illumination were predominantly
used in a rich repertoire ranging from antique motifs to geometric patterns,
mazes and ornaments characteristic of the Middle Ages. All the decoration was
carried out in fresco technique which enabled it to retain its basic forms and
freshness of color after six and one half centuries of exposure to sun and
precipitation. Painted decoration
of this kind later became the object of interest among experts because of the
fact that several decades later bas-reliefs with similar decorative elements
appeared on the fa,cades of the Morava style churches - mainly in the same
places. As a matter of fact it was supposed that the painted ornamentation on
the outsides of the Pec churches date from a later period, taking its place in
a new form of expression. Careful examination, however, has proven that the
painted ornamentation preceded the stonework, i.e. that the new style of
sculptural art from the last decades of the 14th and the first half of the 15th
century had already been developing among local builders in another medium: it
did not appear out of the blue. completely formed.
Archbishop Danilo's large, open narthex was of exceptional beauty; a chronicler from the early 15th century included it in his selection of the most valuable works of ancient Serbian art. It
has reached us, however, in a significantly altered appearance following damage
and the subsequent reconstruction undertaken by Patriarch Makarije around 1560.
The original view of the narthex is shown on the painted model in the hands of
Archbishop Danilo. Precious data are also supplied by his biographer praising
his work. After deciding to build "a bright narthex," he says that
first "in his mind he measured everything ... what its height should be,
what length, what width, so that it leans on" and is "in unision"
with the churches of the Holy Apostles, Saint Demetrios and the Virgin.
The spacious
narthex was open and bright indeed. Three piers in the middle and one on the
northern and southern ends divide the interior into two aisles, each with six
bays. The upper sections were almost completely rebuilt after the restoration
of the Patriarchate of Pec, but the standing remnants prove that, like today,
the supporting pillars were connected by arches and the fields between them
vaulted; on the eastern side they rested on pilasters added to the churches,
and on the western side on corresponding piers of the facade. All the bays, of
the same size, had and on the western side on corresponding piers of the
facade. All the bays, of the same size, had groin vaults capable of carrying
chambers on the upper floor.
The light
construction of the edifice became apparent in the appearance of the fa,cade.
Colonnettes with apertures terminating in arch-form openings are approximately
of the same width as the supports in the interior. Their rhythm and outer
elegance were particularly stressed by slender octagonal pillars with narrower,
somewhat recessed, arches. These reduced the span between the piers and
contributed to the static value of the whole. Such a structure was too fragile
to withstand the test of time. Today only the features of its lower part can be
well observed. Fortunately these lower original forms have been preserved,
though the upper ones were quite interesting. Both information the Life of
Archbishop Danilo, and the model he is holding as donor testify to that. The
southern front had two broad arches leaning on the marble pillar in the middle,
beyond which was a deep and spacious interior. Above the aperture a gable
corresponding to the height of the upper floor was pierced by a two-light
window illuminating the space probably stretching across the vestibule.
According to the words of Danilo's biographer and disciple there was a
catechumenon here, but we know too little about the various forms of chambers -
even comparing this one with those in other cathedral churches - to assume its
appearance and guess its function.
The statement of
Danilo's biographer that he (Danilo) "built a high pyrgos n front of the
church" and a chapel in it devoted to his namesake St. Daniel, is
particularly interesting. A belfry is depicted in this place on the donor's
model; not very tall, with an open upper section in which the bells are
visible. The bells were depicted with special attention; it was stressed in
Danilo's biography that he had spent much gold in order to have "bells
with a pleasant sound" made in the Coastal area, which he brought here and
installed with great effort.
 |
| Holy Virgin Mary 13th c. |
The painted decorations of the Pec narthex deeply impressed the medieval observer: there were frescos not only on its vaults and walls visible from the outside, but also on the outer sides of the piers, and the upper, broader surfaces, as there were on the churches behind them, covered with painted ornaments on a red ground.
In this form, with its elaborate spaces dedicated to various rituals, the Pec churches could respond to the requirements of the complex rites of a large spiritual center whose needs Danilo knew best and, experienced as he was in building, was able to meet thoroughly. The memory of his great merits was simply expressed by the addition to his name of the epithet "Peck)" ("of Pec"), just as the memory of the great donor from the ranks of rulers Stefan (Stephen) Uros III has been preserved by calling him "Decanski"
("of Decani").
Simultaneously with his care of the great royal churches, first of all of Decani which was built under his supervision, and then of other places of worship he erected, the Archbishop Danilo made an effort to furnish the interior of the Pec church with frescos and to provide the objects necessary for divine service. The wall decoration of the church took a course different from the builders' works: although the narthex with the belfry and the parekklesion on the upper floor were put up last, frescos were first painted there around 1330 rather than in the churches added on the south side. That
is indicated, first of all, by the appearance of Danilo II above the entrance
to the church of the Virgin, where he is significantly younger than on the
donor's composition in its interior. This is a fact to be trusted. The
portraits carefully transferred features of represented persons and recorded
changes brought about by the passage of time. It is sufficient to consider the
twenty-odd surviving portraits of King Milutin from his young days till the
closing years of his life among which the last portraits registered his decline
of strength and the approaching end. The reason for the aforementioned sequence
of decoration in Pec could be explained by the wish of the spiritual dignitary
to arrange the access to the main sanctuary first, the Church of the Holy
Apostles which, together with the church in Zica, held the highest place in the
hierarchy. Inspired by the old see of the Archbishopric, the Church of the Holy
Apostles started to observe the feast of Ascension, and sources mention it as
the Holy Savior and the Great Church, where the most important archbishop's
divine services and rites were held, in addition to the ordination of the
highest church dignitaries.
Of the
comprehensive thematic sequences from the time of the Archbishop Danilo in the
narthex, representations have survived devoted to the Virgin on the surfaces of
the southern bays and the space in front of the church. Most of the themes
represented relate to her. Above the entrance there is a large figure of the
Mother of God with outstretched arms, expressing, with the child at her
breasts, the idea of the Incarnation on a wide, decorated vessel. The mercy of
the young Christ blessing with both hands is directed to the Archbishop Danilo
and St. Nicholas, whom, as a bishop, the Serbian spiritual leader held in high
regard, dedicating a separate church to him on the southern side. On the nearby
arches the Old Testament fathers celebrate the Mother of God, thus illustrating
the verses of the song "The prophets announced you from the heaven
...," and on the southern wall stands a rare figure of the Virgin nursing
the Christ child in her guise of Galaktotrophousa on a wide decorated seat, in
front of a ciborium, and angels, freely positioned in space, exalt her.
The Tree of the Serbian royal family occupies the whole height of the eastern wall by the entrance. Below
a large portrait of Christ are depicted descendants of St. Symeon Nemanja, five
in each of four regularly arranged rows. The stylized vine tendrils encircling
their whole figures is not as rich here as it is in other versions; only in
places are its curves replaced by portraits of the younger members of the
dynasty in small cups, without disturbing the strict general order. In the
highest zone of figures below the angels - two on each side - lowering crowns
for the king and queen, Milutin is depicted in the middle, to the right of him
are Stefan Decanski and his brother Konstantin, and to the left, sons Symeon
and Dusan. The noticeable respect paid to King Milutin and the choice of the
persons around him indicate that the Tree was painted while Stefan Decanski was
alive, before 1331. The rest of the
painting in the narthex - predominantly dating to 1565 - may well repeat the earlier
scenes it covers, so that, chances are, in the time of Archbishop Danilo most
of the wall surfaces were covered by the Calendar, versions of which are also
to be seen in somewhat earlier Gracanica and later Decani.
 |
| Mediaval sarcophagus of the Archbishop of Serbia - Daniel II, 14th c |
The
Virgin Mary Hodegetria (painting)
The Church of the
Virgin articulates simple, legible and harmoniously arranged religious themes.
The words from the psalm extolling Christ as the Lord of the universe are
inscribed around his portrait in the dome, the Divine Liturgy is in the lower
parts of the dome, a row of prophets with six-winged seraphims above their
heads is between the windows, while the evangelists are on the pendentives on
the developed spaces or "interiors" represented with painted
architecture, engaged in writing or turned toward the personifications of the
wisdom inspiring them.
On the highest parts of the vaults over the arms of the cross are arranged the
Great Feasts, while on the lower surfaces of the northern side - Christ's
appearances after the Resurrection; on the southern side are scenes from the
life of the Virgin. In the northwestern part of the nave a rare representation
of the Virgin as protectress of the humble and poor on the wall above the
sarcophagus of Archbishop Danilo belongs to the series of paintings dedicated
to the patron.
The lowest zone of frescos contains the figures of saints, mainly of the great
martyrs in the northern, and the monks in the southern part, while by the
entrance the portraits of St. Zossimos and Mary of Egypt remind one of the
story of a great sinner who, halted by an invisible force at the door of the
Jerusalem church converted into a Christian and finished her life by expiation
in the desert.
Contrary to the strict order for arranging saints on the walls of the lowest
zone, the donors' composition is freely developed in the southwestern part of
the nave. Here the prophet Daniel commends the Archbishop with a sweeping
gesture. He has stepped freely into the space towards the Mother of God with
her Child on a sumptuous throne, turning his head towards the donor with whom
he holds the model of the building. Danilo, bowed a little, wearing the robes
of a monk but wrapped in a bishop's gown covered with ornaments and
cries-crossed with "the rivers," is following him humbly, addressing
himself to the Mother of God in a prayer by the gesture of his left hand. The
beard with its occasional gray hairs discloses Danilo II's age, but his solid
features still show evidence of vigour and indicate that the portrait was not
made in his last years. He does not look like a person whose life was filled
with many hardships under the reigns of three kings - Milutin, Stefan Decanski
and Stefan Dusan. Prior to becoming the head of the archbishopric, he
demonstrated his capabilities as the hegoumenos of the Serbian monastery on
Mount Athos whose monastic community and treasury he successfully protected
from Catalonian mercenaries. He was the bishop of Banjska in times of unrest, a
versatile diplomat in negotiations abroad and mediator in internal conflicts.
In addition, he also was a writer and connoisseur of construction techniques,
on whom the rulers themselves relied when commissioning their pious endowments.
The portrait of this many-faceted, gifted person holds a dignified place on the
wide surface of the western wall, in a composition which, in terms of
unrestricted movements and their rhythm, is one of the most beautiful works of
old Serbian painting.
 |
| St. John the Baptist, 13th c. |
In keeping with
his predecessors, and nourishing their cult, Danilo expressed special respect
for Archbishop Arsenije. It was not by chance that he devoted the prothesis of
the Virgin's church to this eminent prelate, the heir to St. Sava. The space
stood next-door to the Church of the Holy Apostles whose famous frescoes were
linked with Arsenije's name and where, under a sarcophagus, his body rested,
separated from the prothesis only by a wall. This provided a chance to
represent the life of this archbishop on the walls of the parekklesion. Like
the other sanctified figures from local history, Arsenije has his Service and
Life abundant with data about him, but the frescoes were restricted only to his
ordination as deacon, priest and archbishop, as well as to his death with
representation of the last prayer over his body in the presence of the king,
the nobility and the clergy.
In the southern
part of the church, in the diaconicon, is illustration of the life of St. John
the Forerunner. Several years later, after his death (the end of 1337), Danilo
was depicted once more, this time by his grave, wearing archbishop's dress
decorated with a big cross. As in the narthex above the entrance, St. Nicholas,
the bishop who was his model and protector, is next to him.
The
church of St. Demetrios (painting)
And finally, only the church of St. Demetrios remained undecorated. The care of its painting was entrusted to Danilo's heir to the spiritual throne, Joanikije, the king's former chancellor (from 1338 the Archbishop, and from 1346 to 1354 the Patriarch). In this simpler space, most likely at the wish of the educated donor and religious dignitary who enjoyed the personal confidence of the ruler, the painter displayed some theological and ecclesiastico-political ideas.
In the dome, as in the Holy Apostles, the Ascension is presented with the
apostles among the windows. The prophets, thus, are placed on the arches, at
the height of the evangelists on the pendentives and the Great Feasts on the
vaults.
Like other Pec churches, St. Demetrios was a mausoleum for ecclesiastical
leaders; its donor, the Archbishop Nikodim, was buried here. His sarcophagus
with sculpted decoration is in the northwestern corner. This might have been
the reason for painting the scenes of Christ's Burial and the Two Marys at the
sepulcher in that part of the church, while at the opposite end, on the eastern
wall, are the Annunciation, the Nativity of the Virgin and the Presentation of
the Virgin at the Temple.
The two Ecumenical Councils in which the dogma of the Christian church was
founded form a fascinating ecclesiastical and historical subject; there were
also two Serbian Councils which are represented here in frescoes. The First of
the Councils was held in the same spirit by Saint Sava - probably the council
in 2;ica, when the head of the new autocephalous (autonomous) church delivered
his famous speech on the righteous faith. The Descent of the Holy Spirit to the
apostles, a fresco in the same section of the Church, describes the apostolic
mission facing the Serbian bishops and clergy: tongues of flame convey to them
the ability to preach among nations whose language they do not know; that is
why the image of the young Christ, painted here above the participants of the
synods, bestows a similar divine benefit on account of his blessing.
 |
| The remains of the ancient Patriarchal palace |
The other Serbian
Council joined two persons whose reigns were an entire century apart St. Symeon
Nemanja and King Milutin - in an interesting manner. The gesture by which the
holy founder of the dynasty points to his great grandson, imparting majesty to
his rule on the throne, represents symbolic investiture to this ruler whose
merits in building and restoring churches were immense. The representation of
the local council has not only ideological and poltical significance, but also
extolls the support given by the ruler to the church and profession of
faith.
The large,
solemnly arranged cycle of St. Demetrios on well visible zones on the lateral
walls formerly comprised eight scenes which flowed, interestingly, from the
right to the left. On the northern side is St. Demetrios in front of Emperor
Maximian Galerius, St. Demetrios in prison blessing Nestor for his combat
against the gladiator Lyaios, the Victory of Nestor over Lyaios and the
Execution of St. Demetrios, and on the southern side the Ascension (Burial) of
St. Demetrios and St. Demetrios defending Thessalonica from enemies. The last
two representations on the northern wall date from the 17th century, when that
part of the church had to be rebuilt and the frescoes repainted. The
representations on the southern side were also partly repainted at that time.
Legend vividly describes the destiny of the great martyr who as the protector
of the second largest town of the Empire defended its inhabitants from
barbarian sieges and helped in fighting agamst the enemies a history closely
connected to the arrival and subsequent life of the South Slavs on the northern
borders of the country. At the same time, the great esteem for Saint Demetrios
in Thessalonica, his large basilica sumptuously decorated with mosaics and
reliefs, and his feast day in autumn with a great fair which attracted people
from all walks of life to Thessalonica spread the cult of this saint,
particularly through Serbia and Bulgaria.
Detailed
representations of St. Demetrios' life, however, are very rare in monumental
painting. The wellpreserved cycles in Decani and Pec belong to the most comprehensive
and the most beautiful in all of Byzantine art.
The southern wall
of the western part of the nave displays four historical portraits. The first
is of a spiritual leader in a sakkos (tunic-like vestment) with a broad golden
hem, decorated with tendrils bearing the images of the saints, wearing on his
head headgear of an unusual shape resembling an emperor's crown. The king and
his young son are beside him - the visitor can read the names of Dusan and Uros
- they are in ankle-length attire strewn with golden ornaments, unusual for the
tradition of rulers' dress in Serbia and the Byzantine Empire. They wear open
crowns on their heads and hold crosses. The ruler is wearing a long loros (band
of cloth) arranged in an X over his upper body, with peribrachions and
epimanikia (cuffs) on his arms. The faces on all three figures have been
erased, perhaps because they were painted on a dried surface on which the
pigment could not survive as it did on the other surfaces. We surmise that the
masters were not familiar with the appearance of the men to be portrayed; while
waiting for the men to come and pose in person they delayed finishing the
fresco, preferring to portray them as precisely as possible. For this reason
only the figure of St. Sava with an inscription on the western side of the wall
is in good condition. The artists knew his figure well and were able to paint
it immediately in its entirety. There is no doubt that the first in the row was
Archbishop Joanikije II. This is proved by the text of the prayer inscribed
below the Virgin in a niche of the walled window on the western wall, quoted
from his namesake St. Ioannikios: + O the most holy Mother of God, do receive
the prayer of your slave Archbishop Joanikije. The frescoes, apparently, had come
into being prior to his elevation to the rank of patriarch. The large figure of
young king Uros, born in 1337, helps to date the fresco: it can be assumed with
a high degree of probability that the last building in Pec was painted in 1345.
In the smallest in the complex, the church of St. Nicholas, only the fragments
of paintings have been preserved which do not allow any judgment of their
character and the date of their origin.
Compared with
scenes in the Virgin Hodegetria which were painted, in colorful landscape, by
anonymous artists of unequal skill, the frescoes of St. Demetrios stylistically
represent a much more homogeneous entity. One of the painters, most likely the
leading among them, left in the altar apse - in accordance with the notion that
a master is nothing more than a mediator between Providence and a work of art -
a humble note of his work: Theou doron ek heiros Ioannou (Divine gift from the
hand of John). The Apostles' Communion, the painting on which the painter - no
doubt a Greek - left his name, makes it possible to identify his
"handwriting" and recognize it on other representations. It is
therefore obvious that when dividing the surfaces prepared for painting, master
Jovan gave the left side of the composition to his associate. He himself
executed most of the frescoes on the southern wall and some of them on the
northern side, and the scenes of the church councils on the groin-vault of the
western bay. Differences in the manner of work are noticeable in the specific
drawing and composition, in the sculptural qualities and relations of the
colors used. Master Jovan, strongly modulating in bright and dark tones,
created robust, male figures with elongated heads and bodies which can easily
be distinguished from the other, more finely proportioned, even gracious,
figures in the lowest zone. Neither of them, however, made an effort to
interpret the space in a more complex and vivid way: the scene always has two
grounds all participants are in the foreground, and the painted architecture and
landscape in the other. Without diagonal elements which would define its depth
and create a complex sense of space, the action proceeds steadily under master
Jovan's brush with an emphasized tranquillity created by a vertical order of
figures, high rocks and painted scenery. Contrary to this, the landscape is
covered with various plants the exuberance of which gives serenity to the
representations.
The comparison of
the representations on the northern wall with contemporary frescoes in Decani
leaves little doubt that the painters of this great shrine, near Pec, took part
in the decoration of St. Demetrios. It may well be that Archbishop Joanikije,
perhaps anticipating changes in political and church organization, undertook to
complete the interior of the churches, by which his throne stood, for new
divine services.
 |
| The old gravure of the Monastery from the 17th century. |
Restoration
of the Holy Apostles
Of more modest
architecture than the great shrines of Banjska and Decani in which secular
rulers were buried, the churches of the heads of church in Pec repeatedly
raised buildings, adapted and modified them but did not provide conditions for
the lasting survival of their frescoes. Each reconstruction, settling of the
site or roof damage left traces on the wall paintings; repairs of itS
individual parts were inevitable.
The presence of
many painters in nearby Decani during the entire decade provided an opportunlty
to replace or add frescoes to the nave of the Holy Apostles, on the pilasters
and the arch between them by which the vault was divided into two zones. These
works, most likely, were inspired by the elevation of the Serbian Church to the
rank of Patriarchate, and carried out in the early spring of 1346. At that
time, one of the fresco masters of the Decani narthex painted the prophets on
the mner side of the arch, below Christ in the apex who is blessing, and the
holy martyrs and hermits on its frontal surfaces. The figures of Christ the
Saviour on the southern and the Virgin with Child on the northern pilaster are
invested with a special meaning: here the Mother of God - in a conversation
written down on a scroll - addresses the Son in a prayer for the salvation of
mankind: Both representations, hence, remind of the funerary character of the
space in which the sarcophagi of archbishops Arsenije and Sava II were resting.
Joanikije's direct care of this wall painting, as in Saint Demetrios, is
indicated by the figure of his namesake and protector, St. Ioannikios, who is
painted next to Christ. The Archbishop had a special reason for that: he was
also buried here in 1345 in the southwestern corner of the nave, and the
funeral service over his body, in the presence of a great number of clergymen
and laymen, is represented m the fresco on the arched surface above his
sarcophagus.
Somewhat later,
probably in connection with the rearrangement of the Great Church, new frescoes
were painted in the choirs. Judging by all facts, these walls must have been
damaged by humidity before the two other churches were built on either side,
when the vaults over them were raised to a greater height. Higher up, previous
scenes of the Great Feasts, probably dating to the 13th century, were replaced
by more recent ones, while below them hermits were portrayed on the northern
side, and warriors on the southern. In the right-hand choir there is an
elevated spot fenced with red stone where stood the throne of the head of the
Serbian Church Christ the Righteous Judge is portrayed above the throne, and
next to him, as in many cathedral churches, is the figure of St. Peter, because
he represented the heritage of pastoral duty, a reminder of the apostolic
mission of bishops. In front of the throne before the eyes of the archbishops
sittng on it and in accordance with local trnJition stnAc the fi7re nf Rt R
th'ir predecessor. For this reason there is a customary expression in ancient
sources: Serbian archbishops "hold St. Sava's throne." In a rich
ambience whose wall decoration was then restored, the slender figures, dried n
some spots, figures of vivid coloring and desliberate modulation, departed from
the earlier, sculpturally richer, painting, announcing the style of the Morava
school shrines.
 |
| Vestibule of the Patriarchate Monastery |
The
Narthex
The relatively fragile construction of the narthex did not stand the test of
time, and there were no conditions for its maintenance. In the course of the
first century of Turkish rule, which permanently spread over Metohija in 1455,
the monastery was no more the see of the spiritual heads, nor did it own its
former large estates. The village of Pec, which owing to the proximity of the
Patriarchate had developed into a settlement with a market-place, became a
Turkish town. The fraternity of the monastery - it is seen from the registers
of the new authorities - at times numbered only few monks, the life in it was
dying out, and the buildings falling into ruin.
The decline and suffering of the large spiritual centre was halted by the
restoration of the Patriarchate of Pec in 1557. The need to control more easily
the life of the Orthodox populace in the Empire, which by the middle of the
16th century had been considerably expanded by the conquest of vast areas to
the north of the Danube and the Sava, induced the Sublime Porte (Turkish
Government) to separate Serbian bishoprics from the existing administrative
division and to return autonomy to them within the borders of the Serbian
church in the second half of the 14th century. Such a decision was influenced
by the fact that during these decades a number of highest dignitaries close to
Suleyman the Magnificent were of Serbian origin. They reached the sultan's
court by the selection from the ranks of gifted boys who were brought to
Constantinople within the so called "tribute in blood."
Of the colourful
facades of Danilo's narthex, only the southern one was preserved in its
entirety - on the occasion of restoration, around 1560 - and, apart from it, a
part of the western front. It is obvious that the whole edifice was badly
damaged, so that all the groin vaults on the ground-floor had to be rebuilt,
and on that occasion they became barrel-vaults. The upper floor with the
catechumenon and the bell tower was not restored at all. The space which spread
before the believers was not shrunk by that. However, the general impression
changed, because the interior was not open any more. It is assumed that at that
time it was difficult to bring skillful stonemasons and builders who would
repeat the light shapes of the pillars and arches, but the main reason must
have been the fact that the space of such a shape, in the conditions in which
the idea of an open narthex had been achieved, was not suitable for the long
prayers of the monks who, from autumn to the spring, were exposed to the cold
and humid air blowing along the canyon of the Bistrica river toward the
Metohian plain. Because of that the apertures between the piers and pillars -
reclining and unsafe - were closed by thick screening walls, while the northern
part of the edifice underwent considerable reconstruction.
Simultaneously
with the restoration of the ruined and dilapidated edifices inhabited by the
dignitaries and officials of the restored church center, the interior of the
churches was rearranged, especially of the narthexes. At the beginning of
September 1565, as seen from the inscription above the northern door,
fresco-painting, entrusted to a group of local artists, was completed. They
gathered around the new spiritual administration and in the course of the
ensuing years repaired and added decorations in several big monasteries, among
which - as already mentioned was Gracanica, whose outer narthex had also been
rebuilt and closed.
In the Pec
narthex the artists mostly repeated wall painting scenes from the time of
Archbishop Danilo. But they also expanded on these, taking advantage of the
possibility of painting the walls closing the interior. The largest parts of
the upper surfaces, primarily the vaults, were covered with scenes of the
Menology in the eastern bays and the scenes of the Christ's Miracles and
Parables in the western, disposed in the order in which the Gospel was read on
Sundays before and after Easter. There were special reasons for repeating as
many as eight scenes of the Ecumenical Councils here: by returning church
administration to Pec, the narthex regained its role in the hall where the
prelates of the Serbian church convened and made their decisions. In this
space, the fresco of the Council of St. Symeon Nemanja and the twelve apostles
who appear on the piers in the middle, to whom the church in before them was
dedicated were invested with the same meaning: the figures of Christ's
disciples were reminders of the missionary role of the bishops entrusted with
the care of the body of believers. The councils, as at the time of
independence, were presided over by Patriarch Makarije, the first head of the
restored Church (1557), without doubt sitting on a throne with the figure of
St. Sava behind him. On the same wall he is surrounded by the twelve spiritual
heads of Serbia - the archbishops on the southern, and the patriarchs on the
northern, side. Among them, on the pilaster, stands the figure of Makarije as
the donor holding a model of the restored narthex, different in appearance from
the one held by Danilo II.
The figures of the celebrated Balkan anchorites, as well as of the saints
meritorious for the expansion and preservation of the Christian faith, are
associated with the row of the highest church dignitaries. The last among them,
young gold-smith Georgije from Kratovo who refused to accept Islam, was burnt
at the stake by the Turkish authorities in 1515. The emphasis on the local
spiritual tradition was aimed at proving the right of the Serbs to their
autocephalous church and fostering self-reliance: under foreign and infidel
lords in a land bereft of its own bearers of political power, the Church
assumed the responsibility of caring for and preserving the national character
of the Serbian people.
The master painters of the Pec narthex were artistically mature at the time of
its painting, probably educated in local workshops. They revived the tradition
of painting and outstanding examples of their work are icons from Gracanica
dating from the second quarter of the 16th century. It is obvious that they
were inspired by the "classical" works from the middle of the 14th
century, especially by the wall decoration in Decani, although the new frescoes
of the Pec narthex were of drier and more rigid forms, without the imaginative
elements of the painted interior and the richness of color. On the shield of
St. Demetrios, still today, is the signature of "the most sinful Andreja,
the painter." The most prominent painter who worked on these frescoes,
however, is one whose hand suggests the young Longin. This educated, versatile
and gifted artist who in many monasteries left not only frescoes but also
icons, engaged in literature and on some occasions - as with the large icon of
Stefan Decanski in his endowment - wrote verses beside the scenes which
illustrated his life. At the same time, the icons were equipped with excellent
wood-carving whose masters, most probably, had a workshop right at the
Patriarchate. Several works of that kind, though unsigned, can be attributed to
Longin and anonymous masters who continued to nurture their brilliant skills in
the decades to follow.
 |
| Medieval knights, 14th century fresco |
All the frescoes
in St. Demetrios do not come down to us from the time of Archbishop Joanikije.
During the restoration of the northern Pec Church undertaken in 1619/20
following an earthquake, Patriarch Pajsije entrusted the most famous master of
that time, the Hilandar monk Georgije Mitrofanovic, with fresco painting. In
the course of the previous three years he had worked in Serbia, Montenegro and
Bosnia where he acquired significant experience.
Like most artists of that time, Mitrofanovic strictly followed the scenes of
the earlier wall painting and endeavored to stay as close to it as possible in
style and subject matter. He completely replaced several scenes but on a
significant number of those which were not entirely destroyed he carefully
restored individual parts. Nevertheless, his distinctive use of color and
sculptural modelling in the spirit of Cretan painting which dominated Mount
Athos shows a difference in comparison with the frescoes of earlier master
Jovan and his associates. Ordinary believers primarily interested in
"listening to" stories and understanding the messages conveyed by the
compositions probably did not notice. The gaze moved across the walls following
the sense of the whole, lingering longer on less familiar scenes and rare
details.
In the Holy Apostles, Georgije Mitrofanovic finished an unusual posthumous
portrait of the Patriarch Jovan II (1592 - 1614) commissioned by his successor
Pajsije. With his refined facial features, which the painter could not have
known, the dignitary is addressing the Virgin with a prayer beautifully written
on a wide scroll, saying that he is offering a "small" gift. Separately,
on a dark ground, is Pajsije himself, saying in a restrained manner with few
words that the Patriarch's grave was in Constantinople rather than in the
church. Behind these words, however, is the dramatic story of the captivity and
murder of this Serbian Church leader in the Constantinople jail of Yeni Tower
because of negotiations he had conducted with the West, particularly with the
Vatican and various Italian courts. In those evil times, fully cognizant of the
dangers he was facing but determined in his intention to overthrow Turkish
rule, Patriarch Jovan kept dispatching envoys to distinguished figures whom the
Serbian people would recognize as ruler and crown in one of ancient centers,
proposing them as liberators of his country. His sufferings, nevertheless, did
not put a halt to spiritual life or artistic creativity at the Patriarchate of
Pec. In its very center the new leader Pajsije, in the course of his long and
more cautious rule, restored parts of the early paintings in the "mother of
all Serbian churches," and enriched the treasuries and libraries of many
monasteries with works of art and manuscripts.
Source: kosovo.net
