The Nativity of Christ and the Descent Into Hades as Programme Counterparts in Byzantine Wall Painting

Collection of Papers Dedicated to the 40th Anniversary of the Institute for Art History,Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

, 2012Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade 2012

/ Publisher , / Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade 1820, 11000, / ika Ljubina 1820, Beograd 11000, Serbiawww.f.bg.ac.rs

/ Co-Publisher , / Dosije studio, Belgradewww.dosije.rs

/ For the Publisher. , / Prof. Vesna Dimitrijevi, Ph.D., Dean of the Faculty

/ Reviewers. , /Prof. Marica uput, Ph.D., Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade. , . , /Irina Suboti, Ph.D., Prof. Emerita, Academy of Arts, Novi Sad

- / Graphic Design / Irena Djakovi / Aleksandar Kosti

/ Preparation and Printing , / Dosije studio, Belgrade

K ,

This book is published with the financial support of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia, the Fund for Major Publications of the Municipal Assembly of Belgrade and the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

Collection of Papers Dedicated to the 40th Anniversaryof the Institute for Art History,

Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

/ Edited by Ivan Stevovi

, / Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade / Belgrade

2012

v

/ CONTENTS

A / Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi

/ Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv

Hans Buchwald, Christian Basilicas, Proportions, Pythagoras and Vitruvius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 , , ,

Emma MaayanFanar, Unknown Early Christian Tombs in Shefaram In Pursuit of a Solutionto an Iconographic Enigma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

, '.

Vlada Stankovi, Living Icon of Christ: Photios Characterization of the Patriarchin the Introduction of the Eisagoge and its Significance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 , :

Glenn Peers, Masks, Marriage and the Byzantine Mandylion: Classical Inversionsin the Tenth-Century Narratio de translatione Constantinopolim imaginis Edessenae. . . . . . . . . . 45 , , : X Narratio de translatione Constantinopolim imaginis Edessenae

Bissera V. Pentcheva, The Performance of Relics: Concealment and Desire in the ByzantineStaging of Leipsana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 . , : Leipsana

, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Radivoj Radi, Animals in the Farmers Law

vi

Valentino Pace, Il mosaico della Deisis sul portale dingresso alla chiesa dell Abbaziadi San Nilo a Grottaferrata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 , .

Nancy Ptterson evenko, Revisiting the Frescoes of the Church of the Kosmosoteiraat Pherrai (1152) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

, (1152)

Jelena Erdeljan, Studenica: All Things Constantinopolitan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 ,

Zaza Skhirtladze, Apocryphal Cycle of the Virgin in Medieval Georgian Murals:Preliminary Observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

, :

Biserka Penkova, A Newly-found Fresco of The Visitation in the Saint John the BaptistChapel in Asenovgrad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

, .

Dragan Vojvodi, The Nativity of Christ and the Descent into Hades as ProgrammeCounterparts in Byzantine Wall Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

,

Steven J. Schloeder, Per lumina vera ad verum lumen: The Anagogical Intentionof Abbot Suger. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

. , Per lumina vera ad verum lumen:

Michael Viktor Schwarz, Giottos Byzantium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 ,

, oj : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Vojislav Kora , Conception et ralisation en architecture mdivale:exemples de larchitecture du monde byzantin

Ivan Stevovi, Towards New Directions of Investigation of Late Byzantine Architecture.Visualisation of Text on the Facades of the Church of the Virgin in Krina (Chios) . . . . . . . . . . 175

, .

vii

, : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Slobodan uri, Diaconicon as a Monastic Cell: the Question of Special Functional Intentionsin Monastic Church Architecture of Serbia and Byzantium

. , . . . . . . . . 211George M. Velenis, Ateliers htroglottes et peintres bilingues

Cvetan Grozdanov, Les portraits des premiers Paleologues dans le narthexde la Vierge Peribleptos (St-Clement) a Ochrid. Une hypothese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

, (. ) .

Stavros Mamaloukos, The Chronology of the xonarthex of the Porta-Panagia in Thessaly . . . . . 237 ,

Vahit Macit TEKNALP, Considerations on the Geometry of Gml Kubbe,the Mausoleum of COthmn I Ghz, an Annex of the Monastery of Hagios Ioannesat Prousa (modern Bursa) in Anatolia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

, , I , . ( )

Sophia KalopissiVerti, Stylistic Observations on the Painted Decorationof St. Nicholas at Achragias in Laconia / Peloponnese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

-, . ()

Maria Panayotidi, Observations on a Local Workshop in the Region of Epidaurus Limira . . . . . . 275 ,

ektarios Zarras, Reflections of Palaiologan Style in Cypriot Monumental Painting . . . . . . . . . . 291 ,

, , 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

, 10

, : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

Tatjana Starodubcev, Under the Protection of Asomatoi: Presentationsof Archangel Gabriel in the Churches Painted During the Lazarevi Period

viii

, : , , ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347Branislav Cvetkovi, The Esphigmenou Chrysobull of Despot Djuradj Brankovi:Fantastic Architecture, ia, Esphigmenou or the Celestial Dwellings?

, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365Smiljka Gabeli, Miracles with Anna from Constantinople and the Woman from Alexandriain Piva. Rare Scenes from the Cycle of the Archangels

, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381Saa Brajovi, Renaissance Portrait and the Topos of Lifelikeness

, XVI .: ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397

, XVI : ?

, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407

Miroslav Timotijevi, The True Iconography of Jerusalem andThe Church of the Holy Sepulchre Plan the Engraving of Hristofor Defarovi

, 162730. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421

Zoran Raki, The Munich Serbian Psalter Copy from 162730 and its Comparisonwith the Original

, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439Branislav Todi, The Iconostasis of the Old Serbian Church in Sarajevo

, : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459

Vladimir Simi, :A Political Catechism from the Age of Enlightenment

, : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477Miroslava Kosti, Portrait of Martha Tekelija: the Work of Jacob Orfelin

, . e XIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487

E , . XIX

ix

Nenad Makuljevi, Inventing and Changing the Canon and the Constitution of SerbianNational Identity in the Nineteenth Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505

, XIX

, : 19101920. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519Simona upi, The six cities of ivorad Nastasijevi: Mythology and Magicof the Place in Serbian Painting 19101920

, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525Lidija Merenik, Mario Maskareli Theses on the Off-the-main-stream Artist

, . . . . . . . . . . . 531Aleksandar Kadijevi, Three Apprehensions of the Historical Spirit of Time in Architecture

Jeremy Howard, Khaldei and Holtom: Schooling, Warring and Pacifying(Reflecting the State of European Art and Art Historical Discourse with Regard to Workof the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541 , : , ( - , XX )

Walter Zahner, Ein Hindurchgehen des Heiligen Geistes durch Seine Kirche Liturgie undKirchenraum im 20. Jahrhundert. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555 , XX

Toshino Iguchi, Towards Osaka Expo 70: The Avant-garde and Art and Technology in Japan 567 , Expo 70:

Mieke Bal, Heterochrony in the Act: The Migratory Politics of Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579 , :

xi

/ CONTRIBUTORS

, , Elka Bakalova, Ph.D., Corresponding member of Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia

, Mieke Bal, Ph.D., Professor, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences/ Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis, University of Amsterdam

, Saa Brajovi, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

, Hans Buchwald, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Stuttgart

, Georgios M. Velenis, Ph.D., Professor, University of Thessaloniki

, Dragan Vojvodi, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

, Smiljka Gabeli, Ph.D., Senior Researcher, Institute for Art History, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

, , Cvetan Grozdanov, Ph.D., member of Macedonian Academy of Arts and Sciences, Skopje

, , , - Axinia Durova, Ph.D., Corresponding member of Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Director of Centre for Slavo-Byzantine Studies Prof. Ivan Dujev, University of Sofia

xii

, Jelena Erdeljan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

, Nektarios Zarras, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of the Aegean, Rhodes

, , Walter Zahner, Ph.D., Professor, University of Darmstadt, chief-curator for the Catholic German Bishops Conference, Bonn

, Toshino Iguchi, Ph.D., Professor, Saitama University

, Aleksandar Kadijevi, Ph.D., Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

-, Sophia Kalopissi-Verti, Ph.D., Professor, University of Athens

Vojislav Kora

, Miroslava Kosti, Ph.D., Researcher, Institute for Art History, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

-, Emma Maayan-Fanar, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Haifa

, Nenad Makuljevi, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

, Stavros Mamaloukos, Ph.D., Assciate Professor, University of Patras

, Lidija Merenik, Ph.D., Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

, / , Valentino Pace, Ph.D., Professor, University of Udine and Bibliotheca Hertziana / Max-Planck-Institut fr Kunstgeschichte, Roma

xiii

, Maria Panayotidi, Ph.D., Professor, University of Athens

, Glenn Peers, Ph.D., Professor, University of Texas at Austin

, a , Biserka Penkova, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, National Academy of Art, Sofia

, Bissera V. Pentcheva, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Stanford University

, Radivoj Radi, Ph.D., Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

, Zoran Raki, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

, Zaza Skhirtladze, Ph.D., Professor, Tbilisi State University

, Vlada Stankovi, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

, , Tatjana Starodubcev, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Academy of Arts, Novi Sad

, Vladimir Simi, M.A., Teaching Assistant, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

, Engelina Smirnova, Ph.D., Professor, Lomonosov Moscow State University

, Ivan Stevovi, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

, , , Steven J. Schloeder, Ph.D., Director of the Institute for Studies in Sacred Architecture, Phoenix, AZ

, Michael Viktor Schwarz, Ph.D., Professor, University of Vienna

a , Vahit Macit TEKINALP, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Hacettepe University Ankara

xiv

, Miroslav Timotijevi, Ph.D., Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

, Branislav Todi, Ph.D., Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

, Slobodan uri, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Princeton University

, Jeremy Howard, Ph.D, Senior Lecturer, University of St. Andrews

, Branislav Cvetkovi, Ph.D., Senior Curator, Regional Museum in Jagodina

, Simona upi, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

, Nancy Patterson evenko, Ph.D., Independent Scholar, South Woodstock, VT

xv

/ ABBREVIATIONS

AA Archologischer Anzeiger AJA American Journal of Archaeology AM Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archologischen Instituts, Athenische Abteilung AnatSt Anatolian Studies AnnBoll Annalecta Bollandiana ArtB Art Bulletin ArtJ Art Journal ArtHist Art History A ActaArchHung Acta archaeologia, Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae BZ Byzantinische Zeitschrift BL Bibel und Liturgie BiblArch The Biblical Archaeologist BMGS Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies BMFD Byzantine Monastic Foundation Documents: A Complete Translation of the Surviving

Founders Typika and Testaments, ed. J. Thomas A. C. Hero, Dumbarton Oaks, Washington DC, 2000

BNJ Byzantinisch-Neugriechische Jahrbcher BollGrott Bollettino della Badia greca di Grottaferrata BSl Byzantinoslavica ByzAus Byzantina Australiensia Byzantium: Faith And Byzantium: Faith and Power (12611557), ed. Helen C. Evans, Metropolitan Museum of

Art, New York 2004

ByzVindo Byzantina Vindobonensia VizVrem Vizantiiskii vremennik GBA Gazette des beaux-arts Glory of Byzantium Glory of Byzantium. Arts and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era A.D. 8431261, ed.

Helen C. Evans, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 2000

Power (12611557)

xvi

GOTR Greek Orthodox Theological Review DACL Dictionnaire darchologie chrtienne et de liturgie DOP Dumbarton Oaks Papers EtBal tudes balkaniques EO Echos dOrient EHB The Economic History of Byzantium, ed. A. E. Laiou et al., Dumbarton Oaks, Washington

DC 2002

ZDPV Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palstina-Vereins ZNW Zeitschrift fr die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der lteren Kirche IstMitt Istanbuler Mitteilungen ICS Illinois Classical Studies JAAC Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism JbBM Jahrbuch der Berliner Museen JbGOst Jahrbuch fr Geschichte Osteuropas JEH Journal of Ecclesiastical History EChrSt Journal of Early Christian Studies JB Jahrbuch der sterreichischen Byzantinistik JBG Jahrbuch der sterreichischen Byzantinischen Gesellschaft JSAH Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians JHS Journal of Hellenic Studies WCI Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes LakSp (..) MnchBeitr Mnchner Beitrge zur Papyrusforschung und antiken Rechtsgeschichte MnchJb Mnchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst ODB The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, vol. IIII, ed. A. Kazhdan et al., New York Oxford

1991

OCA Orientalia christiana analecta PAPS Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society PBSR Papers of the British School at Rome PG Patrologiae cursus completus, Series graeca, ed. J.-P. Migne (Paris, 185766) PEQ Palestinian Exploration Quaterly , ,

xvii

PLP Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit, ed. E. Trapp et al. (Vienna, 1976) PPSb Pravoslavnii palestinskii sbornik RAC Reallexikon fr Antike und Christentum RArtChr Revue de lArt Chrtien RB Rvue Biblique RBK Reallexikon zur byzantinischen Kunst, ed. K. Wessel (Stuttgart, 1963) RDAC Report of the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus REB Revue des tudes byzantines RepKunstw Repertorium fr Kunstwissenschaft RESEE Revue des tudes sud-est europennes RIASA Rivista dellIstituto nazionale darcheologia e storia dellarte RQ Rmische Quartalschrift fr christliche Altertumskunde und fr Kirchengeschichte SBF Studium Biblicum Franciscanum SemKond Seminarium Kondakovianum SubGr Subseciva Groningana SubsHag Subsidia hagiographica TAPA Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association TM Travaux et mmoires TRHS Transactions of the Royal Historical Society FM Fontes minores FR Felix Ravenna CahArch Cahiers archologiques CAH Cambridge Ancient History CIB Congrs International dtudes Byzantines CSHB Corpus scriptorum historiae byzantinae CFHB Corpus fontium historiae byzantinae CCARB Corsi di cultura sullArte Ravennate e Bizantina WJKg Wiener Jahrbuch fr Kunstgeschichte WSt Wiener Studien

xix

, - . - .

, , , . , , , , . , , , - , 1968. - .

. , - , , - ?

, , , , , - , , . , XVIII XIX , - XVXVIII XX , , . , , , , , - , - . , . . , , , , , . , -

xx

.

, - , , , , ; -, , , , , - . , , , , , . , .

, . .

, , , , .

, 2012. . .

xxi

In a milieu laden with all forms of discontinuity, a little over four decades of existence of an institution is unquestionably a cause worthy of noting. By publishing this volume the Institute for Art History of the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, honors its tradition and remains true to the esteem attained in the long years of its presence and activities in the professional and academic field.

As the editor of the volume hereby presented to the reader, I face, in a manner of speaking, an awkward situation. In order to put together, as objectively as possible, these words of introduction, I had to step back and assess from a distance the progress of an institution in which I myself have completed one of my own professional cycles, from the first steps as a researcher to the position of director. Therefore, I take the liberty to disregard the lure of official jubilee fanfare but, rather, to raise the question whether the Institute for Art History has, indeed, fulfilled the purpose envisaged in 1968 by its founders whose work, to this day, remains the basis of art historical scholarship in Serbia.

The number and nature of volumes published over the course of the past four decades are definitely an indicator of the scope and achievement of any academic institution. Still, we can ask whether they are the sole parameter of appraisal or whether it is actually the conceptual-methodological base, which remains at the core of its pertaining results, that is the true warrant of the Institutes persistence?

Shortly after its founding, the Institute for Art History defined the main directions of its activity, balanced equally between field exploration, documenting of monuments, critical analysis of written sources, research directed toward syntheses on given problems of art history, production of encyclopedic dictionaries and bibliographies as well as publication of its own periodical. Projects such as Relation between Serbian and Byzantine Art in the Middle Ages, Europe and Serbian Art of the XVIII and XIX Centuries, Islamic Monumental Art XVXVIII Century on the Soil of Yugoslavia or Serbian Art in XX Century were the framework of intense activity for almost two decades, precisely at the time academician Vojislav Kora was the director of the Institute. Although their titles included the then omnipresent term of national, they were essentially, axiomatically, interdisciplinary in approaching the subject of their investigation and expressed an unquestionable awareness of the fact that Serbian art of any given period can be appropriately studied solely as an entity stemming from its indigenous temporal and spatial dimension, i.e. from the process of communication with both the East and the West, the two worlds on the frontiers of which it flourished. Ac-cordingly, it comes as no surprise that the Institute for Art History quickly became the center of research of phenomena the scope of which ranged far outside the strict limits of artistic creation among the Serbs. It, thus, opened its doors to a large number of scholars who came from all corners of the world. Nurtured and constantly enhanced, it was precisely this hospitable and open nature of the institution, in a higher sense of the word, that kept its firm foundations untouched by pressures exerted from both within and without during the challenging years of the close of the century past. This institution reached more peaceful times guided by its own tradition and strength, sustained by the Department of Art History of the Faculty of Philosophy and supported by a large number of colleagues and friends from abroad.

Almost thirty books in the form of monographs, published documentary material and studies on various subject of art history, as well as thirty five volumes of Zograf, the journal of medieval art, with texts of over one hundred international scholars and local researchers; funds of technical and photo-documenta-

xxii

tion, unique in scope, on monuments from Serbia, the territory of ex-Yugoslavia and the Balkans, bibliogra-phies and a substantial library, are present assets of the Institute for Art History of the Faculty of Philoso-phy in Belgrade. Those facts, it seems, speak for themselves and offer realistic ground for conviction that, as a result of cooperation between experienced scholars and those entering the field, this institution will be successful in overcoming the challenges facing humanistic disciplines in these years of global crisis. In their own way, the pages hereby presented to the reader sustain the same persuasion.

I extend expressions of deepest gratitude to all the authors, not only for their contributions but also for the patience and support I received from their part during the making of this book. I am also deeply in-debted to the exceptional team which shared with me the pleasant task of preparing this volume.

Sadly, the passing of time has kept this small antidoron from being delivered into the hands of one of the founders and the first director of the Institute for Art History, Vojislav Kora.

Belgrade, May 2012 I. S.

(, ): , , , ,

, , , (, ): . , ,

, ,

Founders and first fellows of the Institute for Art History of the Faculty of Philosophy, Belgrade(standing, from left to right): Miodrag Jovanovi, Duan Tasi, Andrej Andrejevi, Lazar Trifunovi,

Radmila Mihailovi, Sreten Petkovi, Marica uput, Gojko Suboti(sitting, from left to right): Vojislav J. Djuri, Jovanka Maksimovi, Svetozar Radoji,

Dejan Medakovi, Vojislav Kora

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST AND THE DESCENT INTO HADES 127

cycle, gradually acquired an established position on the opposite, western side of the naos. Only the scenes of the Transfiguration and the Ascension, or the Descent of the Holy Spirit, were separated from the circular flow of the cycle, on large, trian-gular gables. This kind of programme model was already more widely known by the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century,1 when it was clearly separated from the other forms of the circu-

1 Cf. S. Pelekanidis M. Hatzidakis, Kastoria, Athens 1985, 89 (ig and iz); M. Michalidis, Les peintures mura-les de lglise de Saint-Jean le Theologien Veria, in: Actes du XVe CIB, II B, Athnes 1981, 469470, figs. 2, 79, 14; E. N. Tsigaridas, Les peintures murales de lAncienne Mtropole de Vria, in: (Mileeva dans lhistoire du peuple serbe) (. . . ), 1987, 92; . , XIII . (13th Cen-tury Frescoes in the Parecclesion in the Tower of St. George in Chilandar), 9 (1997), 3742; M. Borboudakis K. Gallas K. Wessel, Byzantinisches Kreta, Mnchen 1983,

The presentations of the Nativity of Christ and the Descent into Hades as counterparts on the southern and northern walls of the altar in churches in the Orthodox Christian world represent a fairly frequent although not integrally interpreted phenomenon. By origin it must have been connected with the central nave of basilicas and small single-nave churches of the Middle Byz-antine period, which had a wooden two-sloped roof instead of a vault. The simple and well laid out space within such structures allowed the painters to establish an uninterrupted, circular flow in the cycle of Great Feasts and, besides, in the most sa-cred area of the church, to accentuate the presenta-tions of the two most significant and most solemn Christian feast days Christmas and Easter fac-ing each other. The Annunciation meanwhile, as the initial scene of the Dodekaorton was given a place on the eastern wall, on each side of the altar conch. The Dormition of the Virgin, as the epilogue of the

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST ANDTHE DESCENT INTO HADES AS PROGRAMME COUNTERPARTS IN BYZANTINEWALL PAINTING

Dragan Vojvodi

The paper deals with the origin, ideological basis and aspects of the widespread custom of connecting represen-tations of the two most significant Christian feast days as counterparts in the programmes of wall-paintings in mediaeval Orthodox churches. Attention is drawn to several different programmatic positions and programmatic models in the frame of which the Nativity of Christ and the Descent into Hades were ideologically connected. The conclusion is that the numerous texts of old church writers and poets offered a wide basis for establishing profound, dogmatically and symbolically ramified links between the two scenes.

Key words: Byzantine wall painting, the Nativity of Christ, the Descent into Hades, programme counterparts, Byzantine ecclesiastical writers and poets

D. VOJVODI128

introducing episodes from the so-called auxiliary cycles the Christological and the Theotokological (Figs. 34). Still, even in such cases, the effort was accomplished to retain in the altar, or in front of it,3 the images of Christs Nativity and the Descent into Hades as characteristic counterparts at the be-ginning and at the end of the series of scenes that were painted on the lateral walls.4 In churches with

3 As counterparts, the Nativity of Christ and the Descent into Hades were most often painted in front of the altar in quite small churches, cf. M. Restle, Die byzantinische Wandmalerei in Kleinasien, Recklinghausen 1967, Band. III, no. XLVIII; S. Boyd, Church of Panagia Amasgou, Monagri, Cyprus, and its Wallpaintings, DOP 28 (1974), 292300; D. Mc Kenzie, Provincial Byzantine Painting in Attica: H. Kyriaki, Keratea, CahArch 30 (1982), 14; . , , 42, drawing 4; . , (Lglise du Roi Studenica), 1987, 236240, 250251, sch. VIVII. In that way, the two mentioned scenes are also positioned in the small cave church in Belaja near Deani (middle of the 14th century), which has quite a reduced programme still unpublished.4 A kind of digression from the rules appears in a number of monuments in Macedonia, where, between the Annuncia-tion and the Nativity of Christ, is the presentation of the Vis-itation on the easternmost section of the southern wall cf. S. Pelekanidis M. Hatzidakis, Kastoria, 2425, 52; L. Hader-mann-Misguich, Kurbinovo, Bruxelles 1975, 103109, sch. 34; . . -, , 1958, sch. I, no. 63; . , , 170. In some other churches, however, the Nativity of Christ and the Descent into Hades retained the role of counterparts, even though the said scene was

lar system in the arrangement of the scenes. Nev-ertheless, only much later, particularly in the 14th and 15th century would it become very popular.2 We notice that in applying the said programme model, the number of scenes in the cycle could be reduced only to presentations of a number of the Great Feasts (Figs. 12), just as it could be expanded by

283 (example of a circular arrangement of scenes on the vault of the church).2 Cf. A. Ksingopulos, , Atina 1957, 93; S. Pelekanidis M. Hatzidakis, Kastoria, 108; . , (Lglise des Saints Constantin et Hlne Ohrid), 1971, 5051, sch. 14; . . , 1976, 3537; . , XV (Lcole de peinture dOhrid au XVe sicle), 1980, 28, 38, 54, 65, 72, 90, 97, draw-ings 59, 1518, 3235, 4144, 4951, 6971, 7780; . , XIV (La pein-ture murale dOhrid au XIVe sicle), 1980, 142, 156, drawings 4144; . , (glise Sainte-Vierge sur le Vraji Ka-men), 19 (1987), 97104, figs. 10, 19, 25, 28; . , , 1994, 149, 171172; E. N. Tsigari-das, , Thessaloniki 1999, 214215, 216, 305; . -, . (Medieval Art in Macedonia. Frescoes and Icons), 2009, 493495, 502, 548, 549552; H. Staneva R. Rousseva, The Church of St Demetrius in Boboshevo, Sofia 2009, 54, 60, 118119. Of course, it would be impossible to itemize all the existing examples from the 14th15th century, and those from the 16th17th cen-tury in particular.

Fig. 1. The Church of St. Stephen in Kastoria, Representations on the north wall of the central nave (I. Sisiou)


of the inscribed cross (Fig. 5).6 However, the dis-sected inner space of those buildings did not permit the expression in full measure of all the features of the circular system in arranging the scenes. The regularity of the chronological course of the cycle could be significantly disrupted in churches with a complex spatial structure. For instance, by draw-ing out the Annunciation to the eastern pair of columns in front of the altar,7 the initial scene of the Dodekaorton acquired a more western position, that is to say, behind the presentations of the Great Feasts depicted in the altar the Nativity, the Res-urrection, and the Ascension of Christ. One also no-tices that the continuity of the cycle in architectoni-cally compartmentalised churches would have been rendered rather indistinguishable by the lack of visibility of the whole surfaces of the painted walls

6 K. M. Skawran, The Development of Middle Byzantine Fresco Painting in Greece, Pretoria 1982, 182; A. and J. Stylianou, The Painted Churches of Cyprus, London 1985, 65, 68; N. Nikonanos, The Church of the Holy Apostles in Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 1986, 33, 38, 42; . -, , 1967, 54, sch. VIIVIII, no. 19, 27 (in Macedonian with a French summary); . . . . . , , 1990, 146, 148150, figs. 91, 96; . , . (The Monastery of Lesnovo. History and Paint-ing), 1998, 5253, 287, no. 88, 96.7 On this position of the Annunciation in the programme of the Byzantine churches cf. J. D. Varalis, Parathrseij gi t qsh tou Eaggelismou st mnhmeiak zwgrafik kat t mesobuzantin perodo, DCAE 4/19 (19961997), 201220.

a simple spatial plan, the entire concept was easily achieved and the programme model showed that it was completely justified.

However, it is important to note that the ele-ments of the described manner of arranging the scenes of the Great Feasts were also sometimes found in churches with a more complex architec-tural structure. Even in such churches the presenta-tions of the Nativity of Christ and the Descent into Hades were painted one opposite the other on the walls or the vault of the altar,5 or they were posi-tioned before it opposite each other on the eastern side of the vaults of the southern and northern arms

inserted among the Great Feasts. Cf. . . , - (Painter Michael in the Monastery of St. Prohor Pinjski), ZRVI 34 (1995), 127, 139.5 The iconographic programmes in the churches of St. George (Omorphokklisia) near Kastoria, St. Peter in Bi-jelo Polje, The Holy Virgin in Kuevite, or St. George in Reani can serve as examples of this kind of solution, and it is quite possible that the same model was also ac-cepted in the Omorphi Ekklisia in Athens, cf. A. Vasilaki-Karakacani, O toicografej t j mrfhj Ekklhsj stn Aqhna, Athens 1971, 14, 124); . , , 180; B. Todi, Serbian medi-eval painting: age of King Milutin, Belgrade 1999, 341; The Church of the Presentation of the Holly Virgin Kucheviste. Drawings of the frescoes, Skopje 2008, 1819; S. Kissas, Omorfokklhsa. Oi toicografej tou nao tou Agou Gewrgou kont sthn Kastori, Beograd 2008, 2627, no. 4748 (where the remains of the representation of the Nativity on the south side of the vault of the altar bay, beneath the Ascension are not identified).

Fig. 2. The Church of St. Stephen in Kastoria, Representations on the south wall of the central nave (I. Sisiou)

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ern and northern walls of the altar bay.8 All of this leads to thinking about the deeper ideological pre-conditions of the considered programme model that could have induced the painters to apply it even in quite unsuitable conditions and influence the em-phasis of the Nativity of Christ and his Descent into Hades in the altar section both in simple and also in architectonically quite complex churches.

The reasons for the programme emphasis and the ideological inter-connection of the two

8 . , (Wall Paintings of the Church of Saint Achilleos in Arilje), 2005, 6365, 217, 235236, 282283, sch. 12, no. II, XII.

and vaults from any one particular position in the church. Apart from that, the painters, because of the unequal height of the bays in such churches were often obliged, when creating the rows of scenes in the cycle, to skip from one to the other zone of the fresco painting. In the church of St. Achilleios in Arilje, for example, the compartmentalisation of the interior space is such that the scenes had to be grouped in a particular manner, and one can only speak provisionally about the continuous flow of the Christological cycle. Nevertheless, even there, the presentations of the Nativity and the Resur-rection were painted one opposite the other on the architecturally accentuated surfaces of the south-

Fig. 3. The Church of the Holy Virgin at Kuevite, Representations on the highest part of the north wall of the altar bay (M. Markova)


reasons were much more numerous and pro-found. In the works of the Byzantine ecclesiasti-cal writers and poets, the similarity which the said feast days have in terms of their importance is shown to be the result of the deep dogmatic and

sis of the texts of the Holy Fathers, such as Gregory the Theologian (PG, t. 36, col. 624 A B C), Gregory of Nyssa (PG, t. 46, col. 694 C), Epiphanios of Cyprus (PG, t. 43, col. 468 A), John Chrysostom, (PG, t. 48, col. 752 D), or Theod-otos of Ankyra, cf. M. Aubineau, Une Homlie de Thodote dAncyre sur la Nativit du Seigneur, OCP 26 (1960), 224.

scenes in the eastern section of Orthodox Chris-tian churches is only partly explained in the said fact that at issue were presentations of the great-est among the Great Feasts Christmas and the feast day above all feast days Easter.9 These

9 Although this definition of the two feast days is the prod-uct of classification in more recent times, it properly reflects their importance and position in the hierarchy of the Byz-antine liturgical year throughout the entire medieval period. One can already judge the outstanding status of Easter, and of Christmas too from the end of the IV century, on the ba-

Fig. 4. The Church of the Holy Virgin at Kuevite, Representations on the highest part of the south wall of the altar bay (M. Markova)

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Fig. 5. The Church of the Holy Virgin Hodegetria at Pe, Representations on the east side of the transept(M. Nagorni)


of Cyrrhus,18 and Patriarch Photios,19 also spoke of the birth of Christ as the condition for the Resur-rection, and about the Resurrection as the goal of the Incarnation. Their interpretations have left trac-es in the Divine Offices celebrating Christmas and Easter. Hades reigns by sin, from Adam until you; however, his shameless tyranny is being destroyed by the body in which you were born, Saviour [...] is sung at Vespers on December 24th (on the eve of the Nativity of Christ).20 On the other hand, during Vespers on Holy Saturday the sticheron is sung: Today Hades cries out, groaning: I should not have accepted the Man born of Mary; He came and destroyed my power, He shattered the gates of brass, as God, He raised the souls that I had held captive.21

Pointing, therefore, to the profound dogmatic connection between Christmas and Easter, the Byzantine ecclesiastical writers and poets at the same time extolled the particular role these two events had in the oikonomia of salvation. They par-ticularly stress that the meaning of Christmas and Easter denoted the beginning and the fulfillment of the oikonomia of human salvation precisely as the painters gave the position of alpha and omega to the presentations of the Nativity of Christ and the Descent into Hades in the circular sequence of scenes on the lateral walls of the church. When

tify the human nature in himself, release it from the chains of death and crown it with immortality (PG, t. 76, col. 1365 A); ... for, if the Logos had not become incarnated, then the state of death has not been annihilated nor has sin been de-stroyed... (PG, t. 75, col. 1268 B1269 A). For St. Cyril, also cf. PG, t. 75, col. 1352 B-C; t. 76, col. 197 BC, 209 AC.18 The Lord came and took upon himself the form of a servant not to resurrect his own body, but to earn resurrec-tion for all men, cf. PG, t. 83, col. 760 C.19 For verily, when Christ became flesh, was death swal-lowed up in victory Homily XII. Holy Saturday, cf. The Homilies of Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople (English Translation, Introduction and Commentary by C. Mango), Cambridge 1958, 218. On the interpretations of Patriarch Photios, cf. more thoroughly further in the text.20 Menaion for December, third quarter of 14th century, Li-brary of the monastery of Deani, manuscript no. 38, fol. 153r.21 Triodion from the year 1328, National Library of Ser-bia, manuscript no. 645, fol. 291v, cf. et The Lenten Trio-dion (translated from the original Greek by Mother Mary and Archimandrite Kallistos Ware), LondonBoston 1978, 655656). There are very many similar examples in various texts for the Orthodox Christian church services.

symbolic connection of the Nativity of Christ and the Descent into Hades. The Holy Fathers of the Church see the Resurrection of Christ the pledge for the salvation of Man from mortality and decay as the consequence and the principal aim of the Incarnation of the Word. According to St. Atha-nasius of Alexandria, the indisputable authority in questions of the Incarnation of Christ, through the Nativity the Immortal Word took to himself a body which could die, in order that, since this participat-ed in the Word who is above all, it might suffice for death on behalf of all, and because of the Word who was dwelling in it, it might remain incorrupt-ible, and so corruption might cease from all men by the grace of the resurrection.10 Since, death of its very nature could not appear otherwise than in a body, St. Athanasius explains additionally, the Word put on a body so that in the body He might find death and blot it out.11 Therefore, when His flesh is born of Mary the Mother of God, He who provides others with their birth into being is him-self said to be born so that he may transfer our ori-gin into himself; thus we are no longer merely earth which returns to earth.12 The renowned Alexan-drian effectively summarizes these thoughts with a quotation from Holy Scripture: The Word [...] took to himself a body which could die in order to [...] destroy him who held the power of death, that is the devil, and to deliver all those who through fear of death had been all their lifetime subject to bond-age (Heb. 2: 1415).13 Other Holy Fathers, such as Basil the Great,14 Gregory the Theologian,15 Grego-ry of Nyssa,16 or Cyril of Alexandria,17 Theodoret

10 PG, t. 25, col. 112 A; Athanasius, Contra Gentes and De Incarnatione (ed. and translated R. W. Thomson), Oxford 1971, 154/155 (chap. 9); J. B. Berchem, LIncarnation dans le plan divin daprs saint Athanase, EO 33 (1934), 323; K. Anatolios, Athanasius, London-New York 2004, 4549.11 PG, t. 25, col. 176 B (chap. 44).12 Contra arian. Orat. III, 33; PG, t. 26, col. 393 BC396 A; K. Anatolios, Athanasius, 53.13 PG, t. 25, col. 132 BC; Athanasius, Contra Gentes and De Incarnatione, 185 (chap. 20). We recommend several other characteristic quotations: PG, t. 26, col. 101 B, 120 B, 132 B C; 136 C, 145 B; PG, t. 26, col. 1161 BC.14 PG, t. 32, col. 972.15 PG, t. 35, col. 432 B436 A; PG, t. 36, col. 325 AD; PG, t. 37, col. 459462; PG, t. 37, col. 465, 466, 464.16 PG, t. 45, col. 473 D, 476 A.17 St. Cyril stresses that God sent his Son, born of woman, having assumed a body similar to ours, in order to ... jus-

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taking its beginning, as the Godhead was already being covered with flesh; in the later, however, is accomplished the end, and the purpose of Gods advent our perfection and re-creation is com-pleted, gleaming brilliantly and illuminating with the flash of the resurrection.23 It is understandable therefore that Patriarch Photios, speaking about Christs feast days in another homily, begins his enumeration with the Saviours Nativity, and ends it with the Resurrection.24 Similarly, Theodotos of Ankyra sees the birth of Christ as the source of the entire cycle of feast days (rmhtrion g pan-tj kklou twn ortw n) that pour into the great feast day of the Resurrection,25 while St. Gregory the Theologian distinguishes four key points of the

23 The Homilies of Photius, 209210.24 Ibid., 164165 (Homily IX. The Birth of the Virgin).25 M. Aubineau, Une Homlie de Thodote dAncyre, 224225, 233234, 235.

in his sermon on Holy Saturday, St. John the Da-mascene speaks of Easter, he quite clearly express-es this idea: Now, the principal thing is fulfilled in the divine oikonomia of salvation (nun t th j eaj okonomaj keflaion kperanetai); now the crown is placed on the Incarnation of the Lord, the Word; [...] and to us is born a light out of the darkness and life is proceeding from the grave and the Resurrection is rising out of Hades (ka x dou phgzei nstasij).22 In the XI homily of Patriarch Photios of Constantinople, also dedicated to Holy Saturday, the famous orator states: Won-drous too was the manger at Bethlehem which re-ceived my Lord, wrapped in swaddling clothes af-ter the manner of babes, as He had just emerged from a virgins womb and entered human life. Yet a far greater miracle does the tomb exhibit: for in the former the mystery of Christs incarnation was

22 PG, t. 96, col. 601 C604 A, 628 C.

Fig. 6. The Church of St. Barbara at Soanli (Cappadocia), The Nativity of Christ, west part of the north wall (After G. de Jerphanion)


Saviours human birth at the beginning of the series, only to close the circle with the Resurrection.28

Marked as the two crucial points at the begin-ning and the end of the oikonomia of salvation, the mysteries of the Nativity of Christ and the Resurrec-tion in the works of the ecclesiastical writers were directly linked not only on the basis of dogmatic considerations but also very frequently through building unique kinds of poetic and mystical paral-lels. In that context, St. Gregory of Nyssa states: Just as Mary, the Mother of God, escaping the pains of childbirth, delivered by the will of God

28 PG, t. 45, col. 40 D. In his Paschal homily, Hesychios of Jerusalem also indicates in a specific manner, the key points in the cycle of salvation, cf. Hsychius de Jerusalem, Basile de Sleucie, Jean de Bryte, Pseudo-Chrysostome, Lonce de Constantinople, Homlies pascales (cinq homlies in-dites) (ed. M. Aubineau), SC 187, Paris 1972, 122123, 129 footnote 4).

oikonomia of salvation, beginning with the Nativ-ity, followed by the crucifixion and the interment of Christ, while the Resurrection represents the end and the accomplishment.26 Very similar interpreta-tions are poetically shaped in the verses of the Oct-oechos: We hymn You, O Christ, and glorify Your divine condescension; You were born of a Virgin, yet not parted from the Father; You suffered as a man and willingly endured the cross; You rose from the grave, as from a bridal chamber, that You might save the world, O Lord, Glory to You! (Sunday, Matins, sticheron, first voice part).27 The mystery of the truth of salvation according to St. Gregory of Nyssa, constitutes a somewhat larger number of key elements but this theologian also places the

26 PG, t. 35, col. 432 B436 A.27 Almost identical verses are sung during Vespers on Holy Saturday (Lord, I call, sticheron, Tone 1).

Fig. 7. The Church of St. Barbara at Soanli (Cappadocia), The Resurrection of Christ, east part of the north wall(After G. de Jerphanion)

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with your grave you have destroyed the realm of the grave,31 and Epiphanios of Cyprus (7th centu-ry) practically paraphrases the great Syrian.32 And, at Matins on the day of the Resurrection, through the troparion of the sixth song, he recalls the profound connection of the two great mysteries: Having preserved the seal undamaged, O Christ, you have resurrected from the grave, you who did not injure the bowels of the Virgin during your birth.33 In that respect, an irmos, sung at Sunday Matins, also deserves attention. It is worded like this: The seamonster cast out Jonah unharmed as it had received him, like a babe from the womb; and when the Word came to dwell in the Virgin and was made flesh, He came forth preserving her incorrupt, for He himself was not subject to de-cay (Ode six, second canon). The interesting and inspiring comparison and the spirited connection of Christs Nativity and the Resurrection can be also found in the works of many other Orthodox

31 Romanos lMlode, Hymnes, Tome IV, SC 128, Paris 1967, 451.32 For, just as Christ was born of a Virgin closed by the seal of virginity, so, too, was Christ born again through the unbroken seal of the tomb. Cf. A. Vaillant, L Homlie dpiphane sur lensevelissement du Christ, Radovi Staros-lovenskog instituta 3 (1958), 30.33 Triodion from the year 1328, National Library of Serbia, manuscript no. 645, fol. 307r; R. P. E. Mercenier, La prire des glises de rite byzantin, II Les ftes, II, LAcathiste, la Quinzaine de Pques, lAscension et la Pentecte, Monas-tre de Chevetogne 1948, 272.

and the mercy of the Holy Spirit, the creator of the ages, the Word, the God issuing from God, thus the earth received the command to cast up from its bowels, the Lord of the Israelites, releasing him from the horror of death.29 In interpreting Mat-thews Gospel, Ephrem the Syrian points to the unusual mystical link between the Nativity and the Resurrection of the Lord: He (the Christ) took the body out from the tomb, although it was sealed, and the seal of the tomb witnessed in favour of the seal [of virginity] of the womb that had borne Him; for it was when the virginity [of His mother] was sealed that the Son emerged alive from within her, for he was the First-Born in every way.30 We also very often encounter this comparison and the connection of the mysteries of the Nativity and the Resurrection of the Saviour in the later ecclesiasti-cal poets. Romanos the Melod in his Hymn on the Resurrection thus sings: You were delivered, O Lord, from the bowels of the Virgin, without seed, leaving on her the signs of virginity, just as today,

29 PG, t. 46, col. 688 C; Homlies pascales, 92.30 Saint Ephrems Commentary on Tatians Diatessaron (An English Translation of Chester Beatty Syriac MS 709 with Introduction and Notes by C. McCarthy), Oxford 1993, 327 (21). Similar parallels are especially numerous in St. Ephrems Eight Hymn for the Nativity of Christ. Besides everything else, he develops in it a comparison between the Nativity and the Resurrection of the Saviour, finally stress-ing that they were two wrestlers that stopped the mouth that slandered, cf. , - 1900, 5-, 139140.

Fig. 8. The Church of the Holy Apostles at Perachorio (Cyprus), Wall-paintings on the lateral sides of the nave (After A. Megaw and E. Hawkins)


said Epiphanios of Cyprus, which was included in the Di-vine Office on Holy Saturday, merits particular attention. In it, very vivid parallels are drawn, which show the simi-larities of the two mysteries of salvation: The angel an-nounced His birth to Mary, the Mother of Christ, and the angel announced His new birth to Mary Magdalene; in the night, Christ was born in Bethlehem and again in the night, on Sion, he was reborn from the dead; Christ was born in the stone cave, and in the stone cave he was born again; he was wrapped in a linen cloth at birth and, here, he was also bound in a linen cloth; at birth he received myrrh and at his funeral he also received myrrh; in Beth-lehem, his birth in a manger, and, in a grave, like a man-ger, his new birth [...].37

The quotation from Epiph-anios homily is particularly interesting because it shows the author clearly aspired to present the Resurrection as a new or second birth of

who had been born, here, bestowing life with his Resurrec-tion on those who had died, ... (Homlies pascales, 6667). Using the word zwogonein (zwogonwn), which calls to mind the idea of birth, designating the giving of life to the dead, Hesychios of Jerusalem, obviously, wanted to emphasise the antithesis with the word gennasqai (gennwmnouj), and thus indicate that this involved two births, at different levels (ibidem, 93, n. 41).37 A. Vaillant, L Homlie dpiphane, 2830. In one of the homilies on Holy Saturday, Patriarch Photios offers a vivid comparison of the Nativity and the Resurrection of Christ. Among other things, he compares the peoples of the East and the West, who hand over to the Saviour risen from the dead their very bodies and souls, with the Magi from the East, who offer gifts to the newborn Christ, and he says: the songs of angels sounded over the manger while, by the tomb, too, angels were present and caused amazement, The Homilies of Photius, 210.

Christian poets and orators, such as St. Proclos,34 St. Theodotos of Ankyra35 or the Blessed Hesychi-os of Jerusalem.36 Nevertheless, the homily by the

34 PG, t. 65, col. 792 A; Homlies pascales, 134, n. 13.35 Theodotos asks himself why Christ, who came forth out of the earth, opening the graves, did not open his mothers bowels at his own birth. In the interpretation of the Ankyran theologian, Christs unique privilege to exist, as God, before he was incarnated as a man, explains the special nature of the Saviours birth, which left the virginity of the Mother of God intact, and then of his Resurrection, which opened all graves, cf. M. Aubineau, Une Homlie de Thodote dAncyre, 225, 235236.36 This man (Christ) was indeed, at first, hidden in the bowels of the body (of the Mother of God), and then in the bowels of the earth, there, blessing with that pregnancy those

Fig. 9. The Church of Panagia tou Arakos in Lagoudera (Cyprus), general view from the west with the representations of the Nativity and the Resurrection of Christ in the first plan, west vault (After A. Nicolads)

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Blessed Hesychios of Jerusalem,41 or St. Ephrem the Syrian.42 To them we can add the Blessed The-odoret of Cyrrhus, for whom Christ was the first to rise among the dead, because he first severed the chains of death and emerged from its bowels as newly-born.43 The Slav teacher, St. Kliment of Ohrid in a sermon on the Epiphany distinguish-es the three births of Christ: first in Bethlehem,

the steel lock of Hades. Cf. PG, t. 46, col. 605 C, 694 C (In Christi resurrect. Orat. I).41 With what words shall I pay tribute to the grave that brought forth life, (...). Cf. Homlies pascales, 122123 (In S. Pascha homilia II).42 In one of his Hymns for the Nativity of Christ, St. Ephrem acclaims: A sealed grave delivered You (O Christ). Cf. , 140.43 PG, t. 82, col. 600 D, 601 A.

Christ. This poetic identification of the Saviours Resurrection with his Nativity already had its roots in the biblical texts in the Epistle of the Apos-tle Paul to the Colossians (1:18) and in St. Johns Apocalypse (1:5) where Christ is mentioned as the first-born from the dead (prwttokoj k twn nekrwn). It was later accepted and varied by authorities such as St. John Chrysostom,38 St. Gre-gory the Theologian,39 St. Gregory of Nyssa,40 the

38 According to St. John Chrysostom, the Resurrection of Christ can be called the birthday of all human nature. Cf. PG, t. 51, col. 265.39 PG, t. 36, col. 361.40 The empire of life came and the empire of death was annihilated; there appeared a second birth, a second life...; the Grace of Christs Resurrection destroyed the pains of death; it delivered the first-born from the dead; ... it crushed

Fig. 10. The Church of Panagia tou Arakos in Lagoudera (Cyprus), The south side of the nave (After A. Nicolads)


When one considers this broadly based, rich lit-erary tradition in terms of its forms, stressing the link between Christmas and the Resurrection of Christ, the custom of the medieval painters to link the scenes of the Nativity and the Resurrection, in the frame of different programme models on the walls of the Orthodox churches, becomes perfectly understandable. In principle, the Descent into Hades (entitled Anstasij) as the main, dogmatic rep-resentation of Christs Resurrection47 had the abil-ity to express all the symbolism connected with the Saviour rising from the tomb. Sometimes, however, Byzantine artists painted the representation of the Holy Women at the Sepulchre of Christ beside the Descent into Hades both placed opposite the Na-

47 Cf. A. Kartsonis, Anastasis. The Making of an Image, Princeton 1986, passim.

secondly in the River Jordan and thirdly when he resurrected and became the first-born from the dead.44 And in the Liturgy of St. Basil, in the prayer before the blessing of the Holy Offerings, it is mentioned that the Saviour was resurrected on the third day, and [...] became [...] the first-born from the dead.45 Christ is also called the first-born from the dead in the VI song of the canon at Matins on Holy Saturday.46

44 , , , 1977, II, 243. St. Kliment, if this indeed is his work, paraphrases St. Gregory the Theologian, who speaks in the same manner about the three births of Christ, the Resurrec-tion being the last of them, cf. PG, t. 36, col. 361.45 F. E. Brightman, Liturgies Eastern and Western, I East-ern Liturgies, Oxford 1967, 327.46 Triodion from the year 1328, National Library of Serbia, manuscript no. 645, fol. 286r.

Fig. 11. The Church of Panagia tou Arakos in Lagoudera (Cyprus), The north side of the nave (After A. Nicolads)

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was not strictly applied, are painted with remark-able scenes of the Nativity and the Descent into Hades (damaged), as counterparts (Fig. 8),51 while in the Church of Panagia tou Arakos in Lagoudera, also on Cyprus, these two scenes are painted one opposite the other on the vault of the western bay (Figs. 911).52 Likewise, it is quite certain that the counterpart of the big scene of Christs Nativity in the conch of the southern arm of the transept in the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem was once the presentation of the Anastasis, depicted in the conch of the northern arm of the transept.53 In Mileeva, the positioning of the two scenes opposite each other was done in such a way that the Nativity was painted on the upper part of the vast surface on the northern wall beneath the dome of the church and the Descent into Hades on the corresponding sur-face of the southern wall.54 The highest zone on the lateral walls in the central part of the naos in the church in Gornji Kozjak, on the layer of paint-ing which was done in the period of Serbian rule in Macedonia, is decorated with scenes of the Nativity and the Resurrection of Christ55 positioned oppo-site each other. One could mention other examples. Still, in the majority of well-known cases there was a clearly visible effort by the creators of the icono-graphic programmes to place the presentations of Christmas and Easter facing each other in the east-

51 A. Megaw E. Hawkins, The Church of the Holy Apostles at Perachorio, Cyprus, and Its Frescoes, DOP 16 (1962), 288289, sch. a.52 A. and J. Stylianou, Cyprus, 164, 167, 182, 184, fig. 100, 102; A. Nicolads, Lglise de la Panagia Arakoitissa Lagoudra, Chypre: Etude iconographique des fresques de 1192, DOP 50 (1996), 74, fig. 18. In the central part of that Cypriot church, the scenes of the Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple and the Dormition of the Virgin are intentionally opposed.53 . . - . . , . XIV, XV XVI , PPSb XIXII (1903), 98, 224; A. Baumstark, Palestinensia. Ein vorlufiger Bericht, RQ 20 (1906), 146; G. Khnel, Das Ausschmckungsprogramm der Geburtsbasilika in Beth-lehem. Byzanz und Abendland im Knigreich Jerusalem, Boreas. Mnstersche Beitrge zur Archologie 10 (1987), 139, n. 26, Abb. 34; J. Folda, The Art of Crusaders in the Holy Land 10981187, Cambridge 1995, 358.54 . , , 1963, 19, 7677; . , . (Mileeva. Les dessins des fresques), 1992, 14, 16, 18.55 . , , 139.

tivity in order to accentuate the various narrative aspects of Christs Resurrection. In such cases, the above mentioned dogmatic and poetical compari-sons of the Nativity and the Resurrection of Christ acquired a broader and more detailed visual basis. The scene of the Holy Women at the Sepulchre of Christ was regularly positioned before the Descent into Hades as a final ideological accent directly op-posite the Nativity (Figs. 34).48 Much more rarly, the effort to position the pictures of Christmas and Easter as programmatic counterparts produced dis-ruption in the regular chronological course of the opening Dodekaorton scenes, as it is a case in the Church of St. Nicholas of the Roof in Kakopetria (Cyprus).

Scenes of the Nativity and the Resurrection could also be given a position far outside the al-tar space and connected there. Such a manner of juxtaposing or placing various ideologically linked scenes opposite each other in different parts of churches was essentially in keeping with the pro-cedures of the Byzantine artists.49 In the Church of St. Barbara in Soganle, (Cappadocia), the scenes of the Nativity of Christ and the Descent into Hades have enlarged dimensions and are positioned one next to the other on the northern side of the vault (Figs. 67).50 The great surfaces of the lateral walls in the subdominal space of the Church of the Holy Apostles at Perachorio on Cyprus, a church in which the chronological arrangement of the themes

48 In order to retain that prominent position of the Anas-tasis, Byzantine and post-Byzantine painters sometimes placed the scenes of the Incredulity of St. Thomas and Christs Post-Resurrection Appearance to the Holy Wom-en before the Descent into Hades, too. Cf. M. Hatzidakis, Kastoria, 108; E. N. Tsigaridas, Les peintures murales de lAncienne Mtropole de Vria, 92; . , , 28, 38, 54, 65, 72, 90, 97, drawings 59, 1518, 3235, 4144, 4951, 6971, 7780; E. N. Tsigaridas, Toicografej thj peridou twn Palaiolg-wn, 214215, 305; The Church of the Presentation of the Holly Virgin Kucheviste. Drawings, 1819; H. Staneva R. Rousseva, The Church of St Demetrius in Boboshevo, 118119; N. Mitrevski, The Fresco painting in Pelagonia from the middle of the 15th to the end of the 17th centuries, Skopje 2009, 9497, 106, 116, 132135; sq.49 For example, the cases of connecting the Nativity of Christ and the Dormition of the Virgin in the programme of Byzantine churches are well explained. Cf. H. Maguire, Art and Eloquence in Byzantium, Princeton 1981, 5968. 50 N. Thierry, Le thme de la Descente du Christ aux En-fers en Cappadoce, DCAE 4/17 (1994), 62.


were perfectly appropriate to the iconography of the most sacred space in the church. In that sense, one should recall the teachings of St. John Chrysostom, at least. According to this great theologian, we see Christ, laid upon the altar, just as the three Magi saw him lying in the manger.58 On the other hand, the words in certain liturgical prayers indicate the profound link of the Eucharist with Easter the Holy Pascha. In one of them, for instance, it says: Do this in remembrance of me: for as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew my death and confess my resurrection.59 Therefore, by the transformation of the Holy Offerings into the flesh and blood of Christ, the mystery of the Incar-nation of the Saviour is repeated in the liturgy60 so that those who partake of his flesh and blood will be cleansed of sin and resurrected in Christ, pre-paring themselves for admission to the Kingdom of Heaven.61 Positioning the pictures of Christmas and Easter as counterparts in the altar space of the church expressed the teachings regarding the two natures of Christ, which is also extremely important for understanding the Eucharist. For, in the Middle Ages it was the Nativity of Christ that was linked with the humanity of the Saviour, and the Descent into Hades with his divine nature and his extempo-raneous birth in the bosom of His father.62 Thanks to such a dogmatic and symbolic connection with the sacrifice of the New Testament, the presenta-tions of the Nativity and the Resurrection of Christ

58 Cf. PG, t. 48, col. 753; t. 61, col. 204; R. Bornert, Les commentaires, 79.59 F. E. Brightman, Liturgies, 328; id., The Orthodox Lit-urgy, New York 1982, 126.60 On the liturgical symbolism of the Nativity of Christ, its connection with the Eucharist and the practice of illustrat-ing the event in Bethlehem in the altars of Orthodox Chris-tian churches, cf. Ch. Walter, Art and Ritual of Byzantine Church, London 1982, 209210.61 Cf. F. Cabrol, Descente du Christ aux Enfers daprs la liturgie, in: DACL IV/

I, 688 sq; A. de Meester, Descente

aux Enfers dans les liturgies orientales, DACL IV/I, 694; O.

Rouseau, La Descente aux Enfers dans le cadre des liturgies chrtiennes, La Maison-Dieu 43 (1955), 104123; C. An-dronikof, Le cycle pascal. Le Sens des Ftes II, Paris1985, 186193.62 Cf. C. Meredith, The Illustration of Codex Ebnerianus, JWCI 29 (1966), 420423; G. Galavaris The Illustrations of the Prefaces in byzantine Gospels, Wien 1979, 3435, 68; M. A. Aubineau, Les Homlies dHsychius de Jrusalem, Vol. I: Les homlies IIV, SubsHag 59 (1978), 112115; Romanos lMlod, Hymnes, t. IV, 556557.

ernmost part of the church and with them to cover the lateral walls or the vaults of the altar space. The desire to find a place for the depictions of the Na-tivity and the Descent into Hades in the altar can even be seen in churches in which the distribution of scenes was not circular. Thus, interestingly, in the programme of the Church of Saint Marina at Mournes on Crete, next to the scenes of the Na-tivity and the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, celebrating the Incarnation of the Saviour and his sacrifice, one finds the Descent into Hades and the Resurrection of Lazarus painted in the altar area, to celebrate Christs victory over death.56

The endeavour to place the presentations of the Nativity and the Resurrection of Christ opposite each other in the very altar space of Orthodox Christian churches had a fundamental, symbolical and liturgi-cal justification. According to the ancient interpreters of the symbolism of the Christian churches, such as St. John Chrysostom, St. John the Faster (Nesteutes), St. Germanos I of Constantinople, Pseudo Cyril, Pseudo Sophronios, Pseudo Theodore of Andida and St. Symeon of Thessalonike, the altar apse, the altar table with the Holy Offerings and the ciborium, on the one hand, represent the cave in Bethlehem and the manger in which Christ was born and, on the other, the cave on Golgotha, that is to say, the tomb from which the Incarnated God was resurrected.57 There-fore, the presentation of the Nativity of Christ and his Descent into Hades opposite each other in the al-tar could have stressed the symbolism that had been linked with this sacred space for centuries. Meantime, one should bear in mind that the said symbolism dis-tinctly concerns the Eucharist, and so the presenta-tions of Christmas and Easter the Holy Pascha

56 Cf. J. Albani, O toicografej tou naou thj Agiaj Marnaj stn Mourn thj Krthj, DCAE 4/17 (1994), 211, 218, 222.57 Cf. PG, t. 48, col. 753; t. 58, col. 79; t. 61, col. 204; t. 155, 264 C, 348 AB; . , - , 1884, 4; id., - , 1885, 307, 322, 325; idem, , 1894, 24, 63; F. E. Brightman, The Historia Mystagogica and Other Greek Commentaries on the Byzantine Liturgy, JTS IX34 (1908), 258; R. Bornert, Les commentaires byzantins de la divine liturgie, Paris 1966, 79; M. Altripp, Die Prothesis und ihre Bildausstattung in Byzanz unter besonderer Bercksichtigung der Denkmler Griechenlands, Frankfurt am Main 1998, 3841.

D. VOJVODI142

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could be included in a unified ideological ensem-ble with the presentations in the altar apse itself. In this way, as part of the cycle of the Dodekaorton, those two scenes more firmly and clearly linked the altar presentations with the rest of the thematic pro-gramme in the naos of the church.

* In this paper the ideas and thesis have been elaborated and developed that I set forth for the first

time in the communication delivered in 1996 at the symposium dedicated to the church of St. Achilleios in Arilje (Belgrade-Arilje), and published in the acts of the symposium, cf. . , . - (Pro-gramme iconografique dArilje. Choix et disposition des scenes du cycle christologico-thotokologiques), in: : , (. . ), 2002, 99106.

, - . 177001, 177013, 177015, 177032, 177036 .

Collection of Papers Dedicated to 40th Anniversary of the Institute for Art History,Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

/ Edited by Ivan Stevovi

/ Associate Editor / Jelena Erdeljan

/ Secretary / Jasmina iri

/ Proofreading of texts in Serbian / Aleksandra Anti

/ Correcting / Biljana Djordjevi

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ISBN 978-86-88803-05-2 ()ISBN 978-86-6047-078-4 ()

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SYMMEIKTA : = collection of papers dedicated to the 40th Anniversary of the Institute for arts history, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade / = edited by Ivan Stevovi. Beograd : Filozofski fakultet, 2012 (Beograd : Dosije studio). XXII, 596 str. : ilustr. ; 28 cm

Radovi na vie jezika. Tira 400. Str. XIXXX: [Predgovor] / I. S. Napomene i bibliografske reference uz tekst. Summaries; Rezimei.

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In a milieu laden with all forms of discontinuity, four decades of existence of an institution is

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