Church Art and Archaeology Review

«The Sermon on Law and Grace» and the Liturgical Program of the Painting of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv

Kvlividze Nina V., Hieromonk Cassian (Ploskiy A. L.) — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The article is devoted to the study of the features of the altar decoration of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev and its inscriptions. The ensembles of Church of Saint Sophia in Ohrid and St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, created at about the same time, are distinguished by their emphasized attention to the theme of the Eucharist. In the temple paintings of the XI century, the liturgical theme acquired a special significance. In this regard, the study of the altar painting of the St. Sophia Cathedral in the context of a simultaneous theological work allows us to illuminate in a new way the programmatic foundations of the Byzantine liturgical temple decorations of this period. Attention to the inscriptions of Kiev St. Sophia Cathedral does not weaken despite the fundamental works of S. S. Averintsev, K. K. Akentiev, A. Y. Vinogradov. The interest of researchers, as a rule, was focused on the historical reasons for the appearance of the text of Ps. 45, 6 in the altar painting. In this study, the iconographic program of the altar painting, including the inscription, is considered from a different angle, mainly from the point of view of revealing the theme of the dedication of the temple of Sophia the Wisdom of God and the image of Christ in the painting of the cathedral. In connection with the question of the temple feasts of the St. Sophia cathedrals, which has not lost its relevance to date, the place of the images of Christ in the painting is analyzed in the context of the theological system, formulated in “The Sermon on Law and Grace”. This theological work was written by the first Russian Metropolitan of Kiev Hilarion.

Painting at the Altar Space of the Curch of the Mother of God Periblepta in Ohrid: Reflection at the Liturgical Context

Gerasimova Natalia V. — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The iconographic program of the altar painting at the Church of the Mother of God Periblepta in Ohrid (1294/95) is one of the most striking examples of a new type of decoration for a liturgical space, which was developed throughout the 13th century. Since the frescoes were cleared in the middle of the XX century, they have aroused a great interest of Palaeologian painting researchers. In general, the programm of painting at the vima, an altar and a pastophory were deeply and well interpreted. Today, it seems relevant not to interpret individual cycles and plots, but identify main principles of their selection, arrangement and distribution in the liturgical space of the altar. Responding to the tradition and symbolic understanding of the Byzantine rite, the paintings in this area of the Christian church turn out to be associated with interpretations of the liturgy and its rite, the inscriptions accompanying the altar compositions constituted a single epigraphic sequence, which was directly reflected in real liturgical practices. The reflection of the liturgical context of the altar painting of the Church of the Mother of God Periblepta has never become a subject of a separate study. In this article, the author for the first time studies, in close connection with each other and in the context of the Byzantine liturgical rite, the ideological and thematic foundations of the painting as well as epigraphic material, which makes it possible to convincingly demonstrate the close connection of the program with the rite of Anaphora, the weekly and annual cycle of services, and the prayer of the Church about the living and the dead.

The Communion of the Apostles in Byzantine Monumental Decoration and Embroidered Liturgical Textile in XII–XIV ccenturies

Gritsay Elena I. — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The emergence of the subject of the Communion of the Apostles was the result of involving historical elements of the Eucharist in liturgical practices. The iconographic type of this composition became widespread in the XII–XIV centuries. A number of monumental painting landmarks provide examples of the variability in specific details. The Byzantine iconographic tradition also influenced church embroidery; notably, the elements of iconography developed in monumental forms of church art formed the basis of the composition of embroidered images without having been directly copied.

The History and Issues of Studying the Vatican (Vat. gr. 1162) and Parisian (Paris gr. 1208) Lists of Obverse Manuscripts of the Homilies by Iakovos of Kokkinobaphos

Fedotov Dmitriy A. — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The article is devoted to the history of studying the Vatican (Vat. gr. 1162) and Parisian (Paris gr. 1208) lists of obverse manuscripts of the Homilies by Iakovos of Kokkinobaphos. The works of domestic and foreign researchers of the manuscripts of Homilies are considered as well as the specifics of their studies. Special attention is paid to K. Linardu’s dissertation. The article traces the evolution of interest in manuscripts and their evaluation as a phenomenon of the Byzantine culture. In conclusion, it is said about the great potential for further study of manuscripts based on a comprehensive analysis of text and images.

On the Alteration of St. Princess Anna of Kashin’s Silver Shrine into St. Great Martyr Catherine of Alexandria’s Shrine (1651–1688) from the Sinai Monastery and the Question of Typology, Style and Techniques of Old Russian Shrines used by Kremlin Craftsme

Igoshev Valeriy V. — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The article examines the typology, style and techniques of making the silver sarcophagus for St. Great Martyr Catherine of Alexandria with high relief images on the lid made by royal craftsmen in Moscow in 1687–1688, which was sent to the Sinai Monastery. Details made in the middle of the XVII century using traditional medieval techniques and the style characteristic of that time were revealed on the shrine of St. Catherine, which differ from other details made in the 1680s. The discovered fragments, made in the middle of the XVII century, belonged to a lost chased high-relief image of the Saint on the lid made in the Kremlin workshops in Moscow for the relics of St. princess Anna of Kashin in 1651–1652. The typology and technique of making Old Russian silver sarcophagus of the XVI–XVII centuries are similar.

Review of: Byzantium in Eastern European Visual Culture in the Late Middle Ages / ed. by M. A. Rossi, A. I. Sullivan. Leiden; Boston (Mass.): Brill, 2020. xviii, 302 p. (East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450–1450; Vol. 65)

Kvlividze Nina V. — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

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