SAINT-SAUVEUR CHURCH (СВЕТИ СПАС ЦРКВА - KISHA E SHËN SOTIRIT)

Located on the edge of Stara Čaršija, beneath the Skopje fortress, this Orthodox church (Црква Свети Спас/Crkva Sveti Spas, Kisha e Shën Sotirit) and its complex house one of the country's finest iconostases, as well as the tomb of Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary Goce Delčev (1872-1903). Dating from the late ^17th or early ^18th century, it is dedicated to the Ascension of Christ and Christ the Saviour: the term Spas refers both to the Ascension of Christ (forty days after Easter) and to Jesus himself. The proximity of the Mustafa-Pacha mosque explains the discreet architecture of the complex. Viewed from the outside, the church reveals only its tiled roof and black-beamed campanile. Once in the courtyard, we discover the sarcophagus in which lies Goce Delčev, considered a hero in North Macedonia and Bulgaria. It was offered by Bulgaria to Yugoslavia in 1946 under pressure from Moscow, shortly before Tito's break with Stalin in 1948. The church is reached by descending a few steps.

Iconostasis. The church's iconostasis is carved entirely from walnut. It is 10 m wide and almost 7 m high. It was made between 1817 and 1824 by brothers Marko and Petar Filipovski and Makarie Frčkovski, a trio who are also responsible for the iconostasis at St. John Bigorvski Monastery in Mavrovo National Park. All three belong to the Macedonian Mijak minority, renowned for their engraving and painting skills. Divided into five horizontal zones, the iconostasis has only two registers of icons, also made by Mijak craftsmen, the largest of which were added in 1864. But it's the woodwork that really stands out. The double twisted columns supporting the various elements are carved from a single block of wood. The panels, meanwhile, are teeming with finely carved details: plant motifs, a fortified city, animals, monsters, human figures and more. Note the group of three men representing the three craftsmen working the wood, tools in hand. Or the biblical scene of Herod's feast, in which Salome dances in traditional Mijak costume to charm the King of Judea into delivering her the head of St. John the Baptist. Finally, the ceiling features frescoes dating from the ^17th century, rediscovered during restoration work in 1964.