CHURCH OF THE MOTHER OF GOD-HODEGETRIA

In Serbo-Byzantine style, the Church of the Mother of God-Hodegetria (Црква Богородице Одигитрије/Crkva Bogorodice Odigitrije, Kisha e Virgjëreshës së Shenjtë në Hodegetri) is adjoined to the southern part (right) of the Church of the Holy Apostles. Like the narthex, completed shortly afterwards, it was commissioned by Archbishop Danilo II and erected between 1328 and 1335. It contains remarkable frescoes, generally well preserved, which were painted immediately after the building was erected. It was built in the late 19th century and is the only one of its kind in the world to have been built in the 19th century.

BuildingDesigned

as the mausoleum of Danilo II, the church was later used for the liturgy (mass) of the Greek monks of the monastery in the 18th century.

Name. The church is dedicated to the "Mother of God who shows the way". In the Orthodox tradition, Mary is most often called "Mother of God" (Theotokos in Greek, Bogorodica in Slavic languages). The epithet Hodegetria (or Odigitria) which is attached to her here comes from the Greek odigeo

which means "to lead" or "to guide". The church is so called because of a particular type of icon (sacred image) that it originally housed, which has now disappeared and been replaced by a more recent icon. According to tradition, the very first icon in the Hodegetria was painted by Luke, one of Christ's apostles, and brought to Constantinople in the 6th century. It showed Mary standing with the Child Jesus on her left arm. Considered miraculous, it was later copied and became one of the most revered representations of the Mother of God in the Christian East.

Architecture.

While this church corresponds to the church of St. Demetrios in its general form, its cruciform plan is more complex. The shape of the cross was created "artificially" by adding two side vaults in the first part of the naos. In the area of the dome, the naos thus seems to widen to form a transept corresponding to the arm of the cross. Finally, the western influence is seen in the two double windows in Gothic style that were added to the east and south walls shortly after the completion of the building.

Frescoes.

The interior is almost entirely covered with the original frescoes. These magnificent frescoes differ from the classicism of the Palaeologus style: the artists, anonymous masters from the Serbian royal court, seem to have wanted to break away from a certain formalism and concentrate on the emotion of the characters. Most of these works were produced before the death of their patron, Archbishop Danilo II, in 1337. Those in the lower parts were completed soon after that date. The whole decoration is mainly composed of a cycle of the life of the Mother of God, two cycles of the life of Christ (before and after the Passion) and another one dedicated to the twelve great Orthodox feasts.

First part of the naosThis

area is distinguished by the presence of the two side vaults, by its remarkable original frescoes and by the presence of the sumptuous sarcophagus of the patron, under the northern vault (left).

Sarcophagus of Danilo II.

This is the largest and best decorated sarcophagus in the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć. It houses the body of the archbishop who commissioned the church, the narthex and the Chapel of St. Nicholas. Made of pink marble immediately after the death of Danillo II (1337), it is richly sculpted, including the motif of the empty throne evoking the expectation of the return of Christ and the Last Judgement. The sarcophagus is surmounted by the portraits of three anargyre saints (who heal "without money"), St. Como, St. Damian and St. Pantaleon, and a very rare representation of the Mother of God (on a throne) feeding the poor and needy.

West wall - upper part.

This part is entirely dedicated to the Mother of God, to whom the church is dedicated. Her portrait in Hodegetria appears in the niche above the door. This is followed by a large scene of her dormition ("eternal sleep"). This is divided into two areas. In the lower area, while most of the apostles are on either side of the shroud, one of them, St. John, occupies a special place, not least because it was in his house that the Mother of God came to die. He bends over her body as if to receive her last words. Above him, Christ, surrounded by the archangels, holds a swaddled, winged infant in his hands, symbolising the soul of the Mother of God. In the upper area, the soul of the Mother of God rises in a medallion carried by three angels to paradise where a cherub awaits in a halo of white light. The Mother of God is surrounded by a strange "squadron" of thirteen clouds. These amazing vessels are each led by an angel. The passengers are the twelve apostles and the Mother of God herself. The latter appears on the right-hand side talking to an apostle with a youthful face. It is still St. John. Among the apostles, this one was the youngest and Christ's favourite.

West wall - lower part.

To the right of the doorway is a superb portrait of the Archangel Michael in his military garb as leader of the heavenly militia of angels of good. On the left is the fresco of the donation: Archbishop Danilo II holds the representation of the church and the narthex that he offers to the one whose name he borrowed when he took his vows as a monk, the prophet Daniel. Danilo II appears as a young tonsured monk without a prelate's habit. This apparent simplicity is contradicted by the blue of the cloak, a colour obtained by the use of lapis lazuli, the most expensive pigment of the Middle Ages, imported from Afghanistan and whose price per weight exceeded that of gold. The prophet Daniel is, as is often the case in Christian iconography (including in the West), dressed "Persian style", that is, with a Phrygian cap (here strangely drawn) and a short tunic.

Second part of the naos (transept)

The dome of the church is the lowest in the monastery and therefore the one whose frescoes are the easiest to observe. But don't miss the south (right) wing of the transept with its frescoes and the gold-covered proskynetarion. In the north wing, the frescoes have largely disappeared.

Dome. The upper part (dome) is occupied by a huge Christ Pantocrator ("almighty" in Greek). His head surrounded by a golden halo, he holds the Holy Scriptures and makes the benedictio graeca

to invite to eternal life. He is surrounded by the twelve apostles, and in the lower register (drum) by sixteen Old Testament prophets. The pendentives (triangular sections) are occupied by the evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Unusually, they are not accompanied by their usual attributes (scales, lion, etc.), but by angels symbolizing the wisdom of God. Between the evangelists are painted the Mandylion (a piece of cloth on which the image of Christ's face was miraculously printed during his lifetime), the Keramion (a sacred tile on which the image of the Mandylion was fixed) and two cherubs.

Proskynetarion.

Located to the right of the iconostasis, this magnificent "oratory" in carved wood and gilded with gold leaf dates from 1863. It was intended to house the famous icon, now disappeared (here replaced by a recent copy), which gave its name to the church. According to Serbian legend, the icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria was brought back from the Holy Land by Saint Sava at the beginning of the 13th century. The proskynetarion thus features a painting depicting Sava arriving in Peć with the precious icon to hand it over to his disciple and successor, Arsene I. A pure invention, since the icon of the Hodegetria disappeared from Constantinople in 1204 and St. Sava never set foot in Peć again after his departure for the Holy Land (he died in Bulgaria on his return journey).

South wall. The most beautiful fresco, at least the most touching one in the monastery, is the one on the right of the window. It belongs to the cycle of the life of the Mother of God and follows the nativity of the Mother of God shown on the left side of the window. It shows Mary as a baby being cuddled by her parents Joachim and Anne. It is a rare representation inspired by an apocryphal text, the Protevangile of

James. The father kisses his daughter's head, Mary puts a hand on her mother's neck who is leaning towards her. Behind them a young man symbolizing the author of the text (James the Just, often referred to as the "brother of Christ") observes this moment of family happiness and smiles. The upper part of the wall is occupied by a large scene of the presentation of Christ in the Temple. Below the window are the portraits of Saints Sergius and Bacchus of Rasafa (3rd century martyrs) and, further down, the portrait of Saint John the Baptist (on the left) followed by those of three holy hermits of the 4th-5th centuries, namely Sabas the Sanctified, Anthony the Great and Arsenius of Shete.

SanctuaryAccess

is forbidden to all but the clergy performing the liturgy. However, it is possible to see the frescoes of the upper parts of the altar and those of the prothesis located on the left of the iconostasis.

Iconostasis.

It dates from the 19th century. Except for two small marble columns, nothing remains of the 14th century partition. The icons themselves have been replaced by copies dating from 2007. The wooden chest to the left of the iconostasis contains the relics of Archbishop Sava III (1309-1316).

Altar.

The apse is decorated with a beautiful fresco of the Mother of God in majesty, also known as the "throne of wisdom". Mary appears seated on a throne. Surrounded by the archangels Michael and Gabriel, she herself is the "throne" on which the Christ child sits, symbolizing the wisdom of God. Above the altar, the vault is decorated with two episodes after the Passion: the ascension of Christ (left) and Pentecost (right, damaged), i.e. the descent of the Holy Spirit to the apostles forty days after the Crucifixion.

Prothesis. This very narrow room is reserved for the preparation of the divine liturgy, the equivalent of the Eucharist for Catholics. It is dedicated to Arsene I, successor of St. Sava and first archbishop of Peć (1233-1263). At the back, the eastern wall is decorated with the miraculous appearance of St. Peter of Alexandria (4th century) to Arsene I. The vault houses two other scenes from the life of the archbishop: his ordination by St. Sava and his dormition.