ÉGLISE SAINT-GEORGES DE KURBINOVO

This Orthodox church (Црквата Свети Ѓорѓи/Crkvata Sveti Gorgi) houses some of the most precious frescoes in the Balkans. Built in the late ^12th century, it belonged to a monastery whose other buildings have disappeared. Its frescoes are dated 1191: an inscription on the apse indicates that the (anonymous) painters began work on April 25 of that year. They are, according to researchers, an "extreme culmination" of the great artistic movement of the Byzantine Comnenes dynasty (1081-1185), whose influence can be seen as far afield as the West.

Building. Situated on a flattened hill surrounded by trees, the church offers a beautiful panorama of Lake Prespa. It resembles a farmhouse, a rectangular building (17 x 7 m) built of stone and brick lintels, which was modified in the 1920s: a porch and wooden ceiling were added, and the south and north entrances were converted into windows. Under the porch remain ^12th-century frescoes: portraits of Saints George, Theodore and Demetrios on horseback, of the donors (an unidentified Byzantine noble couple), of Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angel (1185-1204) with his wife, and of Ohrid Archbishop John V Kamateros (1183-1216). Inside, the 5 m-high walls are covered with frescoes, with the exception of some lost sections, notably on the west wall and on the upper areas. However, the church has no iconostasis or icons of any value.

The apse. The eastern wall, facing the main entrance, is adorned with the most important and best-preserved frescoes. The pediment, above the apsidal conch, features the Pentecost scene (revelation of the Holy Spirit): Christ in majesty - badly damaged - appears to the Mother of God, surrounded by the archangels Gabriel and Michael, and the apostles. The conch itself develops the theme of the Annunciation (the archangel Gabriel announcing to Mary her divine maternity): the Mother of God presents the infant Jesus as a symbol of the Lamb of God (sacrificial victim). She is again flanked by the archangels Gabriel (left) and Michael. This particularly famous depiction of Gabriel, nicknamed the "Angel of Kurbinovo", appears on 50-denar banknotes. On either side of the conch are Gabriel and Mary. Finally, the altar and side walls feature the Fathers of the Church, St. George, St. Erasmus, the evangelists St. Cyril and Methodius and their disciple St. Clement of Ohrid, St. Achilles of Larissa (patron of the Bulgarian Emperor Samuel) and the Catholic Pope Clement III (who tried to avoid schism with the Orthodox). In addition to its stylistic quality (supple bodies, rendering of drapery, etc.), this cycle contains exemplary elements both politically (Bulgarian heritage, relations with Rome) and iconographically, with the oldest fresco of St. Methodius and the only ^12th-century portrait of St. Clement of Ohrid. Finally, this is the first time in Byzantine iconography that the amnos (theme of the Lamb of God) is depicted in this way, surrounded by representatives of the Church, heaven and earth, a form that was later standardized.

South wall. To the right of the main entrance, the wall is decorated with the cycle of the Great Feasts (Nativity, Baptism of Christ, etc.). These include the double scene of the Visitation, at the corner with the east wall (apse): Mary, who has just learned that she is pregnant, goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth, herself pregnant by Saint John the Baptist. In the first scene, young Mary is reunited with Elizabeth, a tired old woman. They embrace and kiss. The second scene, partly deleted, illustrates the last three months of Elizabeth's pregnancy, during which the two women live together. The reunion scene is particularly moving. It illustrates the complicity of motherhood that unites the two cousins. Such an outpouring of emotion is uncommon in Christian art. In fact, it is one of the most striking scenes of the Visitation in Christian iconography. The theme of motherhood recurs in the lower area, near the door, with a rare scene: Mary as a child being suckled by her mother, Saint Anne.

Other frescoes. Around the main entrance, the western wall is richly decorated. The pediment is dominated by the Pantheon of Saints, incompletely preserved. This is also where the cycle of the Great Festivals, begun on the south wall, and the Passion on the north wall, come to an end. Among the most striking scenes are the Ascension, with Christ dispensing living waters (symbolizing the Holy Spirit and eternal life) surrounded by the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist, and the entry into Jerusalem, the Transfiguration (Christ reveals his divine nature to the apostles Peter, James and John), the Dormition of the Mother of God, the Last Judgment and the Theophany of the Ancient of Days (divine revelation of the coming of the Messiah) marked by the presence of cherubim, seraphim and angels. Also of note is Saint Marine stunning Beelzebub. On the north wall, scenes from the Crucifixion and Lamentations (Passion cycle) stand out, as does the large portrait of St. George, answering the portrait of Christ, symbol of Peace, on the south wall.