To picture and to perform . The image of the Eucharistic Liturgy at Markov Manastir ( II ) *

The themes in the sanctuary decoration at Markov Manastir (Christ Emmanuel, 
 Virgin Orans, Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles), whose peculiar 
 iconographic elements reveal the mysteries of the Holy Trinity and the 
 archpriesthood of Christ in the liturgical and theological context of the 
 fourteenth century, are discussed in this paper. The remains of the text in 
 the leitourgikon held by Christ the Archpriest have been re-examined. It 
 seems plausible to assume that the inscription or a part of it referred to 
 the opening dialogue of the anaphora. The iconographic peculiarities of 
 individual items carried in the Great Entrance procession, modelled according 
 to the structure of the archieratical Divine liturgy, have been reconsidered. 
 It has been established that the way in which the large aer was carried, and 
 its place in the procession escorting the Eucharistic gifts - which was very 
 close to the holy offerings - followed the iconographic tradition of the 
 Heavenly Liturgy in the dome, while the evidence for its shape and size can 
 be found in a somewhat later liturgical source - the Patriarchal liturgical 
 Diataxis of Dimitrios Gemistos. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike 
 Srbije, br. 177003: Medieval heritage of the Balkans: institutions and 
 culture]

The themes in the sanctuary decoration at Markov Manastir (Christ Emmanuel, Virgin Orans, Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles), whose peculiar iconographic elements reveal the mysteries of the Holy Trinity and the archpriesthood of Christ in the liturgical and theological context of the fourteenth century, are discussed in this paper.The remains of the text in the leitourgikon held by Christ the Archpriest have been re-examined.It seems plausible to assume that the inscription or a part of it referred to the opening dialogue of the anaphora.The iconographic peculiarities of individual items carried in the Great Entrance procession, modelled according to the structure of the archieratical Divine liturgy, have been reconsidered.It has been established that the way in which the large aër was carried, and its place in the procession escorting the Eucharistic gifts -which was very close to the holy offerings -followed the iconographic tradition of the Heavenly Liturgy in the dome, while the evidence for its shape and size can be found in a somewhat later liturgical source -the Patriarchal liturgical Diataxis of Dimitrios Gemistos.
Keywords: the church of St Demetrios at Markov Manastir, Great Entrance, Christ the Great Archpriest, aër, leitourgikon, iconography, Late Byzantine painting.

Christ as the Great Archpriest
In the fourteenth century, the role of Christ as a bishop was particularly highlighted in Eucharistic themes. 1 The impetus for this type of iconography came from the apostolic tradition2 and liturgical interpretations according to which the bishop, while performing the Eucharist, was an "image of Christ". 3 According to Symeon of Thessalonike, the symbolic manifestation of Christ is achieved not only through the bishop's ordination but also through the symbolism of his vestments. 4hrist's patriarchal attire is a novel iconographic feature that appeared in the Palaiologan period5 and it is believed to have been associated with the powerful influence of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the religious and political life of the Byzantine Empire at that time. 6he earliest image of Christ the Great Archpriest consecrating and blessing the Holy Gifts was designed in the sanctuary of Lesnovo (ca.1342), immediately below the Communion of the Apostles (fig.1). 7The image of same title in the previous issue of Zograf.In the meantime, several papers relevant to individual thematic segments that were dealt with in the first part have been published.For the Great Entrance in the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom based on more recent liturgical sources, v. R. F. Taft, S. Parenti, Storia della liturgia di s.Giovanni Crisostomo, volume II: Il Grande Ingresso, edizione italiana rivista, ampliata e aggiornata (AK 10), Grottaferrata 2014 (this book was inaccessible to us).The liturgical context of the aër and its relationship with the painted decoration of the sanctuary is discussed on the example of the Thessaloniki epitaphios by R. Betancourt, The Thessaloniki epitaphios: notes on use and context, Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies 55 (2015) 489-535.Kh.Andreev, Nadpisi s liturgien proizkhod ot oltarnoto prostranstvo na t͡ sŭrkvata "Sv.Pet"r" pri s.Berende, Palaeobulgarica/Starobŭlgaristika 39/2 (2015) 51-56 brings the inscription of the prayers of the offering of the holy gifts on the scroll of St Basil the Great in St Peter's church in the village of Berende (the second quarter of the fourteenth century); it is also an extension to the list of Bulgarian and Serbian ecclesiastical buildings in which this inscription can be found.** marka.tomic@gmail.com;marka.tomic@bi.sanu.ac.rs Christ the Great Archpriest would also become part of the scenes of the Heavenly Liturgy depicted in the sanctuaries of two churches in Mistra: the prothesis of the Virgin Peribleptos (1350-1380; fig.2) and the southeast chapel of St Sophia (1350 and 1365). 8At the same time, these were the earliest examples of the Heavenly Liturgy which include the image of Christ as the Great Archpriest. 9The liturgical 1, fig. 2. On the iconography of Christ as the Priest, which emerged in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, v. P. Kostovska, Ikonografskata predstava na Isus Hristos "Velik Arhijerej" vo vizantiskata umetnost od XI do XIV vek, Balkanoslavika 22-24 (1995-1997) 40-43; A. Lidov, Khristos-svi͡ ashchennik v ikonograficheskikh programmakh XI-XII vekov, Vizantiĭskiĭ vremennik 55 (1994) 187-192.For the representation of Christ the Great Archpriest in the Communion of the Apostles in the fourteenth century, v. Papamastorakēs, op.cit., 67; I. Đorđević,  Zidno slikarstvo srpske vlastele u doba Nemanjića, Beograd 1994, 138,  147, figs.14-15; V. J. Đurić, Ravanički živopis i liturgija, in: Manastir  Ravanica (1381-1981).Spomenica o šestoj stogodišnjici, Beograd 1981, 53-60, 62-64;T. Starodubcev, Pričešće apostola u Ravanici, Zograf 24 (1995) 54, n. 14;Kostovska, op. cit., 45-46. 8 For the dating of the Virgin Peribleptos v. G. Babić, Liturgijske teme na freskama u Bogorodičinoj crkvi u Peći, in: Arhiepiskop Danilo II i njegovo doba, Beograd 1991, 379.For the dating of St Sophia, v. M. Chatzidakis, Mystras.The medieval city and the castle, Athens 1985, 69.The depiction of the Heavenly Liturgy in both churches has been discussed by S. Dufrenne, Les programmes iconographiques des églises byzantines de Mistra, Paris 1970, draw.XVIIIa; M. Emmanuel, Some notes on the iconographic programmes of two Mystra churches: Peribleptos and Hagia Sophia, in: Drevnerusskoe iskusstvo.Khudozhestvenai͡ a zhizn' Pskova i iskusstvo pozdnevizantiĭskoĭ ėpokhi, Moskva 2008, 458-462, 466-467. 9 T. Starodubcev, Predstava Nebeske liturgije u kupoli -prilog proučavanju, in: Treća jugoslovenska konferencija vizantologa, Beograd -Kruševac 2002, 391, n. 38, draws our attention to the possibility that the earliest representation of the Heavenly Liturgy with Christ the Great Archpriest may be identified in the skete of St Peter of Koriša  (ca.1220?ca.1345?).With the exception of Ravanica, the poor state of preservation of the examples of the Heavenly Liturgy in the dome offers insufficient visual evidence for the identification of the figure standing by the Heavenly altar as Christ the Great Archpriest, cf.ibid., 393-397.During the fourteenth century, this iconographic theme was not limited only to monumental painting.Cf. panagiarion from Xeropotamou monastery, Mount Athos, v. I. Kalavrezou, Byzantine icons in steatite, Vienna 1985, I, 204-205; II, pl.64, no.131; Θησαυροὶ τοῦ Ἀγίου Ὄρους, Thessaloniki 1997, 324-325, no. 9. 5. idea of Christ as the bishop "who offers and is offered" 10 is fully embodied in the sanctuary of the church of the Virgin in Modrište in Macedonia (1360-1380).Christ, as the ideal priest dressed in a festive sakkos, is depicted in the second register in the sanctuary as serving the Holy Liturgy over Christ the sacrificial Lamb, while the most prominent bishops of the Church are con-celebrating. 11A very interesting example of this theme was painted in the late fourteenth century in the church of St Stephen at Soleto (Salento, Apulia), where the sanctuary apse features an image of Σοφία ο λόγος του Θεοῦ blessing the Holy Gifts. 12In the iconographic programme of this south Italian church, the symbolic representation of the Divine Wisdom as Christ the Pre-Eternal Logos, which was at that time typical of the Balkans, was endowed with an explicitly Eucharistic meaning. 13The clerical character of Christ Emmanuel is indicated by the motif of epitrachelion, decorated and crossed on the chest according to the Latin tradition. 14Although it is symbolic in character, the image of Christ serving the liturgy in front of the Old Testament tabernacle in the sanctuary of the church of the Transfiguration in the monastery of Zarzma in Georgia (midfourteenth century), clearly shows the fourteenth-century iconographic tendency to highlight those elements of the image of Christ which identify Him as a bishop. 15he group of scenes that are thematically closest to the fresco in Markov Manastir certainly include the Great Entrance in the monastery of St Phanourios at Valsamonero on Crete, painted in the apse of the narthex, i.e. the chapel dedicated to the monastery's patron saint (1431; fig.3). 16This is the only depiction of the Great Entrance 11 S. Cvetkovski, Crkva Svete Bogorodice u selu Modrištu, Zograf 35 (2011) 199-203, draw.3, fig.5-7.  1M. Berger, Le peintures de l' abside de S. Stefano à Soleto: Une illustration de l' anaphore en Terre de Otrante à la fin du XIV e siècle, Mélanges de l'École française de Rome, Moyen Age, Temps Modernes, 94/1 (1982) 124-134, fig. 1. 13 Berger,op. cit.,134,162 has suggested that Historia Ecclesiastica, a widespread collection of liturgical commentaries by Germanos, the eighth-century Patriarch of Constantinople, provided a source for visual representations.For the Eucharistic meaning of the image of Logos the Wisdom of God in the sanctuary, v. I. Đorđević, Darovi Svetog duha u proskomidiji Bogorodičine crkve u Morači, in: idem, Studije srpske srednjovekovne umetnosti, Beograd 2008, 193-194, 197-198.  1Berger,op. cit.,[132][133][134]L. M. Evseeva, Dve simvolicheskie kompozit͡ sii v rospisi XIV v. monastyri͡ a Zarzma, Vizantiĭskiĭ vremenik 43 (1982) 134-146. 16 M. Chtzēdаkēs, Τοιχογραφίες στὴν Κρήτη, Krētika Chronika 6 (1952) 72-75; K. D. Kalokyrēs, Αι Βυζαντιναί τοιχογραφίαι της Κρήτης, Athens 1957, 97; K. Gallas, K. Wessel, M. Borboudakis, By-which incorporates the image of Christ the Great Archpriest.Dressed in a festive patriarchal sakkos, Christ is greeting a single angelic procession of deacons and priests bringing the Holy Gifts in front of the altar; his right hand is raised in blessing, while the left holds a leitourgikon. 17he depiction of Christ the Great Archpriest greeting the Holy Gifts in the Pantanassa in Mistra should also be mentioned as an example, though it dates from the seventeenth century. 18imilar liturgical role is fulfilled by Christ the Great Archpriest in the sanctuary apse in Markov Manastir (fig.4).The represented moment of the liturgy is precisely defined by the text inscribed on the open leitourgikon (figs.5 and 6).Its poor state of preservation does not allow for an easy identification, though some fragments can still be considered a reliable hint.The fragment of the word at the end of the first line on the leitourgikon's second page, "..esti..", is such an example (figs.5 and 6).It corresponds to the word pri;estiE from the Trinitarian greeting of the celebrant: bl(a)g(o)d(y)tq g(ospod)a b(og)a na[ego J(s) ou(sa) h(ri)s(t)a i l}bvi b(og)a i wca i pri;estiE s(ve)t(a) go d(ou)ha.boudi sq vsymi vami.(The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all). 19This liturgizantinisches Kreta, Munich 1983, 62, 118, 126-127, 139, 143, 262, 280,  313-321, 394, 397, 410, figs.95, 110-111, 275-281; M. Bissinger, Kreta.Byzantinische Wandmalerei, Munich 1995, 122, 181, 231.  1I.Spatharakis, Representations of the Great Entrance in Crete, in: idem, Studies in Byzantine manuscript illumination and iconography, London 1996, 300-301. 18 It has already been suggested that the seventeenth century frescoes repeated the programme of the fifteenth century mural decoration, cf.M. Aspra-Vardavakē, M. Emmanouēl, Η Μονή της Παντάνασσας στον Μυστρά, Athens 2005, 63, fig. 23. 19 Cited after a fourteenth century leitourgikon from Dečani, No. 123 (1395), fol.54b.Cf. also Dečani, No. 124 (late fourteenth century), fol.13a; Dečani, No. 125 (late fourteenth century), fol.29b.The digitized copies of the mentioned manuscripts are held by the Department of Archaeography of the National Library of Serbia.V. also other Serbian fourteenth century liturgical manuscripts containing this prayer: Serbian Liturgical Scroll of Hilandar (No. 3/II, Т 708), Serbian Service book No. 315, Т376) and Ćorović 7 (University Library in Belgrade), published in: A. Jevtić, Hristos nova Pasha: Božanstvena liturgija, I, Beograd-Trebinje 2007, 439, 457, 462, 476.The opening dialogue of the anaphora can also be found in a Serbian liturgical source that belongs to an older pre-Philothean liturgical tradition; this is namely the Sinaitic manuscript Sin.Slav.40/ 0+N (the second half of the fourteenth century), v. N. Glibetić, The oldest Sinai sources of the Byzantine  Hence, this is a formula of blessing which is used to "invoke all three persons of the Holy Trinity for various reasons: God the Son for blessing, God the Father for love, the Holy Spirit for the Communion" and to prepare the hearts of the faithful for the upcoming consecration of the Holy Gifts. 22The opening greeting is one of the Eucharistic formulae in the Byzantine patriarchal and archieratical Divine liturgy. 23The patriarch utters it loudly, giving the blessing to the congregation. 24The same rule can be found in the rubric of Serbian arkhieratika (činovnik). 25If the suggested reconstruction of the inscription is correct, we are dealing with a unique example of the initial anaphora blessing in Serbian and Byzantine wall painting. 26Another similar example from the second half of the fifteenth century is known.The collective response closing the dialogue before the anaphora (dostoino i pravedno e%st&) 27 is written out on the scroll of St Peter of Alexandria (who appears in two scenes: the Vision of St  II, Euchologion, Kiev 1901, 312. 25 V. Dečani No. 126, fol. 82 recto-verso. 26 Unlike the early Byzantine and modern periods, the rubrics in numerous Byzantine liturgical manuscripts, with the exception of the rule for the utterance of the blessing (ἐκφώνησις), do not highlight the instruction according to which the celebrant is to turn towards the west and give the blessing to the congregation, v. Taft, The Dialogue before the Anaphora I, 304-305.According to the Serbian leitourgikon of Dečani, No. 125 (fol.29b, 30a), the priest was to bow after the first dialogue of the anaphora prayer, while standing next to the altar (W stranQ s (ve)tQE trapezQ poklan]Et se).Cf.Mirković, op.cit., 91.  2R. Taft, The dialogue before the Anaphora in the Byzantine eucharistic liturgy.III: "Let us give thanks to the Lord-it is fitting and right", OCP 55 (1989) 64-66, 69-73.Peter of Alexandria and the Melismos) in the church of St Demetrios in the Boboshevo monastery in Bulgaria. 28he painters of Markov Manastir could have found a close iconographic (though not thematic) parallel -an image of Christ as the Great Archpriest who blesses and consecrates the Holy Gifts -in the nearby monastery of Lesnovo (fig.1). 29As the meaning of the priest's blessing is associated with the involvement of the Holy Spirit in the consecration of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, it is possible to establish a relationship between this scene and those which depict the moment of the epiclesis. 30It is, therefore, important to note that in Markov Manastir the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, as a festive scene traditionally charged with Eucharistic liturgical meaning, was placed above the Holy Table , i.e. on the southern section of the sanctuary vault. 31n order to fully understand the conceptual and thematic programme of the sanctuary apse it is important to draw attention to the following fact: the unique text of the blessing with the invocation of each person of the Holy Trinity that may be inscribed on the leitourgikon held by Christ the Great Archpriest, as well as the rarely depicted motif of a dove in a segment of heaven in the Descent of the Holy Spirit, which is a condensed iconographic symbol for the Holy Trinity, are pictorial and verbal references to the mystery of the Holy Trinity in the theological and 28 My attention was drawn to this example by the colleague Hristo Andreev, to whom I extend my gratitude.For the inscription and its liturgical source, v. Кh.Andreev, Addenda et corrigenda kŭm prouchavanii͠ ata na tri kirilski nadpisa ot Dragalevskii͠ a manastir "Sv.Bogorodica Vitoshka" i Poganovskii͠ a manastir "Sv.Ĭovan Bogoslov", Palaeobulgarica/Starobŭgaristika 37 (2013) 32-33. 29Gabelić, Lesnovo, 67-68.On the role of a priestly blessing in the Eucharistic consecration in the liturgical commentaries of Symeon of Thessalonike, v. PG 155, 736-737.Note that the epiclesis could be represented through different iconographic forms, as an angel-priest carrying the paten and the chalice; surrounded by angel-deacons with rhipidia in the composition of the Great Entrance.Such examples, dated to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries can be found in several churches on the Peloponnesus and Crete:  2009, 192-193 sees an anti-Latin element in the aforementioned iconography, rooted in the distinctions between the Byzantine and Latin Eucharistic rite, which has not implied the Invocation of the Holy Spirit during the consecration of the Holy Gifts.The iconographic reference to the invocation of the Holy Spirit during the epiclesis can be found in the sanctuary of Peribleptos in Mistra, where the Ancient of Days with the representation of the Holy Spirit overhangs the image of Christ as the Great Archpriest in the Heavenly Liturgy, cf.Emmanuel, Some notes, 458. 30 liturgical context of the fourteenth century. 32Based on the theological decision of the Council of 1156/1157 that the entire Trinity -the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, receives the sacrifice of the Eucharist,33 the Palamite theology describes the being of God as the triad essencehypostasis-energy. 34According to St Gregory Palamas, "the energies originate in the divine nature, but the divine nature is three-hypostatic and the energy manifests itself always personally: From the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit". 35n conclusion it must be said that although se veral arguments based on the iconographic and programmatic features of the sanctuary support the suggested reconstruction of the inscription, the preserved fragments of individual letters and words on the first page of the leitourgikon do not allow to accept it with certainity.In other words, it is impossible to reliably know whether the depiction of Christ the Archpriest accompanied with an appropriate inscription on the leitourgikon represents merely the moment of greeting and blessing the processions with the Eucharistic gifts or it also suggests the opening dialogue of the anaphora, one of the Eucharistic formulae that followed in the sequence of the presbyteral and pontifical liturgy.

***
Painted in the sanctuary, the Eucharistic themes related to Christ the Great Archpriest rendered in fresco were primarily intended for the clergy.Therefore, it is important to mention the example of liturgical clothscatapetasma of the nun Jefimija of Hilandar (1399) whose iconographic content conveys the ritual of the Divine Liturgy, which takes place in the sanctuary. 36The curtain in the Royal Doors with the figure of Christ, dressed in the patriarchal sakkos and surrounded with St Basil the Great and St John Chrysostom as concelebrants, whose scrolls feature prayers related to the Holy Eucharist, unites the image of Christ as the Great Archpriest and High Priest with the representation of the officiating bishops. 37Nevertheless, the example of the catapetasma of the nun Jefimija, whose liturgical function was related to the liturgical practice of an Athonite monastic community, reveals an analogy between the fresco and the liturgical cloth.The learned commissioners of the fresco programme in the church of St Demetrios in Markov Manastir must have been aware of the strong impression made on all those present in the church by the figure of Christ the Great Archpriest, visible through the open Royal Doors during the Cherubic Hymn.The theological idea of a bishop as an 'icon' of Christ would become visually highlighted during the Great Entrance, when the celebrant, with a chalice in his hands, stood in front of the Royal Doors facing the believers.The religious feelings of the congregation were anticipated and intensified by making the central section of the painted decoration of the sanctuary's first register partially visible only in selected moments during the Holy Eucharist.By unifying the Heavenly and Earthly Great Entrance in Markov Manastir, the eschatological dimension of the Holy Eucharist, which is performed simultaneously in the historical moment and the eternal Kingdom of God, is visually highlighted. 38Still, one should also remember that, though liturgical rubrics prescribe the closing of the Royal Doors after the Great Entrance, the text inscribed on the painted leitourgikon corresponds to the opening dialogue of the anaphora, which consists of the celebrant's greetings and the responses of the laity.Hence, though the celebrant was visually inaccessible to belie vers, the connection between them was achieved through the laity's vocal participation in the liturgy.By establishing a spatial and visual barrier, the altar screen augments the effect of liturgical text during the Eucharistic rite. 3938 Cf. the same issue discussed on the example of Western altar screens, v. Ј. Е. Jung, Seeing through screens.The gothic choir enclosure as frame, in: Threshold of the sacred.Architectural, art-historical, liturgical and theological perspectives on religious screens, East and West, ed. S. E. J. Gerstel, Washington 2006, 185-214. 39 Cf. ibid., 193.

Christ the Great Archpriest and the painted decoration of the sanctuary: Christ Emmanuel and the Virgin
The theological idea of Christ as an archpriest was also expressed through the vertical arrangement of scenes in the painted decoration of the sanctuary apse. 40The images of Christ Emmanuel, the Virgin and the Communion of the Apostles are united in a conceptually and thematically harmonious whole with the iconographic ensemble in the lowest register of the sanctuary, the central section of which is occupied by Christ the Great Archpriest.In the iconographic programme of the apse, Christ's archpriesthood was highlighted through the reminiscence of the Saviour's Incarnation and the act of instituting the Eucharist. 41The two forms of the Communion of the Apostles in the central register of the apse do not significantly depart from the usual iconographic scheme of the scene in Palaiologan art.However, the same does not apply to the depictions of Christ Emmanuel and the Holy Virgin.The semi-dome of the sanctuary apse is adorned with the bust of Christ Emmanuel in a segment of heaven and, below it, the standing figure of the Virgin Orans, Μ(ΗΤ) ΗΡ, between the archangels Michael, Ο ΑΡΧ(ΑΓΓΕΛ) ΜΗΧ(ΑΗΛ), and Gabriel (fig.7). 42The Infant God is depicted against the blue background representing the sky, blessing with his both hands.The most interesting detail in the image of Christ Emmanuel is his robe: a light-coloured, almost white tunic with golden yellow trimmings around the neck and on the sleeves; the shoulders are adorned with straps of the same colour whose ends form a belt below the chest. 43he white vestment of the Infant God bears reference to Christ's death and entombment.This detail in the iconography of Christ symbolizes the shroud (sindon) in 40 On this aspect of the monumental painted decoration in the second half of the fourteenth century, cf.Đurić, Ravanički živopis i liturgija, 62, n. 61.
41 Markov manastir, Sveti Dimitrija: crteži na freski, Skopje 2012, 6-7.Cf.Vojvodić,O likovima starozavetnih prvosveštenika,136,138. 42 Markov manastir, Sveti Dimitrija: crteži na freski, 6.A similar arrangement can be observed in Gračanica, v. B. Todić, Gračanica, Slikarstvo, Beograd-Priština 1988, 80, figs. 31, 32. 43 The infant Christ is dressed in a peculiar white garment in several  which his body was wrapped for the entombment. 44The same idea is expressed by the troparion The noble Joseph, performed at the liturgy after the Great Entrance, while placing the Holy Gifts upon the altar. 45In his description of the pontifical consecration of a church, Symeon, archbishop of Thessalonike (1416/1417-1429) paid a special attention to the design and symbolism of the bishop's vestments for that occasion. 46According to his interpretation, vestments made of white linen reflect the shroud in which Christ was wrapped for the entombment, whereas the bishop's walk to the Holy Table symbolically represents Christ's burial. 47Three straps are wrapped around the shroud -two over the shoulders and a third below the chest, in honour and glory of the Holy Trinity. 48In previous research, the commentary of Symeon of Thessalonike on liturgical rules in the Byzantine church has been considered a reliable source for the interpretation of the mentioned elements of Christ's vestments as signs of his "high priestly" nature. 49Furthermore, the meaning of the specific iconography of Christ draws attention to another aspect of mystagogical interpretations of the Great Entrance, related to its funerary symbolism. 50Relying on an approach based on the comparison of the liturgy with events from the life of Jesus Christ, liturgists associated the transfer of the Holy Gifts from the prothesis into the sanctuary with the Passion of Christ -the Entry into Jerusalem and the road to Golgotha, which ended by laying the Holy Gifts upon the Holy Table -Christ's entombment. 51ccording to the common iconographic practice, Christ Emmanuel in the sanctuary was to be depicted dressed in a chiton and a himation, with a clavus on the right shoulder, no matter whether the Infant God was shown as a bust or was accompanied by the Virgin.The iconographic tradition of the seat of the Ohrid Arch- 44 Todić, Anapeson.154-155. 45  Byzantium and beyond, Aldershot 1996, 90, n. 83; idem, The liturgy of the Great Church.An initial synthesis of structure and interpretation on the eve of Iconoclasm, DOP 34-35 (1980-1981)  55, 62-66, 72-75.The explicit reference to funeral symbolism is evident in the fresco of the Great Entrance at the Virgin Peribleptos, Mistra, which bears the inscription of the hymn sung during the Great Entrance on the Holy Saturday, cf.Emmanuel, Some notes, 462.bishopric stands out from the common practice.In the programme of the sanctuary at the cathedral of St Sophia (1037-1056), the idea of Christ as an archpriest is expressed through a befitting image of Christ Emmanuel dressed in the shroud wrapped with straps and incorporated into a depiction of the Enthroned Virgin Mary with the Christ Child. 52This specific iconographic component played an important role in the shaping of the considerably later pictorial programme of the sanctuary at the church of the Virgin of the Hospital (Bogorodica Bolnička) in Ohrid (ca.1368).Christ Emmanuel in a medallion on the breasts of the Virgin Mary, shown as a bust-figure in the conch of the apse, has a white tunic with a border around the neck and straps on the shoulders and below the chest (fig.8). 53In this iconographic embodiment of the Infant God, one can observe the closest analogy to the image of Christ in Markov Manastir.The observed similarities between the two frescoes are further supported by the research of Vojislav Djurić and Gojko Subotić, which shows that the painter of the older layer of frescoes in the church of the Virgin of the Hospital later took part in painting the church of St Demetrios at Markov Manastir. 54This rare iconography of the Infant God was repeated by the sixteenth-century painter Onouphrios in the Prilep region, in two frescoes of the Virgin "Wider than the Heavens" with Christ Emmanuel in a medallion painted in the conchs of the sanctuary apses in the churches of the Transfiguration and St Nicholas at the monastery Zrze (fig.9). 55Two interesting examples of Christ Emmanuel dressed in a white tunic with straps across the chest and around the waist can be found in the church of the Holy Trinity at Sopoćani (1264/1265).The infant God, placed in a medallion on the breasts of the half-length figure of the Holy Virgin at the top of the niche in the east wall of the prothesis, wears a sakkos over a white tunic with an ornament on each sleeve and; the sleeves of the sakkos are trimmed with pale ochre fabric adorned with dark red tendril-like ornaments.Over the sakkos, red straps are wrapped along the shoulders and they most probably form a belt below Christ's chest (fig.10).This peculiar iconographic detail was probably intended to highlight the theological idea of Christ as the High Priest. 56A similar conceptual and thematic ensemble was painted at Sopoćani, in the niche in the east wall of the chapel of St Simeon Nemanja.It includes a half-length figure of the Virgin of the Sign, and, underneath, a depiction of Christ as the sacrificial Lamb surrounded by angel-deacons.Christ Emmanuel in a medallion on the breasts of the Virgin Mary wears an ochre tunic with red straps on the shoulders which are probably wrapped as a belt below the chest. 57In a slightly later example, showing the Virgin with a bust of Christ Emmanuel in an unusual cup, painted in the apse of the church of St Alypius in Kastoria (1420s), the episcopal attire of the Infant God bears a direct reference to the archpriesthood of the Incarnate Son of God.Symeon of Thessalonike's text on the ritual of the consecration of a church further prescribes that a bishop should cover his hands with cloth -like cuffs united with the shroud: Καὶ ἐν ταῖς χερςὶ δὲ ὁμοίως.μανδύλια περιτίθεται, ὡς μανίκια ἡνωμένα τῆ σινδόνι. 59The border on the ends of the sleeves of Christ Emmanuel in the semi-dome of the apse at Markov Manastir corresponds to the cloth -cuffs described by Archbishop Symeon.This detail is not common in the iconography of the Infant God dressed in a white tunic, but it is not very rare, either. 60This element of Christ's vestment could also be compared to loria, i.e. the bands at the end of the sleeves of the sticharion, symbolizing the fetters that bound Christ in his Passion. 61eneath the image of Christ Emmanuel, there is a monumental figure of the Virgin praying (fig.7). 62On the right side of her halo there is a red medallion, which is a typical way of framing customary sigla of the Mother of God. 63A same medallion must have been depicted on the left wall, which is now damaged.Under her feet, traces of a purple suppedion can be observed, overpainted with a wooden pedestal.She has a blue robe with ochre stripes and a red maphorion.Before proceeding to an analysis of the image, we will briefly present some observations concerning its present state of preservation, which has not been a subject of scholarly attention.Several elements are noteworthy: the white circle next to Christ's hands and on the right side of his halo, a white stain formed by the irregular quadrangular shape on the right side of the Virgin's halo which resembles a white cloth, as well as the 59 PG 155, 309C. 60The cuff band can be found in the aforesaid representation of the Virgin with the Child in the niche of the prothesis at Sopoćani, cf.Tatić Ikona Bogorodice Znamenja,18,fig. 7;cf. Đurić,Sopoćani,134. 61 For the interpretations of Patriarch Germanos and Symeon of Thessalonike,v. Woodfin,Embodied icon,15,n. 42. 62 On the popularity of this iconographic type of the Virgin Mary in the sanctuary programmes of Late Byzantine monumental decoration, v. R. Ousterhout, The Virgin of the Chora.An image and its contents, in: The sacred image: East and West, eds.L. Brubaker, R. Ousterhout, Urbana 1995, 91-109. 63 View the representations of the Virgin in the apses of tree fourteenth-century churches in the territory of the Ohrid Archbishopric: the Virgin of the Hospital, Ohrid;  unusual arrangement of colours on her clothes.The blue colour of the dress extends over a half of the back side of the red maphorion, and, in the upper section, on the surface of the fabric between the neck and the waist, making it difficult to distinguish the boundaries of the two garments.Furthermore, it is observed that the blue colour on the maphorion extends with the same width and significantly lesser intensity on both sides of the dress, falling on the suppedion.One gets the impression that the described blue surfaces belong to the same entity. Acordingly, the image of the Virgin Mary in the apse must have originally been different.The figure of the Virgin certainly extended up to the top of the conch, as evidenced by the preserved remains of her original halo and two medallions with the sigla around the halo and the hands of Christ Emmanuel.
Parts of dress from the original image of the Virgin Mary -a white handkerchief on the right side of the new halo and a part of the red maphorion with fringes below her arms and next to the wings of both archangels -resurfaced over the new fresco layer.The artists most probably painted the new scene in the secco technique, and that was the reason why the original layer resurfaced over time. 64This also explains the vague colour transitions in the dress of the Virgin, where the blue colour of her robe in the original image prevails on a great part of the surface occupied by the red maphorion on the new layer.Accordingly, based on the fresco's present state of preservation, it may be concluded that the original concept of painted decoration in the conch of the apse included a monumental figure of the Virgin Orans, standing on a purple suppedion.The traces of the original maphorion show that it reached the half height of the bowing archangels' halos, which suggests two possibilities.First, it may be assumed that the adorant archangels were not foreseen in the original concept of the scene because the outstretched maphorion did not leave enough space in the conch of the apse for another two figures to be depicted.However, it is indeed possible that the archangels accompanied the Virgin in the original painting; in that case, their heads and the front part of the body must have covered a part of her maphorion.We may assume that the dimensions of the Virgin Mary's figure were the main reason why the original, iconographically rather common solution of the apse scene was given up.This concept resulted in a huge scene extending too high, whose proportions were in discord with the size relations among individual figures and scenes in the sanctuary.In order to mitigate this, the painter may have subsequently decided to place a halflength figure of Christ Emmanuel in the semi-dome of the apse, thereby shortening the space available for the new figure of the Virgin.
In some rare details of dress, this image departs from common depictions of the Virgin Mary in the sanctuary apse.The lower part of her dress is adorned with a rare motif of three vertical golden yellow stripes.They are placed in the middle and on the edges of her dress, extending from the waist to the bottom hem.1914, 19, 25, 32, 35, 64-67, 86-90, 170, 177, 191, figs.5, 9-14, 46, 49,   this is an element that does not belong to the usual set of motifs associated with depictions of the Virgin in the apse, the painters of Markov Manastir could have relied on earlier examples that show this interesting iconographic detail, such as the fresco showing the Virgin with Christ, Archbishop Danilo II and St Nicholas on the western facade of the church of the Virgin Hodegetria at the Patriarchate of Peć; 66 or the Virgin in the conch of the apse in Lesnovo. 67The painter of Markov Manastir employed the same iconography in one of his earlier works -the depiction of the Virgin in the apse of the church of St George at Rečica near Ohrid. 68The mentioned motif of the Virgin Mary's dress highlights the episcopal insignia known as the potamoi (ποταμοί, 'rivers'). 69In bishop's attire, this ornament symbolizes the blessing of God. 70In the work of the Late Byzantine liturgist Symeon of Thessalonike, the symbolism of these 'rivers of blessing' is rooted in the words from the Gospel (Jn 7:38) "Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them." 71 In the context of the programmatic and iconographic concept of the sanctuary at Markov Manastir it is noteworthy that this extract from John's Gospel was read on the feast of Pentecost. 72As we learn from the typikon of the Serbian Archbishop Nikodim (1319), the Homily of St. John Chrysostom which contains the interpretation of the "river of the Water of Life", was also read during the Matins of the same feast. 73A detailed interpretation of the liturgical insignia in the dress of the Virgin Mary is offered by Vesna Milanović, 74 who rightly emphasizes the importance of pneumatological and Christological aspects, or the association between the symbolism of Christ's blood and the Holy Spirit. 75There is yet another iconographic detail which deepens the Eucharistic mean- 59, 60, 63, 67, 68, 70, 94-95, 97-98, 100, 103, 107, pl.I, has already drawn attention to the images of the Mother of God which contain the motif of the vertical bands on her tunic and date from the period before the Iconoclasm. 66Milanović, O fresci na ulazu u Bogorodičinu crkvu, 144, 160, fig. 1. 67 Gabelić, Lesnovo, 66, fig.13. 68 Grozdanov, Subotić, Crkva svetog Đorđa u Rečici, 74. 69Ornamental vertical bands (clavi) appeared already in secular tunics of late antiquity.According to abundant liturgical sources, since the twelfth century, these ornamental stripes (potamoi) were strictly associated with episcopal vestments.V. T. Papas, Liturgische Gewänder, in: RbK, V, Stuttgart 1993, 744; V. J. Djurić, Les docteurs de l'Église, in: Ευφρόσυνον, Αφιέρωμα στον Μανόλη Χατζιδάκη, I, Athens 1991, 133; Woodfin, Embodied icon, 15.
ing of the image of the Virgin.The white handkerchief, 76 stuck at the waist on the right side of the Virgin's robe, may be interpreted as the encheirion, a towel carried at the waist by the clergy during the liturgy and used to wipe the hands. 77During the further development, this ecclesiastical insignia took the form of the epigonation.It symbolizes the lention -a linen cloth wrapped around Christ's waist at the Last Supper when washing the disciples' feet.In the surviving written sources, the encheirion and epigonation are mentioned as episcopal insignia. 78The symbolism and the function of the towel stuck at the Virgin's waist highlight the Mother of God's relationship with both the historical New Testament sacrifice and the liturgical, Eucharistic sacrifice. 79hrough the language of iconography, the symbolism related to rituals performed by the clergy unites the images of Christ Emmanuel in the conch of the apse and Christ the archpriest in the lowest register. 80The Eucharistic and ecclesiological symbolism of these peculiar details of the Virgin's dress, which highlights the idea of the Virgin as a symbol of the Church, also confirms that various elements in the sanctuary apse of Markov Manastir 79 Very few eleventh and twelfth century depictions of this white linen cloth in Eucharistic themes have come down to us.The most distinctive iconographic feature of the icon from Mount Sinai showing the Communion of the Apostles is the handkerchief in Christ's hands, while in the church of the Virgin Forbiotissa, Assinou, Cyprus, the handkerchief is laid on the Holy Table .The same white linen cloth is also depicted on the Holy are mutually related within a common thematic framework. 81The comparison between the Mother of God and the Church and the theme of receiving the blessing of Christ's archpriesthood was expressed through metaphors in hymnography and homiletic poetry dedicated to the Virgin Mary.For example, Epiphanius of Cyprus referred to Theotokos as "the priest and the altar at the same time, who offers to us Christ the bread of heaven for the redemption of sins." 82 The words of Patriarch Tarasios ( † 806), who called the Holy Virgin "the ministrant of the Archpriest", belong to the same liturgical context. 83eorge of Nikomedeia used a poetical motif: "Temple of God, she enters the temple" to refer to Mary as a temple. 84he sermons of John of Damascus and Andrew of Crete offer an interesting perspective for the analysis of the meaning of the figure of the Virgin in the apse of Markov Manastir.They describe Mary as a link between the priestly lineage of Israel and the priesthood of her Son. 85he meaning of the discussed iconographic themes in the sanctuary, which is rooted in the ecclesiological postulates and Eucharistic theology also, highlights the importance of the episcopal ministry.The iconographic content of the frescoes conveys the idea of bishops as the bearers of Chris's pontifical blessing.

Liturgical objects in the Great Entrance
The design, the way of handling and the place of the large ecclesiastical liturgical cloth carried by two concelebrants in the angelic procession of the Great Entrance on the south side of the sanctuary apse has been attracting the attention of researchers, raising numerous issues related to the iconographic and liturgical content of the scene (fig.11). 86The comparison with representations of 81 M. J. Milliner, The Virgin of the Passion.Development, dissemination, and afterlife of a Byzantine icon type, Princeton 2011 (unpublished PhD thesis), 115-129, explores the association of Mary and the Temple and the idea of Mary as a priest in several textual sources: Protoevangelium of James, the Gospel of Luke (2: 22-38) and the earliest Life of the Virgin.The author's observation also includes poetical motifs referring to Mary as a priest.For a discussion of the Eucharistic elements and priestly implications in the Byzantine iconography of the Mother of God, v. Lidov, Svi͡ ashchenstvo Bogomateri, 195-218.  8PG 43, col.497A. 83PG 98, col.1500B. 84PG 97, 803. 85PG 96, 669A (John of Damascus, Sermon one on the Nativity); PG 97, 812B (Andrew of Crete: Sermon one on the Nativity).Cf. also.Milliner,op. cit.,[124][125]The identification of the large liturgical veil has been a matter of dispute. Itis on the basis of the Diataxis of Demetrios Gemistos that Lazar Mirković put forward the hypothesis that two angel-deacons are holding the omophorion, v. L. Mirković, Ž. Tatić, Markov manastir, Beograd 1925, 31-34, figs.34-37 Liturgical sources prescribe more than one way in which the aër is to be carried, depending on its size.The Diataxis of Philotheos Kokkinos describes a medium--sized aër that can be carried in two ways by a deacon in the procession of the Great Entrance.While preparing for the transfer of the Eucharistic gifts from the prothesis into the sanctuary, the priest puts the aër upon the deacon's left shoulder (τῷ ἀριστερῷ ὢμῳ τοῦ διακόνου).Further in the text it is indicated that the aër can also be laid across the Palaiologan and post-Byzantine periods, Bloomington 2009 (unpublished PhD thesis) 20-55. 88   The aërs on the back of angel-deacons in the church of St Nicholas in the monastery of Great Lavra (Mount Athos, 1560) and the katholikon of Dochiariou (Mount Athos, 1568) actually lie across their shoulders. 94Although they date from a later period, it is still possible that these frescoes reflect an older Athonite liturgical practice.A similar liturgical context may also be established for the preserved examples of Byzantine liturgical textiles, such as the Thessaloniki Epitaphios (ca.1300). 95The evidence that the aër could have been handled differently can be found in a fifteenth-century euchologion from the Great Lavra.According to it, the aër should hang from the forehead of the deacon to his back (ἀπὸ τοῦ μετώπου ἒως τῶν νώτων 92 P. N.  3) conforms to this scheme: the angel-deacon carries ripidia in his hands, while his head and shoulders are covered with a medium-sized red aër with an orange cross. 97As far as the size of the aër is concerned, the first depiction of a large aër carried by an angel-deacon above his head most probably appeared in Dečani in the Heavenly Great Entrance (fig.14). 98In this, somewhat more casual way of handling the aër, the textile covers the head of the deacon falling over his shoulders.
The design of the aër and the way of carrying it are illustrated in great detail on a fourteenth-century panagiarion from the Monastery of Xeropotamou on Mount Athos. 99Among the figures of concelebrant angels, who are placed in fields framed by arcades and are approaching Christ the Archpriest in front of the Holy Table in the procession of the Great Entrance, a frontally depicted figure of an angel-deacon with the aër stands out.The cloth spread out above his head wraps his shoulders and back, while he holds it at the edges. 100Similarly to the hands of the angel-deacon in Markov Manastir, his hands do not touch his face but are slightly detached from the body.In addition to similarities between the fresco in the Mrnjavčevićs' foundation and the elements of the image on the Athonite panagiarion, it is also possible to establish iconographic parallels with examples from Serbian churches.A comparison with the depiction in Dečani (fig.14) shows that the aër carried by the angel-deacon on the head actually has the same dimensions as the cover carried by two heavenly concelebrants in Markov Manastir (fig.11).This choice in the foundation of the Mrnjavčevićs could be explained by the painter's reliance on a specific form of rite or iconographic templates known and available to him.A slightly later example from nearby Ohrid shows that we are dealing with a local iconographic peculiarity.In the procession of the Great Entrance in the Heavenly Liturgy in the church of Sts Constantine and 96 Dmitrievskiĭ, Opisanie liturgicheskih rukopiseĭ, 610.For an English translation, v. D. E. Conomos, Byzantine trisagia and cheroubika of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.A study of late Byzantine liturgical chant, Thessaloniki 1974, 36. 97Spatharakis, Representations of the Great Entrance in Crete, 301, fig.12.The colour photograph of the fresco has been published in Ranoutsaki, Die Kunst, fig.120.The kalymmata that cover the patens on the heads of angel-deacons in the procession of the Great Entrance in the church of the Virgin Peribleptos at Mistra look the same, v. Spatharakis, op.cit.fig.16. 98 Marković, op.cit.The position of the angel-deacon in the Heavenly Great Entrance in the katholikon of Hilandar (ca.1321, retouched in 1803/1804) is such that it is impossible to determine whether he holds a holy vessel or grips the aër with his hands, v. W. T. Hostetter, In the heart of Hilandar.An interactive presentation of the frescoes in the main church of the Hilandar monastery on Mt.Athos, Tuskegee 1999 (CD-ROM).V. also M. Marković, The original paintings of the monastery's main church, in: Hilandar monastery, ed.G. Subotić, Belgrade  1998, 221-242.Betancourt, The Thessaloniki epitaphios, 515, interprets  this example as a transitional form from the medium-sized aër carried together with the holy vessels towards the expansive Great Aër. 99Kalavrezou, Byzantine icons in steatite, I, 204-205, II, pl.64,  no.131; Θησαυροὶ τοῦ Ἀγίου Ὄρους, 324-325, no. 9. 5. Cf.B. Miljković,  Srpski panagijar iz Vatopeda, Zograf 49 (2012) 358-359.On the uses of the panagiarion, v. I. Drpić, Notes on Byzantine panagiaria, Zograf 35 (2011) 51-62. 100Betancourt, The Thessaloniki epitaphios, 516-517.
Helen, two angel-deacons are carrying an aër without figural decoration in the same way as those in Markov Manastir (figs.15 and 16).101Nevertheless, unlike the example from Ohrid, which shows a proper way to carry an aër of large dimensions, in Markov Manastir we find an unclear detail.A part of the main celebrant's hand is depicted on the outer side of the aër.Such a position is not possible, having in mind that the fabric is shown falling over the shoulders and back of both angels.Liturgical sources, accompanied by selected visual evidence, show that over time, the aër increased in size, due to which the way in which it was carried changed.Once it became larger, the aër, which had previously been laid upon one or both deacon's shoulders, had to be carried on the head, and in some cases, it even had to be carried by two (or more) deacons above their heads.102However, this does not preclude the possibility that several different aërs and covers were used simultaneously.In the Heavenly Great Entrance in Dečani, one can see angel-deacons who carry aërs on the left shoulder, but also above their heads.The comprehensive and detailed depiction of several stages of the Great Entrance in the sanctuary of Markov Manastir confirms this liturgical practice.Bearing in mind that the final stage of the prothesis rite and the anticipation of the Great Entrance are shown in the prothesis of the katholikon, the cloth with non-figural decoration that covers the shoulders St Stephen the Protodeacon, who waves the censer over the body of the deceased Lord lying on the Holy Table, can be identified as an aër. 103Along with angel-deacons, the participants in the procession of the Great Entrance also include holy deacons -most probably St Lawrence and St Romanos the Melode, depicted in the niche of the diaconicon (fig.17). 104In addition to usual attributes (cross, artophorion, Based on the mentioned facts, it can be concluded that a large aër in Markov Manastir was painted respecting the ceremonial actions of the Patriarchal Eucharistic Liturgy.As opposed to the Diataxis of Philotheos Kokkinos and several other diataxeis related to the presbyteral liturgy, according to which the main celebrant alone takes the aër from the deacon's shoulder to cover the Eucharistic gifts with it, the corresponding rubric in the patriarchal and archieratical liturgical Diataxis of Dimitrios Gemistos (ca.1380) unambiguously refers to the large size of this liturgical cloth.It stipulates that all concelebrants, archpriests, priests and deacons shall take part in holding the aër, singing the troparion Noble Joseph, while the patriarch places chalices and patens on the Holy Table . 106

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Nevertheless, what makes it complicated to reach the final conclusion is the place given to the aër in the ceremonial procession of angels.The rules of the pontifical liturgy require that the deacons who carry the large aër with the image of Christ in the tomb on their heads be wavy.V. Lesnovo (cf.Gabelić, Lesnovo, fig.17 105 Cf.Betancourt, The Thessaloniki epitaphios, 511. 106Dmitrievskiĭ, Opisanie liturgicheskih rukopiseĭ, 310; Taft, The Great Entrance, 244, n. 122.located at the very rear of the procession because the paten and the chalice are covered with it only after they are laid upon the Holy Table . 107However, this rule was not always respected in the depictions of the Heavenly Liturgy and the celebrant angles who carried the large aër could occupy various places in the procession. 108It seems that an older iconographic tradition of the Great Entrance has a more important role in understanding the place of the large cover in the scene in Markov Manastir.An analysis of the complex type of the Heavenly Liturgy in the dome reveals certain regularities in the layout and order of the solemn procession, which artists generally followed. The group greeted by an angel-deacon with a censer, in front of the heavenly altar, is almost always headed by an angel waving ripidia, followed by those carrying aërs and the heavenly concelebrants with the Eucharistic gifts.The depictions of the strictly hierarchically ordered procession with the holy gifts in Gračanica (fig.12) and the church of the Virgin at the Patriarchate of Peć (fig.13) conform to this scheme. 109Aërs vary in size and shape.The fabric is most commonly red, often adorned with a cross; it may cover the shoulder and the arm of the angel-deacon in several ways (Gračanica, Peć), but it may also be placed upon the head and held with the hands (Dečani).Based on the presented evidence it may be concluded that the layout of the heavenly part of the Great Entrance in Markov Manastir followed well-known iconographic schemes.Similarly to somewhat earlier examples from the same century, the heavenly concelebrant with the paten on his head is shown behind the angels with ripidia, a candle and the aër. 110Examples that are consider- 107 Taft,op. cit.,[210][211][212][213]The angels carrying the aër with the image of dead Chist in Ramaća are in the middle of the procession, cf. Staodubcev, Predstava Nebeske liturgije u kupoli, 403; the author draws attention to the fact that this church, founded by a nobleman, was decorated by a group of local painters.Accordingly they may have not been familiar either with the artistic trends in the capital or with the solemn processions of the pontifical Divine Liturgy.In the aforementioned example, i.e. the church of Sts Constantine and Helena in Ohrid, the angels carrying the aër are depicted twice, in the middle and at the end of the procession, cf.Starodubcev,Predstava Nebeske liturgije u kupoli,[386][387] In sixteenth-century depictions of the Heavenly Liturgy, when it became common to place a large aër with an image of the deceased Christ at the end of the procession, the shoulders of the angel-deacons with candles or ripidia who headed the procession with the Eucharistic gifts were wrapped with a small aër adorned with the image of Christ in the grave. Suc examples can be seen in the Athonite frescoes from the katholikon of Dochiariou and the church of St Nicholas in the monastery of Great Lavra, v. Millet, Monuments  de l'Athos I, pls.118.2, 218.2, 219.3, 232.2. V. also   3), Christ, shown as a priest in front of the altar, is approached first by two angel-deacons with candlesticks, then by an angel-deacon with a white cloth across the left shoulder (most probably an omophorion) and ripidia in his hands, followed by another angel-deacon with a red aër on his head, who also holds ripidia.112 The aër is one of the objects that accompanied the Eucharistic gifts in the Great Entrance.Due to the need to adjust the iconographic pattern of the Heavenly liturgy to the space and the thematic framework of the lowest register in the sanctuary, the painters of Markov Manastir had to make certain departures from the model.These may be observed in the composition of the first group of heavenly concelebrants approaching Christ the Archpriest.The purpose of pla cing the angel-deacon with ripidia in the second plane was undoubtedly to emphasize the two figures holding a large aër above their heads.Bearing in mind that in the Late Byzantine period painting did not seek to illustrate ritual but to highlight its significance, we may assume that the intention behind depicting the large aër -which was regularly used in the pontifical liturgy since the fourteenth century, 113 in such a prominent place in the sanctuary apse was to duly emphasize its importance.
115 A chalice of a similar shape and size can be found in the scene of the Communion of the Apostles, e. g.Staro Nagoričino, St. Nikita near Skoplje.M. Lee Coulson, Old wine in new pitchers.Some thoughts on depictions of the chalice in the Communion of the apostles, was not uncommon among the objects that escorted the Holy Gifts in the iconography of the Heavenly Liturgy. 116t is carried by celebrant angels in major examples from the fourteenth century: panagiarion from the Monastery of Xeropotamou on Mount Athos, 117 frescoes from the Patriarchate of Peć, 118 Dečani 119 and Ravanica. 120The low base and two stems of the liturgical vessel closely correspond in shape to the krater, the vessel used for mixing water and wine. 121What prompts the attention is the content of the cup: three triangular particles of consecrated bread. 122It is observed that the particles are covered with semicircular lines in a very light shade of grey and red.We assume that they were meant to suggest that the cup was filled with the liquid consisting of water and wine (figs.18 and 19). 123The uncovered chalice was most probably intended to suggest another important issue of the liturgical Eucharistic practice: the zeon rite. 124According to the Diataxis of Philotheos Kokkinos, hot water infused with the Holy Spirit was added into the chalice during the prothesis rite and before the communion. 125he mixing of water and wine symbolizes the blood and water that flowed from Christ's wound and it demonstrates the Orthodox Church's doctrine of the incorruptibility of Christ's body. 126In this context it is very important to draw attention to an eleventh-century liturgical source which describes the rite in which water is mixed with wine before Communion (the zeon rite) according to the rules of the Great Church. 127Namely, in the manuscript Protheoria 36, it is explained that before the elevation of the Lamb, a small amount of warm water is poured into kraters (κρατῆρες) or chalices (ποτήρια) placed on the Holy Table. 128t seems that the scene in Markov Manastir was largely influenced by the interpretation of Nicholas Kabasilas, who stressed the ecclesiological and pneumatological symbolism of the zeon rite.The famous fourteenth-century Byzantine liturgist interpreted the practice of pouring hot water into the chalice as the Eucharistic Descent of the Holy Spirit. 129hree triangular particles cannot find an appropriate visual analogy.Along with them, several tiny particles of different shapes can be observed in the left half of the liturgical vessel (fig.18).Only two examples can be taken into consideration.The first example is a fragment of the complex liturgical composition depicted in the sanctuary of the aforementioned church of the Holy Trinity at Agia Trias, Crete; a few particles of bread can be seen in the chalice standing on the altar to the right of the paten (fig. Byzantium.Art and culture of the middle Byzantine era A. D. 843-1261,  eds.H. C. Evans, W. D. Wixom, New York 1997, 293, cat.no.197.For the hypothesis that the angel-priest holds a hydria, a water container, in his hands, v. Betancourt, The Thessaloniki epitaphios, 511. 122The unique representation of a triangular particle symbolising the Virgin placed on the paten to the left of the Amnos can be found in the church of Holy Trinity, Agia Trias, Rethymno, Crete, cf.Spatharakis, Byzantine wall paintings of Crete, I, 14, pl.1b, n. 14. 123 The old photo from the collection of the National Museum in Belgrade (Inv.No. 1629B) shows that there were more lines in the chalice.I owe my gratitute to my colleague Dubravka Preradović who willingly provided me with the photo and allowed me permission to publish it. 124On the henosis and the zeon in the Byzantine liturgical sources, v. R. Taft, Water into wine.The twice-mixed chalice in the Byzantine Eucharist, Le Museon 100 (1987) 323-342. 125Τrempelas, Ἁι τρεῖς λειτουργίαι, 3. 13.On the rules pertaining to pouring warm water into the chalice before Communion in Serbian leitourgika,v. Dečani No. 123,Dečani No. 125,fol. 28b,39a;Dečani No. 126,fol. 122b,123a. 126

20)
. 130 A closer analogy in terms of iconography can be found in the Heavenly Liturgy in the church of the Virgin Hodegetria at the Patriarchate of Peć.A partially covered chalice in the hands of the angel-deacon, who aproaches the western Holy Table in the angelic procession, contains four particles (fig.13).The largest among them has a regular, round shape, while the remaining three are smaller and different in shape.
The uncovered chalice in the hands of an angel--priest in Markov Manastir, with particles covered by visible traces of wine and water, along with the zeon rite, were probably meant to draw attention to those parts of the Eucharistic rite which were directly related to it.The Lamb is broken in four pieces (ΙС, ХС, ΝΙ, КА), which are placed onto the paten to form a cross.The symbolic unification of the sacrament of Christ's body and blood is performed by the priest who puts the ΙС particle into the chalice.After pouring warm water into the chalice (the zeon rite), celebrants take the Communion with the Holy Blood and the Holy Body (the crumbled ХС particle). 131After the Communion of celebrants in the sanctuary, and before the Communion of the faithful, ΝΙ and КА particles are also put in the chalice.Along with them, all particles consecrated during the prothesis rite are removed from the paten and placed in the chalice, where they are united with the Lord's body. 132Hence, the chalice used in the Communion of Faithful contains three pieces of the Lamb and the particles consecrated during the prothesis rite.This custom was commented by Symeon of Thessalonike,133 and instructions can also be found in Serbian fourteenthcentury leitourgika. 134While highlighting that the faithful receive Communion only from the pieces of the Lamb, the Orthodox Church interprets the joining together of the particles consecrated during the prothesis rite and the Body of Christ as an act of receiving the divine blessing from Christ. 135However, the major problem to this hypothesis is the omission of the kalymma and a spoon, which are also mentioned in the leitourgikon.
Another possible interpretation for the rare motif from Markov Manastir remains in the sphere of speculation and can not be proven.Nevertheless, it is based on a contextual analysis of the painted decoration of the sanctuary apse.By their shape and number, the three equilateral triangles suggest the Holy Trinity. 136This impression is further supported by the vertical contextual relationship between the scenes, i.e. by the fact that the trinita rian symbol in the form of a dove is also particularly highlighted in the scene of the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles (discussed in the previous section of the paper), depicted on the south side of the sanctuary's vault, above the procession of angels in the Great Entrance.In this context, it is interesting to point out another liturgical and theological connection between the zeon rite and the feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles; according to Serbian fourteenth and fifteenth-century leitourgika, the priest performs the troparion from the Canon at Pentecost (Odes 3, 4), which is attributed to St John of Damascus, while the deacon is pouring warm water into the Holy Chalice. 137

The Officiating Bishops in the diaconicon
The last segment of the liturgical and Eucharistic ensemble is placed in the diaconicon.The participants in the liturgical service of bishops, the texts on their scrolls, as well as their liturgical order were identified and interpreted by Cvetan Grozdanov (fig.21).The texts on the scrolls were selected with the intention to highlight the most important sections of the Divine Liturgy according to John Chrysostom and thereby supplement the scene in the sanctuary with textual content.
The first in the line is St Gregory of Nyssa whose scroll is inscribed with the prayer uttered by the priest during the Cherubic Hymn: nikto \e Es dostoinq svezavq[ih se plqtqskJmi pohotmi (No one bound by worldly desires and pleasures is worthy to approach). 138It marks the beginning of the Liturgy of the Faithful, which also includes the Great Entrance.Although the prayer of the Cherubic Hymn is very common in depictions of the liturgical service and is in many examples inscribed on the scroll St Basil the Great, no case has been recorded where it is associated with the image of St Gregory. 139uch a solution in Markov Manastir was certainly determined by the central thematic unit in the sanctuary -the Great Entrance, in which the most important bishops of the church were depicted.The next bishop in the line is St Spyridon, sp<...>ri<...>.He is holding a scroll with the text of the payer of the catechumens g(ospod)i b(o/)e na[q i/e na vqJswkQih /ivqi i na smyrena priziae (O Lord our God, who dwells on high and regards the humble of heart), 140 which is uttered after the prothesis rite and before the Great Entrance.Numerous examples show that the text of this prayer was not associated with bishops according to a specific rule. 141The last two bishops were painted 137 V. liturgical manuscript Ćorović 7 (University Library in Belgrade), published in: Jevtić, Božanstvena liturgija, I, 489, n. 44.Cf.Goar, Εὐχολόγιον, 62.On the introduction of this troparion from the Canon at Pentecost, (Odes 3, 4), v. 139 For the frequency of the text from this prayer and its place in Byzantine and Serbian churches (eleventh-fifteenth centuries) v. Babić,Walter,The inscriptions,[273][274][275][276][277][278]Kōnstantinidē,Ο Μελισμός,[223][224]Andreev,Nadpisi,[57][58]Addenda et corrigenda,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42] Cf.Brightmann, op.cit., 315.12; Babić, Walter, The inscriptions, 271(8); Mirković, Pravoslavna liturgika II, 79; for the text on the scroll, v. Grozdanov, Iz ikonografije Markovog manastira, 84.
141 Cf.Babić, Walter, The inscriptions, 273-278; Kōnstantinidē,  op.cit., 222.   on the wall that separates the diaconicon and the naos.St Clement, ΚΛΗΜΗC, has a scroll with the text of the Prayer behind the Ambo, uttered by the priest after the communion, at the end of the liturgy of the faithful b(lago) sl(o)vi bl(a)g(o)ves{eE g<ospod>i. . .(Lord, bless those who praise You…). 142Although the title next to the figure of this saint does not contain the corresponding topographical reference, his features confirm that this is the holy Bishop of Ohrid. 143The procession of bishops ends with the image of St Blasios, o agios vl+ as<. .>, and the text of the prayer inscribed on his scroll -"fulfilment of the law" marks the end of the liturgy, is<..>qnE <..> zakona <..> p(ro) rokqq. 144The text of this prayer was very rarely inscribed and there are only two more known examples in temporally and geographically distant monuments -Arilje (1295/1296) 145 and the Church of the Holy Cross in Valsamonero on Crete (fifteenth century). 146he patron of the town and the Archbishopric of Ohrid -St Clement ( † 916), found his place among the most respected holy fathers of the church. 147As exemplified by numerous painted portraits, in the fourteenth century, the veneration of this saint was widespread even beyond the boundaries of his diocese -in old Rascia, Kosovo and Metohija,northern Macedonia. 148 In his analysis of St Clement's portraits in the broader context of fourteenth-century painting, Dragan Vojvodić has stressed the special programmatic role of the depiction of St Clement in the Liturgical Service of Bishops in Markov Manastir. 149Such a choice could have been the result of a desire of the ktetor or an adviser from ecclesiastical circles.The relations that King Marko maintained with the centre of the Ohrid Archbishopric should not be neglected: he commissioned a group of painters from Ohrid to paint his endowment. 150In any case, this solution could be analyzed in the context of King Marko's state ideology: in accordance with the geopolitical circumstances and eth-nic structure of the population, both the cults of Serbian saints and those originating from Byzantine territories were nurtured. 151Accordingly the text of the Prayer behind the Ambo, which prays for the inheritance of God, the fullness of the Church and peace to priests, the ruler and the people, could reflect the expected intercession of this highly revered local saint, St Clement of Ohrid. 152

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In her analysis of the body of Byzantine and Serbian monuments from the Komnene and Palaiologan periods, Chara Konstantinidi has distinguished several systems according to which liturgical texts on the scrolls carried by bishops were arranged.Through these texts, the Eucharist was presented in two ways: either as a series of suc-151 Cf.V. J. Đurić, Markov manastir -Ohrid, Zbornik Matice srpske za likovne umetnosti 8 (1972) 157.
152 Cf.Brightmann, op.cit., 397.29; Mirković, Pravoslavna  liturgika II, 122.cessive liturgical moments or as individual units. 153As it has been previously mentioned, the complex and rather detailed composition in the sanctuary of Markov Manastir was designed so as to unite and chronologically link several Eucharistic-liturgical themes; from the offering of the Holy Gifts, through the Great Entrance, to the final part of the Holy Liturgy and dismissal prayers. 154The actual performance of the archieratical liturgy is multiply reflected in the fresco.Along with the central figure of Christ the Archpriest and the earthly procession of the Great Entrance shaped as the hierarchical concelebration, other features of the archieratical form are also present.The reminiscences of the ceremonial washing of hands by the bishop after the Great Entrance are contained in the ewer with water and a basin in the hands of angel-deacon, while the size and the way in which the aër is carried correspond to the description of the large aër in the archieratikon of Dimitrios Gemistos.
; L. Mirković, Da li se freske Markova manastira mogu tumačiti žitijem sv.Vasilija Novoga, Starinar 12 (1961) 281, figs.71-75.According to the patriarchal ordo of the Great Church, written about 1380, the procession is led by a deacon bearing the trikerion and omophorion of the patriarch, v. PG 155, 236 A-B, 724, 728 A-B; Dmitrievskiĭ, Opisanie liturgicheskih rukopiseĭ, 310-311; Taft, The Great Entrance, 210-213; V. Larin, The dikerion and trikerion of the Byzantine pontifical rite.Origins and significance, OCP 74 (2008) 417-430.Ioannis Spatharakis later published the frescoes of the Great Entrance from Crete and brought to our attention a unique representation of a liturgical cloth which may have been more likely identified as an omophorion.This is an oblong, white piece of cloth adorned with black stripes at the bottom which hangs from the shoulder of a concelebrant angel-deacon in the Great Entrance in St Phanourios, Valsamonero, v. idem, Representations of the Great Entrance in Crete, the aër, which frequently appear in the scenes showing the Melismos surrounded by officiating bishops and the Heavenly Liturgy, 87 clearly shows that the type of fabric 301, fig.11.The colour photograph of the fresco has been published in C. Ranoutsaki, Die Kunst der Späten Palailogenzeit auf Kreta.Kloster Brontisi im Spannungsfeld zwischen Konstantinopel und Venedig, Leiden 2011, fig.120.For this element of the bishop's attire, v. R. F. Taft, S. J., Toward the origins of the small omophorion, in: Ecclesiam aedificans.A 70 éves Keresztes Szilárd püspök köszéntése, ed.I. Ivancsó, Nyíregyháza 2002, 25-37; Woodfin, Embodied icon, 15-16.Cf. also Omophorion, in: Byzantine antiquities.Works of art from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries of the Moscow Kremlin museums.Catalogue, Moscow 2013, 466, cat.no.102 (A. S. Petrov).An opposite interpretation has been offered by J. D. Stefanescu, L'illustration des liturgies dans l' art de Byzance et de l'Orient, Brussels 1936, 75, 189 -190, who has identified the painted decoration in the southern section of the apse as the Epitaphios Procession at the Holy Saturday Orthros.Although Taft, The Great Entrance, 206, n. 96 shares Stefanescu's opinion, he suggests that the frescoes might be a result of the confusion of rites: the Great Entrance and the Epitaphios Procession.C. Grozdanov, Iz ikonografije Markovog manastira, Zograf 11 (1980) 83-85, leaves no doubt that the frescoes show the Great Entrance, though he doesn't make any further reference to the depicted liturgical textile.According to Spatharakis, Representations of the Great Entrance in Crete, 299, the angel-deacons carry the aër on their heads and, accordingly, the fresco is a depiction of the Great Entrance.Such a conclusion is further supported by the inclusion of the Eucharistic gifts in the scene.The same interpretation is offered by Starodubcev, Predstava Nebeske liturgije u kupoli, 392. 87Boycheva, L' aer dans la liturgie orthodoxe, 175.Cf.H. Schilb, Byzantine identity and its patrons.Embroidered aeres and epitaphioi of depicted in those scenes is the same as that in our example. 88Unlike the scene in Markov Manastir, in other examples of the ceremonial aër, the symbolism of passion inherent in the Great Entrance is emphasized by the dead body of Christ. 89However, though the development of figural decoration on aërs can be traced back to the late thirteenth century, purely ornamental decoration or a plain-coloured background with a cross in the centre persisted until the end of the fifteenth century. 90This is also confirmed by the pictorial practice.The large aër with the representation of Christ's dead body became a mandatory element of the iconography of the Heavenly Liturgy of the sixteenth century. 91

Fig. 11 .
Fig. 11.Markov Manastir, angel-deacons with an aër 92  Additional information regarding the design and handling of these liturgical textiles is provided by depictions of the Heavenly Liturgy.In Gračanica (1321; fig.12) the church of the Virgin Hodegeria at the Patriarchate of Peć (before 1337; fig.13) and Dečani (before 1345; fig.14) angel-deacons with the aër across their left shoulder are either greeting the procession of the Great Entrance or they are a part of it.93
Table in the Last Supper in the crypt of the monastery of Hosios Loukas in Phokis, cf.Lidov, Svi͡ ashchenstvo Bogomateri, 210, figs.21-23; A. Cutler, J.-M.Spieser, Byzance médiéval 700-1204, Paris 1996, 276, fig.223.Cf.Milanović, O fresci na ulazu u Bogorodičinu crkvu, 161.80These theological and liturgical meanings could also be expressed using condensed iconographic idioms, most commonly on liturgical objects.By placing a half-length figure of Christ the Great Archpriest on one side and a half-figure of Christ Emmanuel on the other side of two rhipidia from 1594, kept in the monastery of St John Prodromos near Serres, Byzantine artists established a connection be- tween iconography and liturgical practice, cf.National museum of history.Catalogue, ed.R.Rousseva, Sofia, 2006, 127, no.126.
Spatharakis, Representations of the Great Entrance in Crete, 299 argues that the aër in Markov Manastir belongs to an older type of this liturgical veil, lacking figural decoration.Ranoutsaki, Die Kunst, 88. 89 Cf. the representations of the aër in the Virgin Peribleptos, Mistra; Vrontisi monastery, Crete, v. Spatharakis, Representations of the Great Entrance in Crete, 299; Ranoutsaki, Die Kunst, 80-81; and in the church of St Nicholas at Ramaća, v. Starodubcev, Predstava Nebeske liturgije u kupoli, 394, 401.Symeon, Archbishop of Thessalonike informs us that in accord with the symbolism of Christ's shroud, the aër could very often bear the image of the dead Christ, v. PG 155, 288A, 728B; cf.St.Symeon of Thessalonika, The liturgical commentaries, 127.For further discussion on the subject, v. also Mirković, Crkveni umetnički vez, 13-14; idem, Dve srpske plaštanice iz XIV stoleća u Hilandaru, Glasnik Skopskog naučnog društva 11 (1932)116-117.Mirković has pointed out that these liturgical veils were carried in the pontifical Divine Liturgy since the fourteenth century. 90. the angel-deacon in the Great Entrance at Valsamonero(1431).The aër on his head is red with an ochre cross in the central section of the cloth, v. Spatharakis, Representations of the Great Entrance inCrete, 301, fig.12; Ranoutsaki, Die Kunst, fig.120.