The Cultural History of Macedonia

[SAMUIL16]

The Cultural History of Macedonia
Literature. The texts of the Thessaloniki brothers Cyril and Methodius,
written in the new alphabet, mark the beginning of Macedonian literature
since the language they were written in was the language spoken by the
Macedonian Slavs of Thessaloniki. For that reason, the beginning of
literary activity among the Slavic peoples is closely linked to the
beginning of Macedonian literature.
Clement, Naum and Constantine of Bregalnitsa, the disciples of the holy
Brothers, carried on this literary work. Besides his religious and
educational work, Clement of Ohrid translated works from Greek. Of even
greater significance was his own composition of original poems and
sermons, making him the first Slavic-and first Macedonian-poet and
sermon-writer. Clement was, in fact, the author of a large body of
sermons, prayers, hymns and other psalmodic songs in honor of Jesus
Christ, the Holy Virgin, John the Baptist and other Christian figures.
Many of Clement's literary works permeated the oldest period of Slavonic
literature, translated mainly from Byzantine Greek. His works are
simple, immediate and intelligible (his "Song of Praise to Our Blessed
Father and Slavic Teacher Cyril the Philosopher" is wonderful). Because
of their clarity and beauty, they soon came to hold a worthy place in
almost all bodies of Slavonic literature. It is certain that the
educational work of Clement of Ohrid was carried on by Naum of Ohrid,
but Naum's two scant biographies and numerous folk traditions do not
provide sufficient information on whether or not he carried on Clement's
tradition as an author and poet.
The oldest Slavonic texts proving the literacy of medieval Macedonia are
the Assemani Gospel, the Zograf Gospel, the Codex Marianus, the Sinai
Psalter and the Sinai Euchologion, all dating from the 12th century. It
has been ascertained that they were either written on Macedonian soil or
contain characteristic traces of medieval Macedonian originals. All were
written in Glagolitic script, proof of the continued use of this
alphabet in Macedonia.
Constantine the Presbyter, known in literature and in church history
also as Episcope Constantine of Bregalnitsa, was one of the younger
disciples of Cyril and Methodius. Constantine was the author of the
collected Teaching Gospels, 51 sermons including 42 original works. He
is also most likely the author of the Introduction to the Gospel, which
celebrates the fact that the Slavs had obtained the Gospel in their own
language. The Alphabet Prayer, an introductory text to the Teaching
Gospels, likewise delights in the education of the Slavs. But the
dilemma over whether these works belong to Constantine/St. Cyril or to
Constantine of Bregalnitsa remains to be solved by scholars.
Medieval history holds yet another enigma for scholars of Macedonia: did
Crnorizec Hrabar ever exist, or was he a pseudonym for Cyril, Clement of
Ohrid or even Naum? In any case, the first Slavonic polemical text, O
Pismeneh (On Letters), is a defense of the alphabet of Cyril and
Methodius from violent attacks by Greek critics.
During the Middle Ages, monks and other church figures in Macedonia
patiently transcribed and copied church works. Beside the famous Ohrid
center, transcription centers also existed on the Holy Mountain, in the
Monastery of Lesnovo and in monasteries on Mt. Skopska Crna Gora. There,
the monks transcribed the Gospels, the Epistles, the Psalters, the
Triodions, the Menaions, the Oktoëchoses and the hagiographies of the
saints. Along with transcription, they wrote sermons about famous church
figures and composed Christian poetry. They even wrote romances (i.e.,
about Troja and about Alexander the Great) and fables (i.e., about
Theophane the innkeeper and about Eladia, the man who sold his soul to
the devil in order to obtain a desired woman). All these had, of course,
a deeply religious content. Also widely known are the Dobromir Gospel,
the Ohrid Epistle, the Bitola Triodion, the Grigorovich Paremeinikon,
the Slepche Epistle, the Bologne Psalter, the Radomir Gospel, the
Macedonian Gospel of Priest Jovan and the Vraneshnica Epistle-all
created in the period between the 12th to the 14th centuries. These
works are confirmation of the penetration of the Cyrillic script among
generations of anonymous transcribers. The oldest Cyrillic inscriptions
discovered in Macedonia are on the headstone of Tsar Samuil (993) and a
Varosh inscription dated to 996. Besides these kinds of church
literature, Macedonian medieval literature is rich in hagiographic texts
and apocryphs.
The Ottoman conquest of the Balkans obstructed and slowed down the pace
of literary activity. Macedonian literature regressed, and became
confined to the monasteries, particularly the Monastery of Lesnovo
(Kratovo), the Mateyche and St. Prohor of Pchinya monastaries
(Kumanovo), the Monastery of Slepche (Demir Hisar), the Monastery of
Treskavec (Prilep), the Monastery of the Most Pure Virgin (Kichevo), the
Monastery of St. John Bigorski (Debar) and the Monastery of Polog
(Tikvesh), where large libraries were preserved and helped to maintain
Slavonic speech, although only with great effort and despite great
difficulties.
By the end of the 17th century, the so called damaskins or apocryphal
texts, sermons and prayers began to spread among the Macedonians, Serbs
and Bulgarians. The Damaskins grew out of the writings of the Greek
writer Damaskin Studit, who used vernacular Greek in his sermons. In the
translations of damaskins from Greek, elements of regional Macedonian
vernacular were gradually introduced.
Despite obstacles, a number of significant Slavonic literary works were
created on Macedonian soil during this period. The best known include
Clement's Chrysobull, the Slepche Text and the Macedonian Damaskin of
the 16th century; the Tikvesh Collection created over the 16th and 17th
centuries; and the Treskavec Codex from the 17th century. All were
handwritten and in great demand despite the fact that in 1710 the first
printing press in Macedonia was opened in the Monastery of St. Naum,
with a second press opened somewhat later on the Holy Mountain. But both
presses printed strictly in Greek, while the handwritten texts were
Slavic.
The first generation of Macedonian writers, including Joakim Krchovski,
Kiril Pejchinovich-Tetoec and Teodosij Sinaitski, were educated on the
basis of this church literature. But the second generation of Macedonian
writers, including the brothers Dimitar and Constantine Miladinov,
Jordan HadziKonstantinov-Djinot, the brothers Constantine and Andrea
Petkovich, Rayko Zhinzifov and Grigor Prlichev abandoned church
literature, as did the lesser-known Georgi Dinkata, Kuzman Shapkarev,
Parteniya Zografski, Veniyamin Machukovski, Georgiya Pulevski and
Dimitar Makedonski. They laid the foundations of the modern Macedonian
language and literature and opened themselves to the influences of world
literature. Contemporary Macedonian literature can be traced back to the
poems of Constantine Miladinov and the literary opus of Grigor Prlichev
(the poems "The Sirdar", "Skenderbey" and the "Autobiography"). These
were beginnings which could satisfy the highest criteria of literary
writing.
Architecture. The coming of Clement to Macedonia marked the beginning of
a new period of art for the region. Objectively speaking, the history of
art in these territories represented a history of church art. The
influence of Byzantine art is indisputable, although artistic works
created during the time of Clement and the time of Tsar Samuil are
exceptions. The construction of the Church of St. Sophia in
Constantinople had a decisive influence on establishing criteria for
building temples in areas the Orthodox church dominated. However, during
the Macedonian Empire of Samuil, new characteristics can be noticed in
Macedonian architecture, long after the Byzantine architectural school
had run its course. This suggests the existence of a seperate Macedonian
school of architecture.
With the construction of St. Panteleimon in Ohrid by Clement (893),
downhill from Ohrid fortress, the Macedonian Slavs gained not only their
first great religious and educational center but also the conditions
necessary to develop their aesthetic feelings, accepting and continuing
existing artistic forms but expanding into new directions as well. For
example, Clement used a ruined three-conchae church for the foundation
of St. Panteleimon, added some original parts, and obtaining thereby new
"oval" forms. A similar procedure was applied in constructing the Church
of St. Archangel, built on southern shore of Ohrid Lake and later
renamed the Monastery of St. Naum. Later on, in the 10th and 11th
centuries, the building of three-conchae churches was abandoned and
four-conchae churches began to be built (the Church of the Holy Virgin
Eleussa near Velyusa), as well as churches of basilica arrangement such
as the Church of St. Achilles on the Island of Achilles in Prespa Lake,
the Church of St. Sophia in Ohrid, the Church of the Holy Virgin in the
Strugan village of Vranishta and the Church of St. Leontes near
Strumitsa.
One of the architectural masterpieces of Macedonia from the early period
of Slavic culture is the Church of St. Sophia in Ohrid, renovated by
Archbishop Leo between 1037 and 1056. Its size and the arrangement of
the fresco-paintings in the sanctuary seem to suggest that it was
constructed as a cathedral. It began as a three-nave basilica with a
transept, dome and nartex, suggesting a transition to the civil
construction of the 12th to the 14th centuries when churches usually had
a square base foundation and cruciform construction. The beauty of St.
Sophia lies in its exo-nartex with its open galleries and two towers
ending in small domes. It is interesting to note that the Church of St.
Panteleimon in Nerezi (1164) has a similar cruciform layout, but is
enriched by five domes, characteristic of nearly all monasteries
surrounding Skopje, and the churches in Mateyche and Staro Nagorichane
near Kumanovo. In general, the five-dome cruciform church represents one
of the main characteristics of medieval architecture in Macedonia. The
diversity of architectural forms in Macedonia was enriched by the late
13th century church dedicated to the Holy Virgin Perivleptos in Ohrid-a
single-nave church built to a very strict and precise plan, in which the
voluminous mass of the structure was carefully structured to give a
harmonious balance overall.
The secular architecture of this time was generally insignificant. There
are no remnants which would serve as a basis for shaping a picture of
the palaces, houses or even towns of the early medieval period in
Macedonia. There are, however, ruins of medieval fortresses, built of
large carved rectangular stone blocks. Ohrid Fortress is considered to
be the oldest and best-preserved fortress in Macedonia; Roman historians
mention Ohrid as a town of fortresses, but the remaining ruins visible
today chiefly belong to fortifications erected by Samuil. The height of
its ramparts is in the range of 10 to 16 meters, originally protected by
numerous towers-the ruins of 18 towers and four gates remain. The
fortress itself was often renovated and new parts added to it during the
medieval period.
Skopje Fortress is a second preserved example of secular architecture in
Macedonia. Archaeological excavations have proven that the site of the
fortress was inhabited as early as four thousand years ago. Likewise,
research proves that the large defensive wall of the fortress was built
during the time of Emperor Justinian, in about 535. The fortress was
constructed from the stones of the town of Scupi, destroyed by the
disastrous earthquake of 518. The only parts of this fortress which
remain are about 120 meters of ruins and three towers: one square, one
rectangular and one circular. The age of the medieval town accompanying
the fortress has not been determined. It is hypothesized that the
fortress was renovated and expanded in the 11th century, during the
second period of Byzantium rule over the region. The fortress was
refitted to protect Skopje, as an economic site and strategic border
town, from attacks by neighboring states and barbarians like the
Scythians and Pechenegs of the north. The remnants of the Byzantine
fortress later served as the base for the construction of a new,
fortified town. The traveler Eulia Chelebia writes that Skopje was a
fortified town, with a double outer wall built, like the town gate, of
stone which "shone as if polished".
The subjugation of Macedonia under Ottoman authority both hindered the
development of architecture and encouraged it to adapt to the
requirements of Islam and Ottoman urban life. The church was replaced by
the mosque as the center of religious architecture. Fortified towns gave
way to open settlements where the inn, the hammam (Turkish baths) and
the mosque, concentrated as a group of public buildings, became a
typical characteristic of the Ottoman urban planning. These buildings
became the central point of a bazaar; with the addition of a bezesten (a
domed marketplace) and covered markets, as typified by Arab markets, the
inn, hamman, mosque and bezesten became the pivot of urban life. This
was the greatest influence of Ottoman architecture on Macedonian
architects during Ottoman rule.
Eulia Chelebia records a total of 120 temples in Skopje, 45 of which
large mosques. The best known among these include the Mosque of Isaac
Bey, built in 1438; the Mosque of Murad Hainukyar, built in 1436; the
Mosque of Kodja-Mustapha Pasha, built in 1491; the Mosque of Burmali,
built in 1495, but since destroyed; and the Mosque of Yahya Pasha, built
in 1504 and including a 50-meter high minaret. Bitola was enriched by
the Isac Mosque, built over 1508-1509; the Yeni Mosque, built in 1559;
and the Mosque of Jahdar-Kadi, built in 1562 by Kodja Sinan, the most
prominent Ottoman architect of the time. Chelebia lists 70 Moslem
mosques in Bitola. Later, in the 17th century, the Painted Mosque was
built in Tetovo, richly decorated with beautiful ornaments.
Secular architecture includes the Kurshumli Caravanserai in Skopje,
covered by numerous small domes coated with kurshum (Turkish for lead).
The Suli Caravanserai in Skopje has also been preserved to the current
day. Particularly attractive were the Daut Pasha Hammam baths, the Chift
Hammam baths in Skopje and the bezestens in Bitola and Shtip.
Also characteristic of the Turkish architecture throughout the Ottoman
Empire were turbehs (burial chambers) in which distinguished Ottomans
were buried, and tekehs (convents), a sort of Dervish monastery.
Particularly fine architectural examples of turbehs included that of
Mustapha Pasha in the Isaac Bey Mosque in Skopje, the open Kral K'zi
turbeh and the eight-meter domed turbeh in Gazi Baba, Skopje.
Outstanding among the Dervish convents are the Sultan Emir Tekeh in
Skopje and the Arabati-baba Tekeh in Tetovo. Unfortunately, there are no
preserved examples of individual domestic dwellings from the medieval or
early to mid-Ottoman periods. It is theorized that such dwellings were
constructed with materials which did not stand up to the test of time.
However, fine examples of 19th and early 20th century houses still
remain in Ohrid, Krushevo Kratovo, Bitola, Titov Veles, Prilep and
Resen, testimonies to how architecture was adapted to respond to the
specific needs of Macedonian conditions. The houses of Ohrid and
Krushevo are particularly note-worthy.
A number of early 19th century houses in Ohrid survive, generally two to
three stories with a stone ground floor and upper floors of wood. These
houses are characterized by numerous windows, wide porches and
belvederes. Due to local climate, terrain and geography, houses were
placed close to each other and constructed to face Ohrid Lake. They are
usually colored white and are characterized by boldly arranged facades
supported by consoles, wooden eaves and several additional details.
In 1927, Le Corbusier visited Krushevo and was delighted by the 19th
century architecture unique to this small town. The densely-packed
houses are characterized by magnificent architectural arrangements.
Together they create a harmonious whole of various architectural
elements and vivid colors, mostly light blue or light yellow. The
arrangements are supplemented by projecting balconies, wide belvederes,
built-in wardrobes, porches with stone-fitted floors and large, heavy
wooden gates.
Fresco-painting. Despite a number of significant achievements,
architecture in Macedonia in the early Middle Ages, compared to the
accomplishments of Constantinople and Thessaloniki, was largely of
provincial character. But fresco-painting in Macedonia in the same
period equaled the greatest and most beautiful works of the Byzantine
Empire. The finest works include the frescoes in Nerezi (1164),
Kurbinovo (1191), Manastir (1271), the Church of St. Nicholas in Varosh
(1290), the Church of St. Sophia in Ohrid (the second layer of the
fresco-painting dates from the 13th century) and the Church of the Holy
Virgin Perivleptos (1295). Macedonian is one of the richest regions in
terms of medieval wall paintings, both in the Balkans and in Europe as a
whole. Over the course of time, many generations of local painters
created works of exceptional skill and beauty. Deserving of mention were
the Deacon Jovan, Rufin, Michail Astrappa and Eutychius, Grigorius,
Jovan Theorian, Mercurius, Jovan Zograf and his brother Makarius,
Alexius, the monk Gligorius and the monk Yoanakis, all of whom worked in
the period from the middle of the 13th to the first half of the 15th
centuries.
The oldest fresco in Macedonia (only fragments of it have been
preserved) is located in the Strumitsa Church of the Fifteen Holy
Martyrs of Tiberiopolis, a local religious subcult of the Macedonian
Slavs from the late 9th and early 10th centuries. Fresco-painting was
particularly developed during the reign of Tsar Samuil, under the
influence of the East. Unlike their teachers, who mainly came from
Thessaloniki, Macedonian artists gave stronger emphasis to the
expressions of the face and the compositions of the paintings are more
explicit. Wall-painting was especially developed during the time of the
Archbishopric of Ohrid (1018-1767), as proved by the frescoes in Vodocha
(about 1037) and in the Church of St. Sophia in Ohrid (1040-1045). The
frescoes in St. Sophia represent a rare artistic treasure from the 11th
century, which greatly enriched the art of the fresco-painting in
Macedonia. According to general opinion, the visual arrangement of the
sanctuary of this church is the most purely Slavic in the development of
Macedonian art. The frescoes in this cathedral are characterized by the
postures of the figures and the archaic forms, united in an artistic and
iconographic whole unique to church painting of the time. The
fresco-paintings in St. Sophia represent the most significant preserved
works of Byzantine painting in general. A different group of painters
worked in the late 11th and the first half of the 12th century within
the framework of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, creating the frescoes in
Velyusa (1085-1093), Vodocha (the second layer of frescoes), and taking
part in the renovation of the Church of the Fifteen Holy Martyrs of
Tiberiopolis in Strumitsa.
The second half of the 12th century was a period marked by the beautiful
frescoes in Nerezi (1165-1168), the renovated church in Velyusa
(1165-1170), the Church of St. George in Kurbinovo (1191) and the Church
of the Holy Virgin Perivleptos (now known as St. Clement) in Ohrid
(1295). The frescoes in Nerezi ("The Lamentation", for example) and in
Kurbinovo introduce a pronounced expression of the inner feelings of the
characters, making these frescoes unique and exceptional. The refined
colors, warm hues and of spirituality of the characters elevate the
Nerezi frescoes to the highest levels of Byzantine fresco-art. Even in
smaller churches such as the Church of St. George in Kurbinovo, the
feeling of the inner experience of the characters is dominant in the
dramatic scenes. The pronounced psychological element in the characters
is likewise noticed in the fresco-paintings created in a later period,
under new conditions.
Dramatic scenes depicted by the frescoes in the Church of the Holy
Virgin Perivleptos in Ohrid were expressed by the artists with
near-documentary precision. These frescoes are characteristic of the
early period of the two great masters of fresco-painting in Macedonia,
Michail Astrappa and Eutychius. The fresco "The Lamentation" reveals the
drama of man in general, rather than the drama of the saint. The saints
on the frescoes in the church of the Holy Virgin Perivleptos (St.
Clement) are depicted as healthy, young people with athletic bodies,
full of life. The fresco "The Lamentation of Christ" was painted by an
anonymous Nerezi master 140 years before the great Italian painter
Giotto painted his master-piece "The Lamentation" in the chapel of
Scrovenni in Padova. The mother on the Nerezi fresco is depicted as
convulsed by her anguish for her deceased son, the culmination of her
distress and tragedy. The new element of expression in the Nerezi
frescoes "The Lamentation of Christ" and "The Deposition from the
Cross", supplemented by the dramatic fresco "The Lamentation of Christ"
in the Church of St. Clement in Ohrid, obliges art historians to
consider these frescoes as true heralds of the Renaissance which would
spread throughout Europe about a hundred years later-and many art
historians consider that the Macedonian school of fresco-painting
directly influenced the Italian Renaissance. However, unlike
developments in Italy, the Macedonian proto-renaissance was extinguished
by the Ottoman conquest which inhibited the bloom of art and caused the
art of fresco-painting to stagnate and decay.
The pursuit of the fine arts continued during Serbian rule over
Macedonia. Many churches are preserved from that period, the most
distinguished being the Church of St. Nikita on Mt. Skopska Crna Gora,
the Church of St.George in Staro Nagorichane (where the fresco-paintings
were created by Astrappa and Eutychius between 1307 and 1318), the
Church of St. Archangel on Mt. Skopska Crna Gora, the Church of St.
Archangel in Varosh, the Church of St. Andrew near the Treska River and
the Church of St. Nicholas in the village of Lyuboten, near Skopje
region. During the Serbian period, the monumental exo-nartex, a rare
architectural accomplishment both in Macedonia and the world in general,
was added to the Church of St. Sophia in 1317.
Portrait painting was also an important art in the medieval period.
Among the most famous portraits made on Macedonian soil are the
portraits of King Milutin and Simonida in Staro Nagorichane, the
portraits of Dushan and Helena at Lesnovo, the group portrait of the
Paskacha family at Psacha, and the portraits of Volkashin and his son
Marko in the church of St. Archangel in Varosh and in Marko's monastery.
In view of the popularity of portraits in Byzantium, it would be logica
most famous portraits made on Macedonian soil are the portraits of King
Milutin and Simonida in Staro Nagorichane, the portraits of Dushan and
Icon painting. After several visits by the Apostle Peter to
Thessaloniki, Christianity began to quickly spread throughout Macedonia.
Confirmation of this are a number of early Christian basilicas in
Macedonia, including a hundred or so square meters of
excellently-preserved floor mosaics abounding in iconography and showing
a high level of technical expertise, remnants of stone sculptures and 50
recently-unearthed icons in ruins near the small town of Vinica. These
icons are all made of terracotta, and hence called terracotta icons.
In 1985, during the excavations of the walls of a
late-Roman/early-Byzantine fortress at Vinica, archaeologists discovered
the foundations of several secular buildings and, their debris,
discovered a true archaeological treasure: a number of unique icons of
the early Christianity period worked in ceramics and thought to date
from the late 4th century. These icons are unlike any others previously
known, duplicated by using a mold and standardized painting. The figures
are roughly 30 or 31 centimeters high, roughly 28 centimeters wide, and
4 centimeters thick. Inscriptions and signatures are written in Latin,
with beautifully modeled letters, and the saints are presented without
auras. The most frequent illustrations are those of Archangel Michael
with his wings folded and that of St. Theodore on a horse, dressed in a
uniform of a Byzantine soldier. The cross of Emperor Constantine is
presented on a number of icons, as well as symbolic animals and floral
motifs. Distinguished for their high artistic qualities are the icons
"St. Christopher and St. George", "Daniel in the Lions' Den" and "The
Fruits of the Promised Land". Excavations have recently been renewed
following a three-year pause, and may yet uncover more examples of these
intriguing icons.
The high development of fresco-painting had its own reflection on the
works created in the field of icon painting. The oldest icons discovered
in Macedonia-more specifically, in Ohrid-date from the 11th and early
12th centuries. These include the icons "St. Vasilij and St. Nicholas",
"The Forty Martyrs", "The Communion of the Apostles" and the Holy Virgin
of "Annunciation with Archangel". Whatever the extent of influence by
the Constantinople school on these icons, it is useless to deny their
original and high artistic accomplishments.
In the sphere of icon creation the 13th century abounds in such a great
wealth and variety of style that each icon virtually represents a unique
style. Art historians stress, for example, that "Holy Virgin Odigitria"
and "St. Barbara", both dating from the first half of the 13th century,
are characterized by their refined sculpture, while "Jesus Christ
Almighty on the Throne" unites the elements of the archaic and the
contemporary, opening a new direction for artistic expression. Deacon
John the painter, in his "St. George" expresses an entirely original
conception of the painted sculpture. Experts point to the procession
icon "Holy Virgin Odigitria with the Crucifixion", dating from the
second half of the 13th century as belonging to the emerging 13th
century school of sculpture.
The same applies to the icons by Michail Astrappa and Eutychius,
"Deisis", "The Resurrection of Christ" and "The Evangelist Matthew", cr
"The Resurrection of Christ" and "The Evangelist Matthew", created at
the end of the 13th century. In the early 14th century, the two masters
of the paintbrush introduced elements of the Palaeologi Renaissance to
icon-painting. Their new conception was accepted by many other
icon-painters who worked in Macedonia at that time, resulting in a
series of icons ("The Faithless Thomas", "The Baptizing of Christ",
"Holy Virgin Episcepsis", "The Resurrection", and "Holy Virgin
Odigitria" in the Church of St. Nikita near Skopje), of undeniable
contribution to the general wealth of Macedonian icon-painting. These
icons were mainly created by unknown icon-painters. However, in the 14th
century the brothers Metropolitan John Zograf and Hieromonk Macarius
were also active and their icons "Deisis", "Holy Virgin Pelagonitisa"
and "Jesus Christ the Saviour and Lifegive
But the 14th century was also marked by the Ottoman conquest of
Macedonia, triggering a sharp decline in the quality of fresco-painting
and icon-painting. A hundred years later these two arts began to develop
again, but under entirely new conditions. Still, fresco-painters worked
as icon-painters as well, as in the former periods. By the middle of the
15th century, Zograph Dimitriya of Leunovo (near Mavrovo) and his
associate Jovan created icons in the iconostasis of Toplica Monastery
near Bitola. In the early 16th century, Hieromonk Gerasim (creator of
the "St. John the Theologian and Prochorus") and Hieromonk Kalinik
(creator of "Deisis" in the monastery of the village of Slepche, near
Demir Hisar) continued the new tradition of renewed icon-painting, based
on the rich traditions of the Ohrid painting school.
Wood carving. It is normal to suppose that decorative sculpture was
complementary to fresco-painting and an integral part of the
architectural arrangements and the architectural conception. The oldest
specimens of decorative sculpture in Macedonia are the wood carvings on
the altar screen in the church of St. Sophia in Ohrid. After the Ottoman
conquest, the influence of Middle Eastern elements in the Macedonian
wood carving became much stronger. The shallow and flat arabesque style
of carving dominating until the 17th century began to be replaced by
more intricate styles of carving. In the monasteries of Slepche,
Treskavec, Zrze, Varosh (near Prilep) and in the Monastery of the Most
Holy Virgin of Kichevo, a number of works by Macedonian wood-carvers
have been preserved. They reveal the characteristics of the
Slepche-Prilep wood-carver's school: shallow and flat carving

[June R Harton]

Get all the references to the non-existent 'Macedonia'
out of the text, then come back.

You are a filthy liar with your fraud on the non-existent
Macedonian name.

FYROM President Kiro Gligorov: "We are Slavs who came to this area in the
sixth century . . . we are not descendants of the ancient Macedonians."
(President of FYROM Ciro Gligorov, from the Foreign Information Service
Daily Report, Eastern Europe, February 26, 1992, p. 35. )

P Gevgeliev wrote in "Skopje revives macedonian spectre", Free
Bulgaria,pp229-230,
It is true that we have given up the teaching of "Macedonian history", a
high falutin term for the ravings of a handful of maniacs in Skopje who are
so far gone in their nationalistic dementia and mental aberration as to
claim that the present "Macedonian" people are descendants of
Alexander the Great.
These "historians" seem to overlook the fact that the Slav tribes came to
this territory fully a thousand years after the death of Alexander the
Macedon."

from: Spirit Of The Real Makedon
(using June's e-mail to communicate to you)!

........The heart of Macedonia was always Greek

[SAMUIL16]

What will you do if the Republic of Macedonia or as you say FYROM gets the name
Republic of Macedonia and is recognized by UN and EU and its 16- pointed flag
also?

[June R Harton]

:)

What a fool you are. you lost long ago.
You are just having problems facing up to reality.

:)