Saint Achillius Church (Serbia)
Encyclopedia
Saint Achillius Church, (Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....

 Cyrillic: Црква светог Ахилија) is a church in Arilje
Arilje
Arilje is a town and municipality in western Serbia, in the Zlatibor District. In 2011 the town has a total population of 6,762, while the municipality had 18,729. The town's coordinates are 43.75°N and 20.10°E...

, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

. It is dedicated to the Saint Achillius  from Larissa
Larissa
Larissa is the capital and biggest city of the Thessaly region of Greece and capital of the Larissa regional unit. It is a principal agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by road and rail with the port of Volos, the city of Thessaloniki and Athens...

 (Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

), fighter against Arianism
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...

 and participants of the First Council of Nicaea
First Council of Nicaea
The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325...

 in 325. God made him celebrate victory over Arianism
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...

, making a miracle to Achillius confession of the truth water runs from stone. Saint Achillius Church is built in 1296, and it is closely related to House of Nemanjić
House of Nemanjic
The Nemanjić was the most important dynasty of Serbia in the Middle Ages, and one of the most important in Southeastern Europe. The royal house produced eleven Serbian monarchs between 1166 and 1371. It's progenitor was Stephen Nemanja, who descended from a cadet line of the Vukanović dynasty...

, the first Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

n archbishop Saint Sava
Saint Sava
Saint Sava was a Serbian Prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalous Serbian Church, the founder of Serbian law and literature, and a diplomat. Sava was born Rastko Nemanjić , the youngest son of Serbian Grand Župan Stefan Nemanja , and ruled the appanage of Hum briefly in...

 and unfortunate King Dragutin, and St. Achillios church is his endowment
Financial endowment
A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution. The total value of an institution's investments is often referred to as the institution's endowment and is typically organized as a public charity, private foundation, or trust....

. With its unreal whiteness and thinness still dominates the town core of Arilje
Arilje
Arilje is a town and municipality in western Serbia, in the Zlatibor District. In 2011 the town has a total population of 6,762, while the municipality had 18,729. The town's coordinates are 43.75°N and 20.10°E...

.

Architectural style

According to its architectural properties, it belong to Raška Architectural Style, which marked the 13th century, coherent joint processing Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...

 exterior and Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...

 spatial concept. Imaging facade in the style of Byzantine cells unity, construction techniques alternating rows of stone and brick, the wall is finished the Romanesque Saint Achillius Church in Arilje
Arilje
Arilje is a town and municipality in western Serbia, in the Zlatibor District. In 2011 the town has a total population of 6,762, while the municipality had 18,729. The town's coordinates are 43.75°N and 20.10°E...

 make unique civil engineering in the 13th century of the total area of Byzantine world.

Frescoes

In addition to architectural value and historic significance, the church stands out as a gallery of precious frescoes. The most interesting part of the fresco-assembly make portraits of rulers from the Nemanjić, their relatives and all the archbishops of the founding of the independent Serbian church. Most attractive portraits in the southern part of the inner narthex, standing figure of King Dragutin patrons with the model of the church in the hands of the fresco above the tomb of Dragutin's younger son Urošić, who died young as a monk. As an unambiguous document, the kings of donor activities and illustration of mutual respect (at the time of painting the church brothers lived in harmony), one of the most beautiful idealized portrait is a portrait of royal brothers Milutin
Stefan Uroš II Milutin of Serbia
Stefan Uroš II Milutin was a king of Serbia , and member of the House of Nemanjić.-Early:...

 and Dragutin Nemanjić accompanied by Dragutin's wife, Arpad
Árpád
Árpád was the second Grand Prince of the Hungarians . Under his rule the Hungarian people settled in the Carpathian basin. The dynasty descending from him ruled the Hungarian tribes and later the Kingdom of Hungary until 1301...

 Princess of Hungary Katalin.

For the first time in the history of Serbian fresco-paintings appears a new iconographic solution. Until then, it was common for the donor or the Virgin performances brought patron saint protector of Christ on the throne, bowed his head with the model of the temple in his hands. Fresco of St. Archangel Gabriel, called The Blue Angel, St. noble character in brilliant, simple Tunica, the incarnation of the Lord of Trustees fanciful ideas of beauty and magnificence of nobility. Certainly set a figure of Archangel, clearly marked characters with strong muscles and a rich gown of warriors, is very artistic value. This fresco is classified in the narrowest circle of masterpieces of Serbian paintings. Historical importance have portraits of Dragutin's sons - Vladislav
Stefan Vladislav II of Syrmia
Stephen Vladislav II was a 14th-century Serb royalty, King of Syrmia and claimant to the whole Serbia.He was the son of Stefan Dragutin, who had ruled Serbia until 1282, when he became ill and abdicated, giving the superior rule to his younger brother Stefan Milutin...

 and Urošić and present members of the Serbian church and Nemanjić vines and moravičkih portraits of bishops and metropolitan's, are one of the most important group of wall paintings through which recognize the interesting characters of the Serbian past. Authors of Arilje frescoes are not known by name, but we know that they originated from Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...

. The stylistic and iconographic terms of the paintings is a work that announces a milestone in the development of Serbian mural painting.

Burial

In the church Dragutin's younger son, Prince Urošic was buried. This fact indicates the importance of the temple for the king and the possibility that some of the courts was located in the vicinity of Arilje.

Saint Achillius Church

What Saint Achillius Church clearly distinguished from other Nemanjić endowment built in this era is in addition to his height and lack of a specific aspect of the belfry
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...

 tower of the outer narthex, which is characteristic of all the Bishops office, entrance on the south side instead of the usual western. Unlike other Nemanjić churches built in the 12th and 13th century, which were not cathedral temples dedicated to many believers, the church in Arilje had that purpose, and it was built on the hill from which it was visible from afar. At the time of Emperor Dušan
Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia
Stephen Uroš IV Dušan the Mighty , was the King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks until his death on 20 December 1355. Dušan managed to conquer a large part of Southeast Europe, becoming one of the most powerful monarchs in his time...

, Moravički diocese was elevated in the rank of Metropolitanate, after the proclamation of Serbian Patriarchate in 1346. Metropolis in Arilje monastery brotherhood and shared the fate of his people and country in a terrible rush of the Turks led by Mehmed II
Mehmed II
Mehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...

 the Conqueror of Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

. They had to go nearly two centuries to the end of the forties 17th century revived again in the metropolistanate Moravica
Moravica
Moravica can refer to:* Moravica District in Serbia.* Golijska Moravica, river in western Serbia.* Sokobanjska Moravica, river in eastern Serbia* Preševska Moravica, river in southern Serbia* Stara Moravica, a village near Bačka Topola, Serbia....

. Arilje bells will ring no sooner than in 1833. But this time not from the metropolitanet, but the parish church. Church of Sv. Achillius was declared Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance
Monuments of Culture of Exceptional Importance (Serbia)
Cultural Monuments of Exceptional Importance are the monuments in the Republic of Serbia that have the highest level of the State protection, and some of them are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites....

 in 1979, and it is protected by Republic of Serbia.

The church is located in the center of town, on the elevated plateau above the large river valley and the river Moravica
Golijska Moravica
The Golijska Moravica or simply Moravica is a river in western Serbia. With a length of 98 km, it is the longer headstream of the Zapadna Morava , and thus, of the Velika Morava...

 and Big Rzav and represents the most dominant object in the Arilje perspective.

See also

  • Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance
    Monuments of Culture of Exceptional Importance (Serbia)
    Cultural Monuments of Exceptional Importance are the monuments in the Republic of Serbia that have the highest level of the State protection, and some of them are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites....

  • Tourism in Serbia
    Tourism in Serbia
    Serbia stretches across two geographic and cultural regions of Europe: Central Europe and Southeast Europe. This boundary splits Serbia roughly in a ratio of 1:2 alongside the Danube and Sava rivers. The northern parts of the country are Central-European lowlands while the southern and central...


External links

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