DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.27365#0043
AL7AR AT.ST
31
Ani^^. In the 13th century, .as we know, the Chalcedonian bishops of Armenia came
under the jurisdiction of the Georgian Catholicos. However, in the 11th and 12th
centuries, in aii iikelihood, they were directly subordinate to the Patriarch of
Constantinople^. Evidently the Armenian-Chalcedonian church continued to retain a
certain autonomy after it became part of the Georgian Catholicosate. Thus in a
surviving Georgian ritual text for the consecration of the chrism the head of the
Armenian-Chalcedonian church is allocated an extremely honourable third place and
is grandly referred to, moreover, as the "Metropolitan of Greater Armenia"^. This
title suggests that the Armenian-Chalcedonian eparchy was regarded as a separate
entity and possessed a certain exceptional status.
All of which makes the explicitly Byzantinizing character of the iconographic
programme in the apse at Akhtala more comprehensible. Evidently those who devised
the frescoes not only wanted to demonstrate their long-standing and direct ties with
the patriarchate of Constantinople: they also wished to stress the distinctive position of
the Armenian-Chalcedonian church in relation to that of Georgia.
The subjects chosen for the altar apse and their ordering are thus typically
Byzantine. Individual iconographic themes may also, at first sight, appear equally
traditional. A closer study, however, reveals certain interesting features.
Etrgt'w Enthroned!
Almost the entire expanse of the conch is taken up by a vast depiction of the Mother
of God seated on a magnificent throne. Clothed in a bright blue chiton and a brown,
deep-red maphorion, she holds the infant Christ in two hands. The latter is dressed in
a gold-coloured cloak over a light blue tunic which stand out against the dark
background. In his left hand Christ holds a rolled-up scroll and he raises his right hand
to his breast in a gesture of benediction. The most original aspect of the composition
is the throne. It is shown as a three-tier gallery with arcades and columns, a
comparison to a building that is quite deliberate and can in no way be regarded as a
purely decorative feature.
The entire conception of this fresco evidently stresses a particular interpretation.
The figures of the Virgin and Child depict the central dogma of the Incarnation, the
Word made flesh. In mediaeval theology, however, this image was also considered a
symbol of the ideal Church. Probably it is the latter idea that is being stressed
throughout the iconographic programme of the Akhtala murals. The white cloth
spread over the cushion on the throne confirms that this is a correct interpretation. It
evokes a direct association with the white linen cloth that covers the altar in any
Orthodox church in remembrance of the burial cloth of Christ. The centre of the
throne thus comes to signify the area of the altar. The identification of the Virgin with
the church, so popular in liturgical poetry, is here conveyed in visual terms^s.
^ Migne.TG, t. 140, co). 198-202, 282.
26 See Arutiunova-Fidanian,^4r/nyanc-/fA<z&e^onfty, pp. 62, 97-98.
22 See Muradian, "Cuiturai Activities", p. 329.
28 This comparison is constancy present in Orthodox Christian texts gtorifying the Mother of God,
for instance in the canons of John of Damascus.
31
Ani^^. In the 13th century, .as we know, the Chalcedonian bishops of Armenia came
under the jurisdiction of the Georgian Catholicos. However, in the 11th and 12th
centuries, in aii iikelihood, they were directly subordinate to the Patriarch of
Constantinople^. Evidently the Armenian-Chalcedonian church continued to retain a
certain autonomy after it became part of the Georgian Catholicosate. Thus in a
surviving Georgian ritual text for the consecration of the chrism the head of the
Armenian-Chalcedonian church is allocated an extremely honourable third place and
is grandly referred to, moreover, as the "Metropolitan of Greater Armenia"^. This
title suggests that the Armenian-Chalcedonian eparchy was regarded as a separate
entity and possessed a certain exceptional status.
All of which makes the explicitly Byzantinizing character of the iconographic
programme in the apse at Akhtala more comprehensible. Evidently those who devised
the frescoes not only wanted to demonstrate their long-standing and direct ties with
the patriarchate of Constantinople: they also wished to stress the distinctive position of
the Armenian-Chalcedonian church in relation to that of Georgia.
The subjects chosen for the altar apse and their ordering are thus typically
Byzantine. Individual iconographic themes may also, at first sight, appear equally
traditional. A closer study, however, reveals certain interesting features.
Etrgt'w Enthroned!
Almost the entire expanse of the conch is taken up by a vast depiction of the Mother
of God seated on a magnificent throne. Clothed in a bright blue chiton and a brown,
deep-red maphorion, she holds the infant Christ in two hands. The latter is dressed in
a gold-coloured cloak over a light blue tunic which stand out against the dark
background. In his left hand Christ holds a rolled-up scroll and he raises his right hand
to his breast in a gesture of benediction. The most original aspect of the composition
is the throne. It is shown as a three-tier gallery with arcades and columns, a
comparison to a building that is quite deliberate and can in no way be regarded as a
purely decorative feature.
The entire conception of this fresco evidently stresses a particular interpretation.
The figures of the Virgin and Child depict the central dogma of the Incarnation, the
Word made flesh. In mediaeval theology, however, this image was also considered a
symbol of the ideal Church. Probably it is the latter idea that is being stressed
throughout the iconographic programme of the Akhtala murals. The white cloth
spread over the cushion on the throne confirms that this is a correct interpretation. It
evokes a direct association with the white linen cloth that covers the altar in any
Orthodox church in remembrance of the burial cloth of Christ. The centre of the
throne thus comes to signify the area of the altar. The identification of the Virgin with
the church, so popular in liturgical poetry, is here conveyed in visual terms^s.
^ Migne.TG, t. 140, co). 198-202, 282.
26 See Arutiunova-Fidanian,^4r/nyanc-/fA<z&e^onfty, pp. 62, 97-98.
22 See Muradian, "Cuiturai Activities", p. 329.
28 This comparison is constancy present in Orthodox Christian texts gtorifying the Mother of God,
for instance in the canons of John of Damascus.