DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.27365#0046
34
/CCWOGRAPH/C PROGRAMME
The Co/MFMHMfOM o/fheHpOVf/eX
A vivid image of the iiturgy performed in the ceiestiai church is provided by the
"Communion of the Aposties", a targe composition located betow the conch depiction
of the Virgin. Christ is shown twice, on either side of the altar, holding out the host
(pmsp/zorc) to St Peter and the chalice to St Paul. His movements correspond exactly
to the ritual gestures of the bishop giving communion in the sanctuary to the priests
assisting him during the liturgy. The richly decorated barrier of the chancel with its
doors still closed specify the time and place. Originally there were six apostles on each
side but now only five figures can be identified: behind Peter to the north stand John
and Luke, while Matthew follows Paul to the south. Thus the evangelists process
behind the leading apostles to receive communion.
Christ as high priest is attended and aided by angels holding rhipidia, who are
dressed as deacons in a sticharion with the orarion over their left shoulders. At their
necks, however, can be seen the lavish shoulder and breast decorations of the imperial
garments that they wear beneath their deacons robes. This is a reminder that the
deacon-angels assisting Christ the great high priest are, at the same time, royal
guardians of the Emperor of Heaven. The repetition of the chalice and paten is a
striking detail (they are shown both on the altar and in the hands of the officiating
Christ). Episodes occurring at different moments in the service are here shown at one
and the same time: the "Communion of the Apostles" is thus not simply a depiction of
a church rite but a complete image of the eucharistic mystery.
The most distinctive feature of the composition is the original depiction of the
ciborium. The upper part is shown as a cupola resting on a round foundation^. The
canopy over the altar is thus likened to a church, and this is a comparison derived
from early liturgical interpretations^, in Byzantine iconography, moreover, the
ciborium began very early to be used as shorthand for a church and replace a realistic
depiction of the latter^. What we see here, however, is not a traditional treatment.
The resort to a rare iconographic motif demands additional explanation.
A clue is provided by the unusual form of the cupola surmounting the ciborium. It
is conic in shape and slightly pointed. There is an emphatic ribbing that takes the form
of protuberant vanes and those parts are given a distinctive greenish-grey colour. The
overall impression is of a metallic covering divided into separate plates by fine lines.
Such a cupola is not to be found either in Byzantine monuments or in mediaeval
Caucasian architecture. Yet the strikingly specific and definite nature of the image
means that we cannot attribute its form simply to the unbridled fantasy of the artist.
3-5 I am deepty gratefu) to M. Radujko, who attracted my attention to this characteristic of the
Akhtaia murais.
36 See Krasnosei'tsev, O drcwn'A'/;, p. 64.
33 See A. Stojakovic, "Arhitektonske skrachenice u vizantijskom siikarstvu", Zcgra/, 13 (1982), p.
61.
/CCWOGRAPH/C PROGRAMME
The Co/MFMHMfOM o/fheHpOVf/eX
A vivid image of the iiturgy performed in the ceiestiai church is provided by the
"Communion of the Aposties", a targe composition located betow the conch depiction
of the Virgin. Christ is shown twice, on either side of the altar, holding out the host
(pmsp/zorc) to St Peter and the chalice to St Paul. His movements correspond exactly
to the ritual gestures of the bishop giving communion in the sanctuary to the priests
assisting him during the liturgy. The richly decorated barrier of the chancel with its
doors still closed specify the time and place. Originally there were six apostles on each
side but now only five figures can be identified: behind Peter to the north stand John
and Luke, while Matthew follows Paul to the south. Thus the evangelists process
behind the leading apostles to receive communion.
Christ as high priest is attended and aided by angels holding rhipidia, who are
dressed as deacons in a sticharion with the orarion over their left shoulders. At their
necks, however, can be seen the lavish shoulder and breast decorations of the imperial
garments that they wear beneath their deacons robes. This is a reminder that the
deacon-angels assisting Christ the great high priest are, at the same time, royal
guardians of the Emperor of Heaven. The repetition of the chalice and paten is a
striking detail (they are shown both on the altar and in the hands of the officiating
Christ). Episodes occurring at different moments in the service are here shown at one
and the same time: the "Communion of the Apostles" is thus not simply a depiction of
a church rite but a complete image of the eucharistic mystery.
The most distinctive feature of the composition is the original depiction of the
ciborium. The upper part is shown as a cupola resting on a round foundation^. The
canopy over the altar is thus likened to a church, and this is a comparison derived
from early liturgical interpretations^, in Byzantine iconography, moreover, the
ciborium began very early to be used as shorthand for a church and replace a realistic
depiction of the latter^. What we see here, however, is not a traditional treatment.
The resort to a rare iconographic motif demands additional explanation.
A clue is provided by the unusual form of the cupola surmounting the ciborium. It
is conic in shape and slightly pointed. There is an emphatic ribbing that takes the form
of protuberant vanes and those parts are given a distinctive greenish-grey colour. The
overall impression is of a metallic covering divided into separate plates by fine lines.
Such a cupola is not to be found either in Byzantine monuments or in mediaeval
Caucasian architecture. Yet the strikingly specific and definite nature of the image
means that we cannot attribute its form simply to the unbridled fantasy of the artist.
3-5 I am deepty gratefu) to M. Radujko, who attracted my attention to this characteristic of the
Akhtaia murais.
36 See Krasnosei'tsev, O drcwn'A'/;, p. 64.
33 See A. Stojakovic, "Arhitektonske skrachenice u vizantijskom siikarstvu", Zcgra/, 13 (1982), p.
61.