DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.27365#0077
AFM5 OF /OF DOAfFD CFOAA
65
explicit in the art of the Palaeologean era when Christ was shown in the Deesis
compositions dressed in the robes of an Orthodox Patriarch'24
Liturgical ideas were emphasised in both the Deesis compositions of the Akhtala
murals, that on the arch preceding the sanctuary and that in the lunette of the west
wall. The two compositions complemented and reinforced one another. The image of
the infant Emmanuel concentrated attention on the reality of the Incarnation and of
Christ's sacrifice. The image of Christ seated in the shining mandorla presented him
between the officiating archangels who praised him as king and high priest 123
eternally reigning in the heavens. If the Emmanuel referred to the first coming and the
beginning of the history of salvation then Christ in the "Last Judgement" was a
reference to the Second Coming and the completion of his foreordained path. At
Akhtala the Deesis compositions form distinctive guidemarks in time and space
located within the decoration of the church; they uncover opposite sides of the same
symbol which in the most concentrated form embodies the theme of salvation and
constitutes the central meaning of the iconographic programme and of the liturgy.
Besides the Georgian and rare liturgical motifs we may note two other interesting
features of the Akhtala "Last Judgement". The first is the depiction of St Anempodistos
(feast day, 2 November) on the face of the false arch framing the west wall. The bust
of the martyr continues the vertical series of the faithful being raised from their graves.
To give some variety to the theme the compiler of the iconographic programme
personified a righteous soul in this portrait of one who had died for the faith. It does
not become clear why this lesser known martyr was chosen until we compare the
details of his hagiography with the topography of the murals.
Symmetrically opposite St Anempodistos on the north protuberance of the same
arch we find symbolic images of various torments in hell. The Life of the Saint tells in
detail of the tortures suffered by Anempodistos, Akindinos and Pegasios at the hands
of the Persian king. They were beaten with rods, hung over fires, placed on red-hot
tiles and in cauldrons filled with molten tin, sulphur and tar, thrown into the sea, cast
into pits full of snakes and, finally, burnt to death in a va6t furnace. The list of their
sufferings clearly corresponds to the traditional forms of torment in hell. The
comparison was actually made in the Life of the Saint where it was asserted that these
terrible punishments could not harm the faithful believers whom God protected and
endowed, as a reward for their faith, with eternal bliss. The image of St Anempodistos
is thus in some sense the antithesis of these scenes of torment. He personified the idea
of earthly suffering for the faith as necessary for attaining the heavenly kingdom.
The use of a saint's image to embody a particular theological idea was not unique
to Akhtala. An interesting analogue may be found in the iconographic programme of
the church of the Saviour at Nereditsa (1199). There St Anastasia is shown beside the
scenes of paradise. The holy martyr, as M.F. Muryanov convincingly proved,
124 The theme of Christ the Patriarch in Byzantine iconographic programmes is analysed in
Walter, Art and FFna/, pp. 214-221.
123 Importantly, certain Last Judgement compositions (for instance, the murals of Ateni and
Timothesoubani) represent Christ as a venerable, grey-haired man, like the "Ancient of Days", thereby
symbolising the eternity of the second person of the Trinity.
65
explicit in the art of the Palaeologean era when Christ was shown in the Deesis
compositions dressed in the robes of an Orthodox Patriarch'24
Liturgical ideas were emphasised in both the Deesis compositions of the Akhtala
murals, that on the arch preceding the sanctuary and that in the lunette of the west
wall. The two compositions complemented and reinforced one another. The image of
the infant Emmanuel concentrated attention on the reality of the Incarnation and of
Christ's sacrifice. The image of Christ seated in the shining mandorla presented him
between the officiating archangels who praised him as king and high priest 123
eternally reigning in the heavens. If the Emmanuel referred to the first coming and the
beginning of the history of salvation then Christ in the "Last Judgement" was a
reference to the Second Coming and the completion of his foreordained path. At
Akhtala the Deesis compositions form distinctive guidemarks in time and space
located within the decoration of the church; they uncover opposite sides of the same
symbol which in the most concentrated form embodies the theme of salvation and
constitutes the central meaning of the iconographic programme and of the liturgy.
Besides the Georgian and rare liturgical motifs we may note two other interesting
features of the Akhtala "Last Judgement". The first is the depiction of St Anempodistos
(feast day, 2 November) on the face of the false arch framing the west wall. The bust
of the martyr continues the vertical series of the faithful being raised from their graves.
To give some variety to the theme the compiler of the iconographic programme
personified a righteous soul in this portrait of one who had died for the faith. It does
not become clear why this lesser known martyr was chosen until we compare the
details of his hagiography with the topography of the murals.
Symmetrically opposite St Anempodistos on the north protuberance of the same
arch we find symbolic images of various torments in hell. The Life of the Saint tells in
detail of the tortures suffered by Anempodistos, Akindinos and Pegasios at the hands
of the Persian king. They were beaten with rods, hung over fires, placed on red-hot
tiles and in cauldrons filled with molten tin, sulphur and tar, thrown into the sea, cast
into pits full of snakes and, finally, burnt to death in a va6t furnace. The list of their
sufferings clearly corresponds to the traditional forms of torment in hell. The
comparison was actually made in the Life of the Saint where it was asserted that these
terrible punishments could not harm the faithful believers whom God protected and
endowed, as a reward for their faith, with eternal bliss. The image of St Anempodistos
is thus in some sense the antithesis of these scenes of torment. He personified the idea
of earthly suffering for the faith as necessary for attaining the heavenly kingdom.
The use of a saint's image to embody a particular theological idea was not unique
to Akhtala. An interesting analogue may be found in the iconographic programme of
the church of the Saviour at Nereditsa (1199). There St Anastasia is shown beside the
scenes of paradise. The holy martyr, as M.F. Muryanov convincingly proved,
124 The theme of Christ the Patriarch in Byzantine iconographic programmes is analysed in
Walter, Art and FFna/, pp. 214-221.
123 Importantly, certain Last Judgement compositions (for instance, the murals of Ateni and
Timothesoubani) represent Christ as a venerable, grey-haired man, like the "Ancient of Days", thereby
symbolising the eternity of the second person of the Trinity.