Hidden by gorges and crags of the Erma river, away from the busy roads that sometimes brought the unwelcomed too, the monastery of Poganovo has survived many centuries .It kept both the authentic atmosphere of a Serbian medieval monastery and the heavy scent of insecurity from the last decade of the 14 th century. The name of the monastery reveals that maybe this very place, or some other place in the nearest surroundings had had an importance for a pagan religious cult before the appearance of Christianity. A picturesque mountain range encloses the clearing on which the strong monastery ramparts from the very time of their genesis have been keeping the monastery-richer and more diverse in the past. Behind the ramparts of today, the memory of the former medieval splendour has been kept by the church of St. John the Evangelist the medieval cellar (mutvak), the room with a fireplace and the dining room. The remains of the monk cells are attached to the east side of the dining room (which, perhaps is the originally monastery church).They had been built in the same way as the church-stones and bricks were used alternately. This medieval formation was renovated in 1876.-A monk dormitory was built above the dining room. Also, a watchtower of unusually harmonious proportions, so that it represents the beauty of folk architecture in its best.
The icons of St. Someone, St. Sava and St. John
The church of St. John the Evangelist is the most important and mostly preserved. It was built during the time of political and economic insecurity-in the last decade of the 14 th century. Frescoes were painted more than a hundred years later, when historic circumstances allowed it.
Being a part of the property of the most powerful aristocrat Constantine Dejanovic, the monastery of Poganovo was built in the crucial moments of the Serbian history. What had remained of the formerly great and powerful state was only a shadow, with small and weak aristocrats. Many of them ended up as Turkish vassals. Constantine Dejanovic himself lost his life together with king Marc in 1395, in the Ravine battle. In spite of all that, Constantine gained the name “the powerful”. Even today, local inhabitants use the expression:” In Constantine’s time”. The vast region he had once governed had been called “The land of Constantine” a century after his death.
That was the life of the man who built the monastery of Poganovo. There is a round medailion of him on the west façade of the church. After the death of the “Greatly praised master of Serbia, the noble Constantine”, whose mother was the sister of emperor Dusan-“Most exalted Serbian empress”, Eudocia; Constantine’s daughter Helena, took over the care of the monastery. The name of the only Serbian empress of Byzantium, the wife of the emperor Manojlo II Paeolog, Empress Helena, was carved into the second round medallion on the west façade. The third medallion reveals to whom the church had been dedicated.
Even in her later years, Empress Helena (later nun Hypomena) was still taking care of her father’s memorial. She was the only one who could have presented the monastery with one of the most beautiful icons of Byzantium. On one side of the icons –there are figures of The Mother of God and St. John the Evangelist, and on the other-the Miracles in the Latomian monastery. This icon, as well as the other treasures of this monastery are now kept in Sofia where they have arrived during the World War I.
The monastery church of St. John the Evangelist is a building shaped like three-leaf clover. Group of Moravian style monuments was taken as the model during the construction; but this church is some what different and much simpler. Above the naos stands an octagonal dome, while above the parvis, there is a quadrangle one, revived with windowpanes. It was built in so-called Byzantium ornamental technique-the alternative use of stones and bricks showing all the beauty of the multicolored wall canvases. Another exciting detail is the pentagonal epses. It is a plastic expression, that seems to be a distant echo of the representative monuments of the Moravian style. The vivid relief façade arches were made of bricks, the round medallions on the wes façade, a profiled dome with niches and semi-pillars on the corners and the cogged wreath in double file under the eaves, etc.
Only the foundations of the outer parvis are remaining. They are leaning against the west façade of the church. Today’s porch, a much bigger and clumsier building, disturbs the look of the church in many ways. It was built at the end of the 19th century, surely after 1878 (when it was not found there by M. Valtrovic and D. Milutinovic).The presence of the porch is an obvious example of the unfortunate destiny of a large number of Serbian medieval churches, with parvises or porches added later, which often resulted in disturbing their former harmony.
Basically, the architecture of this temple, which had been built under a great influence of the Moravian school of architecture, merged with the Serbian medieval architecture, along with the full respect for the accomplishments of the architects of Byzantium.
One hundred years later historic circumstances allowed this provocatively lucid interior of the church to be covered with painting. But, even then, the artist did not manage to paint the parvis. Perhaps the reasons for that were either a short time to do it the difficult political situation. The legible inscription above the entrance to the naos states only that the works were finished on October 24,1499,and nothing else –not a mention of the founder, prior, archpriest, or the fresco painters…
With a lucid lay-out and arrangement, and accessible contents, the painting of Poganovo does not estrange from the established way of presenting the events of the Christian history. In the dome, there is a fresco of Christ the Pantocreator and the Heavenly Liturgy. In the tambour is the Prophets, the Evangelists’ frescoes are in the pendentifs. On the highest surface of the east and west trawerse are the Great Holidays. In the side “clover leaves” are the frescoes of the Birth of the Mother of God and Presentation in the Temple, and the Sources of Wisdom of St. Gregory the Theologian, which are less frequently shown in Serbian fresco painting. Underneath them is the painting of uninterrupted chain of the Passion. In the apse, there is a fresco of the Mother of God with Child, the Communion of the Apostles and the Worship of the Lamb. This fresco is completed with busts of martyrs, apostles, monks, hermits, holly women and faith healers on the lowest surface.
On the west wall are the standing figures of the emperor Constantine and his mother empress Helen, who are praised by whole Christian world. On the north wall are mutual Balkan hermits-St. John of Rila and Joachim of Sarandapor. In an unexpected position, the north choir, right behind the church of St. John the Evangelist are the most important Serbian saints-St. Simeon Nemanja and St. Sava of Serbia.
While watching the fresco gallery of Poganovo, the general impression of completion which imposes in us is typical only for great works of art. The main characteristics of the frescoes in Poganovo are clear colours, the firm form, confident and hard drawings, sometimes clumsy figures in awkward postures, but with real expressions on their faces, recognizable shapes of architecture and landscape, the details from everyday life -main characteristics of the frescoes in Poganovo are. These are also characteristics of an experienced artist, who knew their job well. Suitable texts, accompanying the painted scenes, show that the artist knew very well theology. His art, just like all the great art, was simple, easily acceptable and ideologically understandable. It resulted in a clear and meaningful painting. This fortunate juncture of idea and shape, between idealism and moderate realism distinguishes this painting making it attractive even today. The characteristic art manner, the unusual iconographic features and the abundance of theological contents, line the frescos of Poganovo up, with the best accomplishments of the last years of the 15 th century.
The painters of frescos in Poganovo were from Kostur, or perhaps from the nearby village, celled Linotop. Creative activity of the workshops in the region of Kostur in the last quarter of the 15 th century may be followed across these Balkan areas. It was spreading the truth about the continuity of the Byzantium art. Such a group of artist brought a new and amazingly fresh art to this country suppressed by the heterodox Turkish authority. It was an art that was as unique as that unfortunate oppression by the Turks. These mutual jewels of the art treasury of the Balkan nations, that belonged to the Balcan nations, that belonged to the post-Byzantium period of history of the Balkans, spread along with Turkish power. Thanks to its vitality to it had survived the direct pressure of the Turkish power. During that destructive period, Turkey had been the most powerful country, but the Serbian people started a battle for their cultural and national indipendence. Maybe it was not an accident at all that we met with these painters from this circle either inside the renewed churches of the Nemanjic dynasty, or –as in this particular case-the memorial of the respectable Serbian Dejanovic dynasty. The monastery of St. John the Evangelist is protected as a cultural monument of great importance. Research and restoration of the monastery complex started in 1966,and lasted till 1974.The restores from the Institute for Preservation of Cultural Monuments in Nis, under the leadership of architect Aleksandar Radovic, have completed the architectural works. They returned the authentic shapes to the buildings and all the beauty of the noble composition of stones and bricks. The experts of the Republic Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments, under the leadership of painter and conservationist, Branislav Zivkovic, finished the conservation and cleaning of the fresco decoration, reviving its old beauty. Thanks to them, the monastery of Poganovo welcomes the visitors in the full radiance of its magnificence, and it will last, as the legend says,” as long as it’s God’s will”.
