Bachkovo, the Chapel. Part I: the Apse
From Ὁ Μανουῆλ ὁ Καμίτζης' Photos Archive. Enjoy and cite;)
Bachkovo Ossuary is the oldest building of the Monastery of the Holy Mother of God Petritzonitissa, surviving in its pictorial and architectural original planning, according to the intentions of the founder, Gregorios Pakurianos, Georgian by birth, mega domestikos of the West and faithful friend of the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.
The Monastery was founded in 1083, near Philippopolis, now the brilliant city of Plovdiv, in Bulgaria. The Ossuary was built against a slope on two levels: the upper one hosts a funeral chapel, the lower one the crypt with the bones storing. Both spaces have narthexes, originally conceived as opened spaces and then walled up. Brief-taking frescoes program decorate the chapel and the crypt.
The Crypt of the Ossuary hosts a rare, if not unique, depiction of Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of the Dried Bones. in his vision Ezekiel experiences the Resurrection of Dry Bones, from skeletons to a great army in flesh. Philippopolis was home to a community of Paulicians, embracing, such as Bogomils did, eastern doctrines denying the resurrection of the body. They were excellent mercenaries, expert fighters, settled here to defend the Empire from northern and eastern invasions.
The worship path from the Chapel to the Crypt is thought to have been planned to refute the teachings of the Paulicians, living nearby in the region. An immersive and sensory experience, mediated by the frescoes, would reverberete the Resurrection testified by Ezekiel to the whole space of the crypt, and to the dried bones of the monks, resting in the ossuary, waiting and ready to vest back their flesh on the Day of the Second Coming.
Missing the Valley of the Dried Bones and the wonderful frescoes of the Crypt?
Check the post Bachkovo the Ossuary.
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I love this monastery. It’s so moving to read both of you writing about a holy place in Bulgaria. Thank you for your love of history and beauty.
I like the painting of the two people, one with three crosses and the other with multiple crosses. I’m wondering about the symbology of the three and the multiple.