The existing church of St. Kliment, St.Bogorodica Perivleptos (Mother of God the Most Glorious), is a completely preserved medieval monument located in Ohrid, famous for its extraordinary architecture and fresco paintings.The church was built in 1295 by the Byzantine mili­tary commander, Progon Zgur, a relative of the Emperor Andronicus II Palalogus. After the church of St.Sophia had been convert­ed into mosque, St. Kliment's became the cathedral church of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, it acquired its present name after the remains of St. Kliment of Ohrid were trans­ferred to it from the monastery church of St.Panteleimon. The paintings in St. Kliment's mark a new chapter in mediaeval paintings. They ushered in a new trend in Byzantine art which came to be known as the Palaeologus Renaissance. They are also the earliest known works of Michael and Eutychius, distinguished medieval fresco painters, whose creation can be followed through nearly three decades. The church is cruciform in shape and surmounted by an octagonal-based dome decorated on the outside with cylindrical friezes. The narthex and the central part were built at the same time. It is built of brick and travertine in a masterly combination producing an extraordinarily decorative ef­fect and at the same time an impression of perfect harmony. Indeed, St. Kliment's ranks among the most outstanding achieve­ments of mediaeval architecture. The northern chapel, dedicated to St. Gregory the Divine, was built and deco­rated in 1365, according to an inscription on the inside of the main entrance. It was a foundation of archbishop Gregory of Devol. With the exception of the chapels on the south, west and north sides which are from the 19th century, the external narthex was built by St. Kliment. The church has been turned into a unique treasury, in which most probably the archbishopric's museum was formed in the late 15th century. At that time was a library there within the museum, and the library was said to be one of the oldest in the Balkans. There were many books in this li­brary and many significant manuscripts, which were used in by the cathedral and churches of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, at the time when Archbishop Prochorus of Ohrid 1523-1550 was at the head of the Archbishopric of Ohrid. He greatly improved Slavonic literacy, providing many books for the church's needs. They skilfully insert­ed their signatures into ornamental details of the clothes of St. Demetrius, Michael and St. Procopius EutycHius and elsewhere, too. Through the centuries, the smoke from burning incense and candles say nothing of dust had covered the frescoes with dark lay­ers of soot leaving hardly any traces of the work of the mediaeval fresco- painters. In the nartex of the church from the 13th century frescoes the most outstanding com­position is the "Cristmas Hymn" - located in the main entrance with the scenes bounded to Mother of God. The Painters Michael and Euftychius had brought a lot of lines of new ideas. The details of the movements of these saints portrayed are admirably done, conveying a sense of strengh, health, energy, war like, all in perfect harmony. The frescoes of St. Kliment's are pri­marily distinguished by the the artists' obvious tendency towards individual characterization of the portraits and a marked effort to get away from iconographic stereotypes. It would appear that contemporaries served the artists as models for these portraits of saints are done in a markedly realistic man­ner, with numerous distinctive details and without the usual elements conveying martyrdom and asceticism. If we look for any similar models, we may detect some simi­larity between these frescoes and early re­naissance paintings, particularly in some details of the "The Lamentation" on the north wall. The powerful sense of drama emanating from this fresco, from the ges­tures and movements of the figures - above all, the presentation of the Virgin Mary with her hair falling loose over her shoulders _ and many other elements, is strongly reminiscent of Giotto, a contemporary of Michael and Eutychius.

 

Some of the most significant frescoes in this church...

Holy Mother Wider than the sky The Communion The Assumption of Christ Jesus Christ the Panthocrator In Pandantifite there are depictions of the Evangelists: St. John St. Mark St. Matthew St. Luke The four walls of the church are divided into four sections. The upper section is devoted to Jesus Christ, the two following to Holy Mother, and the lowest to the portraits of the Saints. The first section depicts Christ's Life: Jesus Christ Born in the Cave, The Prophet Meets Jesus, Baptizing of Jesus in the Jordan, 2 scenes of Christ's Miracles - "The Assumption of Lazarus" and "The Transfiguration"), Scenes before His Death (The Entrance into Jerusalem, The Last Supper, The Washing of the Feet,) The Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (Jesus Prays Three Times), Judas's Betrayal with a Kiss, The Crucifix, The Mourning of Jesus Christ (with many emotions depicted), The Resurrection. The second and the third zone depict the life of Holy Mother: The Annunciation, The Birth, The Presentation, Joseph's Offering, The Assumption (Jesus is holding a baby that symbolizes Her soul, with many angels around Her, and other creatures mourning Her). In the fourth zone are the portraits of St. Kliment and other saints. On the columns there are figures of the Holy Warriors. Michael Astrapus and Eutychus are strict, they have precise stroke, gentle modeling of faces and hands (the volume is felt), an invariable colouring, all in one depicting a harmonious oneness. They used wet mortar for their frescoes. The same masters were the authors of the frescoes in the churches of St. Nikita on Mount Crna Gora near Skopje and St. Giorgi at Staro Nagoricane.