Anogeia, church of Agios Ioannis (Saint John) and Panagia (Presentation of the Virgin)

View of the interior of the church of Agios Ioannis (Saint John)

The double church in the Kavalaria area in Armi of Anogeia is dedicated to St John the Baptist and the Presentation of the Virgin Mary.

Initially, during the 14th century, a single-nave, barrel-vaulted church was built. Later, a second church was added to the north side of the original building, and the structure was further expanded to the west. The original south church is adorned with frescoes, unlike the subsequent north church and the western addition, which were left without murals. The opening of arches to connect the spaces destroyed part of the mural decoration. The iconographic program of the church includes scenes from the Christological cycle, episodes from the cycle of John the Baptist, and figures of saints.

Βιβλιογραφία

Μ. Ανδριανάκης, Κ. Γιαπιτσόγλου, Χριστιανικά μνημεία της Κρήτης, Ηράκλειο 2012, σ. 296.

I. Spatharakis, Byzantine wall paintings of Crete, vol II. Mylopotamos Province, Leiden 2015, σ. 64-77.

The Crucifixion

The representation of the Crucifixion is placed in the western part of the barrel vault. Surrounding the Crucified Christ are the Virgin and Christ's female disciples, the Apostle John, the Centurion Longinus and, on a smaller scale, two soldiers wearing helmets and cuirasses: one is piercing the side of Jesus and the other is holding a sponge and a jar of vinegar. An interesting detail is the bust of the personification of the Church collecting the blood of Jesus in a vessel.

The Crucifixion.

The Empty Sepulchre.

The Empty Sepulchre

The mural depicts the moment when the myrrh bearers visit the tomb of Christ and find it empty. The centre of the scene is dominated by the angel sitting on the rock announcing the Resurrection (Anastasis). He turns to the left towards the three women approaching him, pointing to the right towards the empty tomb. In the lower right corner of the mural, the sleeping soldiers are depicted in a smaller scale. They wear cuirasses and helmets and hold spears, shields and swords.

The iconostasis

A tall, carved wooden iconostasis is preserved in the church of John the Baptist, separating the sanctuary from the nave.

On the painted panels of the lower zone are depicted episodes from the story of the Protoplasts, from the creation of Adam and Eve to their expulsion from Paradise. The panels are separated by mullions with sculpted floral decoration. Right above lies the zone of the Despotic icons, which served as prostration images.

Above the Despotic icons, colonnades and capitals support a zone of rich relief floral decoration; monstrous and human figures emerge between the rinceau. The zone of the Twelve Great Feasts, i.e. the 12 most important feasts of the liturgical year comes next. The iconostasis is crowned by the figure of the Crucifix, flanked by two “lypera”, depicting the figures of the Virgin and Saint John the apostle, supported two winged dragons.