Saint Pantelejmon Monastery Nerezi village
The Monastery of St Panteleimon in the village of Nerezi is the old, wonderfully preserved Byzantine Church from the middle of the 12th century that is situated in the village of Gornji Nerezi close to Skopje. The Monastery of Sveti Pantelejmon, situated 6 km from the center of Skopje, on the slopes of Vodno Mountain, is an essential visit for anyone interested in Byzantine art. The church and monastery are both dedicated to Saint Panteleimon, the patron of physicians. According to the Greek inscription on the marble plaque above the entrance to the nave, it is clear that the Saint Panteleimon Church has been built in 1164 by Alexius Angelus Comnenus, the relative of the Byzantine Tzar Manojlo I Comnenus. The Monastery of St Panteleimon was first mentioned in 1300 in the founding Charter of Serbian King Milutin /1282 -1321/ in which it was attested as the metochion of the St George Monastery in Staro Nagoricane village. The Church of Saint Panteleimon Monastery has base of the cross inscribed in rectangle with four small domes over the angles of the church and a large dome above the central part of the church what makes it similar to the Church of Saint George in Staro Nagoricano and Matejce Monastery. The Church has been built by group of talented unknown master-builders of ordinary blocks of stone and bricks with great artistry that merged into many-coloured surfaces. Narthex with the semi-circular vault was added on the western side of the church. The Saint Panteleimon Monastery in Nerezi is known for its outstanding frescoes exceptional in its style and aesthetics, painted bz anonymous masters of the rank of the best Byzantine imperial frescoes painters of the 12th century that represent one of the most significant depiction of the Byzantine paintings and the best depictions of the Byzantine arts of the Comnenos era. The most significant frescoes of the Saint Panteleimon Monastery from the 12th century are : Mourning of Christ, Moving from the Cross, Transfiguration and Purification of the Virgin Mary. The Mourning of Christ composition is particularly impressive for its emotional portrayal of the grief of the Mother of God over the body of her son, whose face expresses pain and deep sorrow. The Holy Mother of God is staring at her dead son s face, whom she is holding in her arms. Her eyebrows are raised and contracted, her lips pressed tightly together and her eyes radiate grief transmitted to the other figures which represent a departure from earlier Byzantine painting where the Nerezi painter paid great attention to expressing the inner feelings of his figures. Frescoes provide harmony in depictions of portraits in regard with movements, and colors, and specific characteristics that occur in depicting people who hand over living as well as realistic scenes with the full expressions and movements. High artistic achievement of fresco-painters is attested in the composition Moving from the Cross where mother's pain for lost son is outstandingly depicted. Besides those there are frescoes from the 16th century that were painted after the disastrous earthquake which happened in 1555. The 12th century frescoes inside the little church of Saint Pantelejmon in Nerezi village are amongst the finest in Macedonia. In the modern buildings of the Saint Pantelejmon Monastery courtyard are a hotel and restaurant, with fine views of Skopje and the Vardar valley - it is easy to see how the growth of the city has been constrained by the terrain to follow an east-west axis. Sacred Legacy of the Balkans - Balkan Pilgrimage
