After welcoming wide entrance to the courtyard of Rila Monastery, I walked towards main church entrance. As I got to the doors I discovered incredibly colorful detailed Rila Monastery paintings of the celling and walls. All covered in Bible stories—so colorful, so detailed and complex, they seemed almost alive—my eyes grew wide.
The whole outside itself was a true rainbow of colours. In the most wonderful sense, it was overwhelming but not easy to find the good composition for this image. I discovered that this one appeals to me the most because of the clear picture of Jesus above the door on the celling and the good feeling it had.
Ceiling Paintings at Rila Monastery
As it turns out all Eastern Orthodox churches include the Christ Pantocrator in the central dome. Pantocrator signifies the Omnipotent and sovereign of all. Initials that are painted on both sides of the Pantocrator’s head, namely IC and XC. IC represents the first and final letters of Jesus in the Greek alphabet (Iota and Sigma), while XC indicates the beginning and last letters for Christ (Chi and Sigma). The Pantocrator fresco is located on the exterior of church as as photography is not allowed within the Church. This make the detailed art of Rila Monastery painting truly special.
The main church that was built by Pavel Ioanov from 1834 to 1837, is a reminder of this renewal. It has five domes, three altars, and two side chapels. The iconostasis, which is made of wood and is gold-plated, is a work of art that took five years to finish. The famous brothers Zahari and Dimitar Zograf were among the famous artists from Bansko, Samokov, and Razlog who painted the murals. They were finished in 1846. These historical details make the already deeply spiritual experience of going to Rila Monastery even more meaningful. Check out more wall frescoes at Rila Monastery here.
Also check how I captured the Entrance Façade of Sacre Coeur | Paris, France.
