Semen Monastery

Semen Monastery, St. John's Church

The Semen Monastery ( Bulgarian Земенски манастир , Semenski manastir) was founded in the Middle Ages as a Bulgarian Orthodox monastery. It is located above the city of Semen , Pernik Oblast , about 70 kilometers southwest of Sofia .

From the monastery built in the 11th century, the church with rich frescoes is still preserved. It was consecrated to the Evangelist Johannes and is now a museum as a cultural monument. Next to the church is a small bell tower and a two-story, elongated residential building from the 19th century.

Johanneskirche

Entrance to the Diakonikon

Fresco: Christ Communion

The Johanneskirche is a cross-domed church with an almost cube-shaped structure 9 meters long, 8 meters wide and 11.2 meters high. Travertine blocks and bricks were used as building materials . Four mighty pillars support the vaults and support the rotunda on the crossing . The east wall ends with three flat arched apses, the other walls are loosened up with three sunken blind arcades .

In the tympanum above the main portal on the west side there is a fresco of the Evangelist John with a gesture of blessing. A door lintel in relief on the south wall forms the entrance to the Diakonikon (sacristy); as doorstep was a palmette-decorated marble spolia - probably an architrave - installed. The church is no longer used for church services and no longer contains any iconostasis .

Frescoes

Large frescoes from two phases have been preserved on the inner walls. The older ones date from the construction time, the 11th century. The younger ones from the 14th century are better preserved and show various saints and biblical scenes. A special feature are the portraits of donors, which are therefore very early individual representations.

A representation of the Eucharist typical of the Eastern Church is very well preserved : Christ stands as two figures side by side behind a table under a canopy. To the left (as seen by the spectator) he hands out the bread to six disciples, to the right he hands the wine to another six disciples.

The frescoes are attributed to the Tarnowo school . In addition to the frescoes in the Boyana Church, they are among the best from this period in terms of quality and state of preservation. The church is a branch of the National History Museum .