Iconostases in Balkan Churches – Part 2: Dečani Monastery

The iconostases of Dečani Monastery are of such overwhelming interest that they warrant their own post in my photojournalism series. Dečani was built in 1327-1331. Among the hundreds of monasteries built by the medieval kingdom of Serbia, it was the tallest and grandest. Today, it is also, miraculously, the best preserved, with an extraordinary collection…

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Iconostases in Balkan Churches – Part 1: Serbia

Continuing my photojournalism series highlighting Balkan churches, this post features interesting iconostases I photographed in Serbia and in the Kosovo and Metohija region. These iconostases range from medieval to contemporary, and exhibit a remarkable range of styles. I find it fascinating to view them grouped together, and consider that there are such diverse solutions to…

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Ciboria and Tabernacles: A Short History

(This article continuation of my last post: Holy Tables with Reliquaries: A Short History ) The Ciborium A ciborium is a form of canopy supported by columns over the holy table (25). It is sometimes also called a baldachin, but strictly speaking this latter term should be limited to cloth canopies. Ciboria came to be common,…

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