St. Pantelejmon (Panteleimon) Monastery

St. Pantelejmon (Panteleimon) Monastery

The whole city of Skopje and its region can be seen from the monastery St. Pantelejmon from bird’s-eye view, like on a television screen, from the heart of the mountain Vodno. This monastery has the most significant fresco painting in Macedonia and it is one of the most valuable works in Europe. Here, in Macedonia, in this monastery, the Renaissance in fresco painting begins, and that is one full century and a half before the appearance of the Renaissance in Italy of Giotto. The monastery was built in 116, during the Byzantine dynasty of Comnenus. That is written on the marble board set above the door. The best builders and icon-painters made their best work. It is built with stone and tiles in shape of a cross-in-square plan in a rectangular space and five cupolas. The monastery survived a fire, an earthquake, many destruction's and pillages but remained a holy and bright witness of the rich ecclesiastic and cultural life on the 12th century of the church and metropolitan center in Skopje. This monastery is present in all the important encyclopedic issues in the world, regarding culture and art. The fresco painting dating back to the 12th century represents the holy warriors and eremites (first zone), the great feasts (second zone). The most important are the frescoes lamination and Descent from the Cross. Also wonderful are the compositions: The Assumption of the Holy Mother, The Meeting of Our Lord, The Holy Mother with Jesus Christ and Saint Pantelejmon.