The Arbanasi Church “St. Archangels Michael and Gabriel” is a massive stone building elongated along the east-west axis, covered with a gabled roof. Its dimensions are 28.60 x 10.40 m. The facades are offset by shallow pseudo-constructive niches and vaulted windows in the upper part. The most plastic is the eastern wall, where two five-walled apses are formed.
The church has a complex architectural – compositional scheme. The entrance to the interior of the temple is from the west. The actual church consists of an altar, a nave and a narthex, situated successively along the longitudinal axis. On the north side there is a chapel dedicated to St. Paraskeva and a large vestibule.
The altar has been separated from the rest of the church by a carved iconostasis. In its center is a stone Holy Throne. The nave is one-dimensional, on its southern and northern sides are formed deep choirs. It is covered with a vault and a hemispherical blind dome. The vestibule, the chapel “St. Paraskeva” and the vestibule are covered with semi-cylindrical massive vaults, strengthened with arch belts.
The church in present days
In its present form, the temple was built in the last third of the 17th century. Before that, there was an earlier cult building in the same place. Its construction took place at the end of the 16th – the beginning of the 17th century. During the reconstruction carried out in the last third of the 17th century, the apse conch and part of the eastern walls of the old church were included in the volume of the new church.
The painting in the naos was completed at the end of the 17th century. In the apse conch there is an image of the Virgin Platytera with two archangels. In the eastern part of the vault, John the Baptist and Christ Emmanuel are inscribed. In the western part – Archangel Michael and Christ the Almighty. The center of the wide dome is occupied by the composition “New Testament Trinity”. Below it is painted a circular frieze with “Daisies” among groups of heavenly hosts. It is representing the Heavenly Liturgy. The figures of the four evangelists – St. John, St. Luke, St. Mark and St. Matthew – are inscribed in the pendentives of the dome.
Upper register
In the upper register of the nave are depicted the cycles of the Great Feasts and the Passion of Christ. The scenes: “Annunciation”, “Baptism of Christ”, “Crucifixion of Christ”, “The Betrayal of Judas” and “Judgment of Pilate” are especially impressive with their suggestions. The register below them is occupied by friezes of medallions, in which busts of numerous Christian saints are represented. In the lunettes of the two shells, two large scenes are inscribed – “Descent into Hell” (from the south) and “Nativity” (from the north).
The folklore motifs included in the second scene give it a special charm. In the lowest register on the southern and northern walls are depicted straight figures of warrior saints and healing saints. Each of the figures is housed under a painted arch resting on gracefully profiled columns. The scene “Prophet Elijah in the cave, fed by the raven” stands out for its expressiveness. It is located east of the southern conch.
In the upper part of the western wall of the nave is written the scene “Assumption of the Virgin”. In the lower register are the images of St. Christopher. The space above the entrance door is occupied by the patrons of the temple, Archangel Michael and Archangel Gabriel. They are holding in their hands a model of a church.
More of the interior
A founder’s inscription located above the entrance door testifies to the time of execution of the frescoes in the vestibule of the church. It reads: “This divine and venerable vestibule of the holy monastery of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel was written and decorated with the trust and means of the most honorable Mr. Hadji Nikos Kultukli and his wife Kyriaki for their commemoration in the summer of 1760, August 11.”
The solution of the eastern wall of the vestibule is particularly original. Due to its plastic design and mural decoration, it imitates a brick altar partition. This suggestion is reinforced by the images of St. Nicholas Archbishop of Myrliki. There is also image of the Virgin and Child, Jesus Christ and St. John the Forerunner presented in the niches. Above them are written “Council of the Archangels” and medallions with images of saints.
The church from east to west
On the vault from east to west are images of St. John the Forerunner, Virgin Platytera, God of Sabaot and Christ Emmanuel. On either side of them are painted friezes of figures of apostles and prophets, each of which is housed in an arch with columns. In the next register, which extends along the north, west and south walls, the complete cycle of the Akathist of the Virgin is presented. The verses of the hymns to the Mother of God are quoted in the compositions, and based on them an epic story is unfolded about the life and.
Under the scenes of the Akathist of the Mother of God, whole figures of righteous women, women-martyrs, saints – St. Thekla, St. Nedelya, St. Theodora of Thessaloniki, St. Lucia, St. Paraskeva, St. Anna, etc. are written.
A distinctive feature in the artistic decoration of the temple is the decorative interpretation of the architectural forms and elements, which harmonizes with the rest of the zography. In this way, organicity was achieved between architecture and wall painting – the hallmark of Orthodox medieval temple architecture.
