St. George church – Staro Nagoričane

The church of St. George in the village of Staro Nagoričane was built on the remains of an older temple, which according to one legend was built by the Byzantine emperor Romanos IV Diogenes (Roman IV Diogen) (1067-1071).

From the inscribed inscription above the western gate of the church, it can be seen that today’s church was restored by the Serbian king Stefan II Milutin in 1313.

Monastery celebration – May 6 – St. George’s Day (Ѓурѓовден)

Church St. George is a three-nave, five-dome structure in the form of an inscribed cross with an extension towards the east and west.

The fresco painting of the church was made in 1317/18, and it is preserved in good condition until today.

The names of the painters, Evtihie (Евтихие) and Mihailo (Михаило) can be seen on the southwestern pillar and on the north wall, in the middle of the church. They are also authors of the fresco painting of the Ohrid church Holy Mary Perybleptos (St. Clement) and the monastery St. Nikita in Skopska Crna Gora.

A special rarity is the iconostasis made of stone pillars, ornamented architrave and parapet plates. To the left and right of the royal doors, St. George, the patron of the church and Holy Mary Pelagonitisa (Богородица Пелагонитиса) are painted.

Interesting: In the southwest wall of the monastery church after the Battle of Velbuzd, upon the order of King Milutin, Bulgarian Emperor Mihailo III Shishman (1322-1330) was buried.

The legend of the deer

According to the legend, Roman Diogen, while hunting in the surrounding forests, wounded a deer, which fled to the cave where it lived with the hermit and saint – Prohor Pcinjski. Prohor Pcinjski asked Diogen not to kill the deer, and when he obeyed, he prophesied that when he returned to Constantinople he would become a Byzantine king. After the prophecy became true, Roman Diogen, in appreciation, erected the church of St. George.