Sv. Bogorodica Perivlepta, Ohrid, Republika Makedonija

According to the sign over the western entrance inside the church, this exquisite monument of architecture and fresco painting was made in 1295 by the Byzantine official Progon Zgur, a relative to the Byzantine emperor Andronius II Paleologos. At the time, Makarius was the archbishop of Ohrid. The church was dedicated to Holy Mother of God Peribleptos, the one that sees from high above.
	The church Sv. Bogorodica (Holy Mother of God) Peribleptos (St. Clement) Ohrid, 1295 god

In the 15th century, when the Turks pulled down St. Clement s church, the remains of the saints were transferred to this temple and since then this church has been known as St. Clement. When the sacred cathedral of St. Sofia was transformed into a mosque, St. Clement’s church became the seat of Ohrid Archbishopric, which maintained its power under the Ottoman Empire and was even gain new territories under its jurisdiction. At that time, a lot of icons, the great Archbishopric Library with parchment handwritings from the 11th and 12th century, church pottery and other objects, as well as the oldest musical notations of Byzantine church chants were kept in the church. A monastery complex formed around St. Clement’s temple, as well as an Archbishop’s palace that burnt down in a fire in the 19th century.

The church base is a cross in a rectangle shape. The "narthex" of cross vaults was built on the western part of the church. And the middle contains a blind cupola. Above the central part, the "naos" is the only cupola where the "tambour" is supported by four square poles. To the eastern part the church ends with an altar apse, which contrasted to its other facades is mainly decorated with tiles. By the middle of the 14th Century chapels were built on both its sides. The places not covered with fresco painting point to the beautiful classical ceramic decoration of the façade.

The Church of St. Clement is an outstanding representative of the Macedonian architectural school from the Paleologic period. The harmonious shape and synchronized architecture while descending from the cupola down to the foundations were disrupted in the 9th century, when the open porch around the church was transformed into a wall and surrounds the church even today.

Centuries of candle smoke have made the fresco paintings invisible until recent times. In 1950 and 1959 the National Institute for the Protection of Monuments and Culture in the Republic of Macedonia began systematic conserving interventions on the construction and the fresco painting. At this time, the names of the painters Michael and Eutihius were discovered. These painters later painted the church St. Nikita in the village of Banani, Skopje and the church of St. George in Staro Nagoricane. After the conservation, the fresco painting in St. Clement’s church received today’s appearance.

The frescoes in the church are divided in three zones. The first zone is over the altar and consists of body length archpriests, in the second zone are waste length figures of saints and the third zone depicts Tom’s unfaithfulness, the Sacred Dinner and the Apostle’s Purification. The church of St. Mary Mother of God is painted in the upper part of the apse.

Some of the compositions painted in the deacon’s room are "The Meeting of Mary and Elizabeth" and scenes from the life of St. John the Baptist. The frescoes in the proscomedia illustrate the life of St. Mary Mother of God. The Holy Warriors Dimitrius, George, Theodor Tiron, Theodor Stratilat and St. Prokopius and the great composition of the ascendance of Mary Mother of God is painted on the Western Wall. The third and fourth zone in the "naos" are painted with scenes from the life and sufferings of Jesus Christ..

St. Clement of Ohrid and the Ohrid archbishop Constantine Kabasila - the north wall of the church

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