| Over the Prespa village Grncari, surrounded by the picturesque nature, there is a small single-nave church, known among the people as St. Ilija. It is presumed that this church was originally dedicated to St. Nicolas. |
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St. ILIJA, VILLAGE of GRNCARI, PRESPA
| Over the Prespa village Grncari, surrounded by the picturesque nature, there is a small single-nave church, known among the people as St. Ilija. It is presumed that this church was originally dedicated to St. Nicolas. |
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It was made out of stone and bricks, it has a hemispheric vault, and there is an apse on its east side, three sided on the outside.
Inside the church there are frescoes from two periods: The first and older period is the time when the church was constructed. Archaeologists presume that it dates from the first half of the 13th Century. Fragment from the composition called "Mother of God’s Assumption" and the composition "Christ’s Transfiguration " have been preserved until today. The frescoes from the second period date from the time of the church reconstruction. In an inscription in Slavic over the Deicise composition, Priest Dimitrius and his son Rajko are mentioned as the ones who reconstructed the church of St. Nicolas.
It is interesting to mention that we can see St. Achil painted in this church. He was the saint whose cult was typical and extremely respected in the vicinity of Prespa. His portrait was depicted on the south wall behind the iconostasis.
M. Cvetanovska
About the churches in Macedonia
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