За функцията на църквата "Св. Богородица", с. Долна Каменица (XIV в.)
On the Function of the Church "St. Virgin", Dolna Kamenitsa (XIV c.)

Summary/Abstract: Certain aspects of the iconographic program of the church “St. Virgin”, Dolna Kamenitsa (XIV c.) point to its funeral purpose. The scenes of the Passion cycle dominate the nave. A very dramatic Lamentation is depicted along the whole length of the north wall opposite to that of the Last Supper. The Marian cycle, the Life of St. Nicholas and the Life of St. Paraskevi are painted in the narthex. The Mother of God, St. Nicholas and St. Paraskevi appear as great intercessors and protectors of people in the face of various illnesses and afflictions. What is more, they intercede for people on the Day of Judgement. Representations of Virgin Eleousa and scenes of Nicholas cycle are very often found in conjunction either with actual burials or with painted portraits of noble donors, whose tombs though lost, we may presume to have been located nearby. The name of St. Paraskevi is associated with a particular day of the week – Friday – and the fast which is held on that day in memory of the Sufferings of Our Lord. The selection of saints in Dolna Kamenitsa includes Holy Warriors and Holy Healers who are directly connected with life and death. One of the Holy Monks, St. Stephen the Younger, holds a diptych showing the lamenting Virgin and the Man of Sorrow. Such icons were placed on the chest of the dead during funerals. The scene of the communion of St. Mary of Egypt by St. Zosimas also has substantial funeral connotations.

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