In the heavenly horizons Three Christian temples in the region of Matka near Skopje
Elizabeta Dimitrova* University “Ss. Kiril and Metodij” Skopje, Faculty of Philosophy
UDC 726.5.033(497.7 Skopje) DOI 10.2298/ZOG1135101D Оригиналан научни рад
The article deals with the problem of chronological deter- different historic periods, this temple is preserved in its mination of three sacral edifi ces located in the middle, as original architectural form, manifesting remarkable spatial well as in the highest cultural horizon of the region of Matka dimensions of what is considered to be the oldest Christian near Skopje. Due to the lack of historical sources, as well monument from the medieval era in this region.1 According as preserved portions of the original fresco ensembles, the to its architectural conception, the church of Saint Archan- buildings are dated on the ground of their architectural fea- tures and according to the archeological fi nds discovered gel Michael is a basilica with quite remarkable dimensions, in their vicinity. In that regard, the church of St. Kyriake out of which the walls up to 1 m in height are preserved on the highest mountain post of Matka is dated in the fi rst (fi g. 1). It is erected in the middle portion of the fl atten pla- half of the fourteenth century, the temple of St. Archangel teau at the site of “Peter’s rock”2 as a central sacral building Michael at the site of Peter’s Rock in the late twelfth, while in the Middle Byzantine epoch, while today is surrounded the church dedicated to St. Saviour, as a restoration of the by additionally confi gured architectural elements originat- later, was repeatedly built in the period between the late ing from the later medieval period. According to its dimen- thirteenth and the second half of the twentieth century. sions, this building can be enumerated among the basilicas Key words: Matka, church architecture, building opus, with medium size, while according to its spatial organiza- building technique tion it belongs to the elaborated ground plans of this ar- chitectural type from the last period of its public promo- The fascinating and ultra-picturesque eco structure of tion.3 The orientation of the edifi ce is almost regular (east the canyon Matka, grandiose by its colossal dimensions and – west), with deviation of 10 degrees in direction towards unique by the spectacular vista of dizzy vertical lines and north. The length of the basilica’s ground plan is 17,35 m, tamed horizontal layers, is one of the most beautiful natural whereat the longitudinal span from the apse to the western ambients in the territory of Macedonia and in the wider Bal- wall of the naos is 10,75 m, while the western part of the kan region. Confi gured of hallucinating heights of the fi erce building is 6.60 m long. The width of the church is 4.90 m, rocky structures, as well as of deep blue spheres of the vast while the thickness of the walls measures 0.80 m. water horizon, this windy and moist gorge of the Treska River The church of Saint Archangel Michael as a longitu- is enumerated among the most luxurious sights in the natural dinal edifi ce spatially manifested along the axis east-west heritage of the country. The cultural horizon of the sacral and functionally divided into two structural parts – naos and edifi ces created in the territory of Matka, on the other hand, narthex. The naos measures 9.40 x 4.90 m, at the eastern part represents a rich panorama of artistic monuments, marked of which an apse has been formulated with a radius of 1.35 by diverse architectural features and remarkable painterly m. The narthex measures 6,60 x 4,90 m and is designed with attainments. Erected with the passionate skill of the anony- two separate structures, which, within the functional organi- mous builders, decorated with impressive fresco ensembles zation of the architectural ground plan, received the roles of and carefully nurtured during times of wars and military in- narthex and exonarthex. This tripartite division of the ba- vasions, they represent the most persuasive and most vivid silical plan points to a sacral edifi ce with a regular liturgical witnesses to the historic and cultural past documented on service and testifi es to the efforts for a serious protocol in the the territory of Matka in the course of the last millennium. Among the dozen monuments created in the medieval and * Elizabeta Dimitrova ([email protected]) late medieval period, we will pinpoint some interesting re- 1 V. Lilčić, Matka niz vekovite, Skopje 1995, 68. marks about three of them, situated in the middle, as well as 2 E. Dimitrova, V. Lilčić, K. Antevska, A. Vasilevski, Matka – kul- in the highest geographic horizon of the region. turno nasledstvo, Skopje 2011, 161. The fi rst church that deserves our attention is the one 3 Dj. Stričević, La renovation du type basilical dans l’architecture dedicated to St. Archangel Michael at the site of Peter’s ecclésiastique des pays centraux des Balkans au IXe – XIe siècles, Actes du XIIe Congres International d’Etudes Byzantines I, Beograd 1963, 165– Rock, located some 2 km south of the village of Gorna 211; V. Korać, Sur les basiliques médiévales de Macédoine et le Serbie, Matka. Lying amidst the terrain abundant in archaeologi- Actes du XIIe Congres International d’Etudes Byzantines III, Beograd cal remnants and surrounded by building structures from 1964, 173–185. 101 ЗОГРАФ 35 (2011) [101–110] corpus of the temple.9 A testimony to the same dating is also the rustic building technique, as well as the used bricks, the chronology of which belongs to the second half of the twelfth century.10 The last argument that speaks in favor of the men- tioned chronology is the fi nding of Byzantine coins belong- ing to the period at the turn of the thirteenth century.11 In that sense, we can assume that the church of Saint Archangel Michael (today dedicated to the Holy Trinity) is a monument created in the era of the Comnenoi that refl ects the charac- teristic architectural traditions from the last decades of the twelfth century and bears the features of the last phase of the Middle Byzantine creative production. Erected in the sun- down of a wealthy and productive period from the history of Byzantine architecture on the Balkan’s territory, the temple dedicated to Saint Archangel Michael at the site of Peter’s Rock is representative of the last creative moments prior to the collapse of the Empire in 1204 and of the fi nal cultural Fig. 1. The church of St. Archangel Michael, and artistic performances of the Middle Byzantine epoch. an overall view of the structure Fifty meters north from the temple dedicated to Saint structure, as well as in the performance of the church ritual.4 Archangel Michael, the church of Saint Savior is located, On the other hand, the existence of a single apse on the east- which, according to its present architectural confi guration, ern side of the building, being a reference of the single-apse belongs to the second half of the twentieth century and on concept in the design of the sanctuary, can point to a basilical the ground of the disposable data written on the commis- ground plan of a compact type, appropriate to the conditions sioners’ board located above the entrance, was erected in 12 of its spatial location and/or the needs of the church function. 1968. The church is of a small size and robustly built with The discovery of a massive tombstone with an epitaph writ- inserted spolia from older edifi ces, while in its surroundings, ten in Old Slavonic language in the central part of the naos a number of elements of building material from the medi- 13 doubtlessly refers to the existence of a medieval necropolis eval and post-medieval period has been discovered (fi g. 2). in the surrounding of the church walls.5 All of this speaks of All these references point to the conclusion that the existing the possibility that the church dedicated to Saint Archangel church is a contemporary renewal of an older edifi ce, for Michael, the protector of the righteous souls and the caring the precise dating of which no available data can be found. physicopompus, erected in a compact basilical arrangement Written sources that could help in the disclosure of the old- and accompanied by a medieval graveyard, had a funereal est history of the original church at this location are missing. function and was designated for funerary ceremonies. Archeological material that would point to a certain cultural The temple dedicated to Saint Archangel Michael is horizon, i. e. to a certain chronological determination, has built out of broken, partly hacked stones, arranged in hori- not been found yet. zontal rows and alternated with ceramic material, placed in The contemporary church is erected with a single- irregularly designed opus. The stone peaces and the bricks naved ground plan, with a tri-sided apse on the eastern side. were joined with a bit of mortar, applied in thin layers. The The length of the edifi ce is 7.50 m., while the width is 4,10 building components are placed carefully, but the building m. It is built out of pieces of roughly chopped stone that are technique displays a number of inconsistencies in regard to marked by highly unproportional dimensions and reduced the coherence of the execution. Due to the lack of appropriate usage of mortar. The stones are mostly laid in horizontal material, the mixed building opus of the church was supple- rows, but due to their irregular shape, the rhythm of their mented by older elements, originating from the architectural arrangement is quite disturbed. Among the stones which corpus of an Early Christian basilica.6 Among them, one can are very different in size, elements of older building mate- notice imposts, bases of stone columns and cancel fragments. rial found in the vicinity were inserted, originating from The resourcefulness of the masters builders in solving of the Antiquity and from the medieval period. In that sense, by problem with the scarcely available material can be seen in its dimensions, a quite massive fragment of an architrave the usage of stone spolia from an ancient pagan temple, built stands out,14 built into the western part of the south wall; into the lateral walls of the edifi ce.7 Contrary to the slackly it most probably originates from the sanctuary of an Early work with the building materials, the edifi ce was covered Christian basilica, confi rmed by the Latin inscription in its with neatly molded and skillfully modeled bricks of a “Kom- upper part, marked by epigraphical features from the fi fth- nenian” type.8 The church mobiliar has not been preserved. The fresco painting has, also, been demolished. 4 Th. F. Mathews, The Early Churches of Constantinople. Architec- Although the lack of historical sources and written ture and Liturgy, University Park – London 1977, 117–125. texts is obstructing the precise dating of the church, the ar- 5 Lilčić, Matka niz vekovite, 68. 6 I. Mikulčić, Skopje so okolnite tvrdini, Skopje 1982, 97. chitectural features of its composition point to a certain chro- 7 Ibid., 97. nology, which can be confi rmed only by extensive archae- 8 Lilčić, Matka niz vekovite, 68. ological excavation at the site. In that context, one should 9 S. Korunovski, E. Dimitrova, Macedonia. L’arte medievale dal IX mention the compact architectural ground plan in the design al XV secolo, Milano 2006, 52. 10 of the basilica, the monolite spatial arrangement of the altar Dimitrova, Lilčić, Antevska, Vasilevski, Matka, 164. 11 Lilčić, Matka niz vekovite, 68. part and the semicircular shape of the apsidal exterior, all 12 Dimitrova, Lilčić, Antevska, Vasilevski, Matka, 165. pointing to the late twelfth century, as the most appropri- 13 Lilčić, Matka niz vekovite, 70. 102 ate chronological horizon in the execution of the building 14 Mikulčić, Skopje so okolnite tvrdini, 96. Dimitrova E.: In the heavenly horizons sixth century.15 The same date is shared by the peace of a cancel screen found next to the church.16 Due to the rustic character of its architectural execu- tion, the church of Saint Savior displays a very modest façade design. On the lateral walls, perforations were open (one on each façade), roughly and unskillfully framed with mortar, while above the west entrance – a semi-circular niche was shaped in order to provide a place for the traditional image of the church patron. The eastern exterior of the temple is designed identically as the other façade surfaces, thus it also lacks any brick-work decoration. The outer line of the tri- sided apse is monotonous as well, with the exception of the miniature monophore in its center. Only the dado-zone in the exterior of the church preserved up to 0.50 m in height is quite impressive by its execution. The distinction in the applied material between the dado-zone and the rest of the edifi ce, the consistency in the placement of the stone elements and the greater proportion- ality of their dimensions, as well as the fact that the dado- zone is 0.40 m wider than the total width of the facades, clearly point to the older chronology of this part of the archi- Fig. 2. The church of St. Saviour, a view from the north-east tectural structure of the edifi ce. The execution of this lower are the probable reasons for the demolition of the temple and belt of the building’s exterior refers to some of the recog- for its further religious “hibernation”. After the pacifi cation nizable features of the architecture from the Post-Byzantine of the circumstances and consolidation of the real-estate and period. This chronology, however, can not be confi rmed by administrative conditions that brought the new feudal lords painterly references, since it is obvious that the church has and new political authorities on the territory of Skopje and not been decorated with frescoes; however, its interior is or- namented with a number of specimens from icon painting of its surroundings, the site of Peter’s Rock was also included contemporary zographs, as well as reproductions of famous in the new initiatives for production of religious edifi ces and works of art from the medieval and post-medieval era. Thus, their architectural setting. a comfortable and pleasant ambient is created for the many It was than, when the old temple of Saint Archangel believers or adventurers, who visit the church on their jour- Michael was probably neglected to a greater extent in favor neys through the canyon of Matka. of the new edifi ce, erected at the distance of 50 m in smaller The lack of historical sources or written data, which dimensions, yet in the spirit of the renewed commissioners’ would probably help the construction of an argumented privileges, as well as the re-established initiatives for un- story on the origin of the genuine church of Saint Savior, dertaking of new artistic enterprises. The exact time of the could be, to a certain extent, substituted by our knowledge transfer of the religious performances from the older into the gained from literature and travelogues. Hence, we know that new edifi ce can not be established without additional data; in the fi rst decade of the twentieth century, on the location of however, the knowledge on the renewed fl ourishing of archi- present-day temple, there were ruins of an older church and a tectural activities after the Serbian invasion in the northern great number of architectural elements in a form of chopped parts of Macedonian territory could point to the reinforced stones, molded bricks, decorated plastic components and architectural production of smaller sacral edifi ces in the low- carved lintels, scattered all over the terrain.17 The older er spatial horizons of the canyon Matka,21 where the site of scholars made a difference between the robust building opus Peter’s Rock also lies. This hypothetically assumed phase applied on the preserved part of the south wall of the church of the architectural structure of the church of Saint Savior, that in 1912 was still existent on the site and the relatively which could be chronologically placed in the late thirteenth delicate execution of the found stone fragments, produced in or the early fourteenth century and has been confi rmed by the spirit of the Byzantine architectural tradition.18 Thus, one delicately processed stone elements discovered in the sur- can conclude that the present-day church dedicated to Saint rounding area,22 was probably demolished at the beginning Savior has undergone two phases prior to 1968, which can of the Ottoman period, when a great number of religious edi- not be precisely determined; still they can be roughly put in certain chronological boundaries. 15 Idem, Tragi na ranohristijanski baziliki okolu Skopje, Godišen In that context, if we take into consideration all the Zbornik na Filozofskiot fakultet 7 (33), Skopje 1981, 108. 16 available components mentioned in the literature or noticed A. Evans, Antiquarian Researches in Illyricum, Part IV: Scupi, Archeology 49/1 (1885) 97. in the course of our terrain explorations, we can reconstruct 17 Lilčić, Matka niz vekovite, 69. the time frame of the architectural activities undertaken on 18 P. Popović, Prilog za studiju stare srpske crkvene arhitekture, the fl at plateau at the site of Peter’s Rock. Namely, the oldest Starinar I (1922) 115. 19 phase would be simultaneous with the erection of the church Dimitrova, Lilčić, Antevska, Vasilevski, Matka, 168. 20 Vizantijski izvori za istoriju naroda Jugoslavije, IV, Beograd dedicated to Saint Archangel Michael, located in the central 1971, 156; M. Boškoski, Vizantiskite imperatori vo Makedonija vo XI i XII part of the terrain and built in the late period of the Komne- vek, Glasnik za Institutot na nacionalna istorija 23/1 (Skopje 2002) 102; nian epoch,19 which marks the last bloom of the artistic crea- idem, Skopje i skopskata oblast od VI do krajot na XIV vek, Skopje 2009, tivity within Middle Byzantine chronological horizon. The 143–145. 21 T. Tomoski, Skopje od XI do XIV vek, in: Spomenici za sredno- easy access to the terrain and the chaotic historic occurrenc- vekovnata i ponovata istorija na Makedonija, I, Skopje 1975, 59. es of the next century that did not pass by the Skopje area,20 22 Dimitrova, Lilčić, Vasilevski, Antevska, Matka, 97. 103 ЗОГРАФ 35 (2011) [101–110]
Fig. 4. The church of St. Kiriake, northern façade
older temple the contemporary church was erected in 1968, which is the sole whiteness to the centuries-long, persistent survival of the Orthodox faith at a territory marked by the eternal and immortal sacral values. The names of the com- missioners, written on the plate located above the entrance, are the last and most relevant historic argument on the al- most millennium-long existence and the multiple ktetorial renewal of the church of Saint Saviour. Two kilometers north-eastern of the site of Peter’s Rock, on the highest post of the mountain range oriented transversally to the fl ow of the Treska River, the small church of Saint Kyriake is located, today heavily devastated, tragi- cally ruined and preserved only in modest architectural and painterly remnants (fi gs. 3–5). Erected by an unknown ktetor in the savage and inhospitable rocky palms of the ridge Osoj, this miniature temple is one of the most diffi cult to access sacral locations on the territory of Medieval Macedonia. El- evated, as it was noticed by its earliest visitors at a “fright- ening position”,25 at a dizzy vertical spot that hangs over the surrounding terrain without any horizontal support, the church of Saint Kyriake is a true example of a sacral edifi ce situated on a location that aims at the unreachable heights, protected by the horrifying uneasiness of its own geographi- cal ambientum. Situated on the central rocky plateau in the middle of the medieval “town of King Marko”,26 it repre- Fig. 3. The church of St. Kiriake, eastern arch, south-eastern sented local sanctuary for its citizens, spiritual refugee for pendentive and the preserved part of the southern wall the dedicated believers, as well as save heaven for the brave travelers and adventurers. fi ces were devastated as a result of the chaotic breakthrough The church of Saint Kyriake is erected at the top of of the new historic era. a cliff that mounts vertically at the left bank of the Treska After the circumstances improved, the ruined church River, at its entrance in the gorge. Built on the fl at surface was rebuilt in a much modest architectural shape and with a of the plateau in the south-eastern part of the urban settle- much more rustic building technique, the testimony to which ment and erected over the very abyss, hundreds of meters is the skillfully created dado-zone, preserved in the lower above the hallucinatory landscape of the deep canyon, the part of the facades that probably originates from the opulent church of Saint Kyriake testifi es to the thrilling craftsman- in sacral architecture seventeenth century,23 the time when ship of the architects and represents a remarkable creative smaller religious edifi ces arose at the locations of the older achievement in the architectural production of the medieval medieval temples. At the beginning of the twentieth century, epoch. Although preserved in ruins and decorated with heav- when the Post-Byzantine temple found itself located on the estate bought by some of the Muslims living on the terri- 23 S. Dimeski, Istorija na makedonskata pravoslavna crkva, Skopje tory of the canyon, the edifi ce was once again demolished, 1989, 266–268. 24 Popović, Prilog, 115. 24 an argument already mentioned in the literature. After the 25 Ibid.,116. 104 circumstances at this site have changed, at the location of the 26 V. Lilčić, Markov grad – Matka, Istorija XIX/2 (1983) 285–297. Dimitrova E.: In the heavenly horizons
Fig. 5. The church of St. Kiriake, eastern arch ily damaged fresco painting, it retained the basic contours of dome. Today, the only testimony to the existence of the dome its original building and painterly design, which testifi es to are the remnants of the pendantives in the eastern part (fi g. 5), the ambitious expectations of the khtetor, as well as to the as well the spatial design of the ground plan, which displays signifi cant attainments of the artistic atelier. Created in the the construction of a bay in the area under the dome, accom- spirit of a monolithic architectural work of art and decorated plished by reduction of the width of the lateral walls of the ed- with skillfully conceived fresco painting, the church of Saint ifi ce. On the ground of the church’s dimensions, as well as on Kyriake is a representative of the recognizable artistic ten- the ground of the data found in older-date literature, the dome dencies of the Late Byzantine epoch and of the efforts for was cubical in the exterior and its angles were strengthened by creation of attractive, creative and inventive sacral monu- stone collonetes.29 The dome rested on pilasters, constructed ments. over the lateral walls, as well as on the arches, partially pre- According to its ground plan, the church of Saint served on the eastern side. Hence, one can suppose that the Kyriake is a cruciform edifi ce (cross in square design), once small dome dominated over the central part of the church, covered by a dome.27 Due to the reduced spatial opportuni- while to the east and to the west of it, the architectural space ties, it was erected in a small size and executed as an edifi ce was covered with narrow barrel vaults, located transversally of a compact architectural type, which implied maximum to the longitudal axis of the edifi ce. To the east, the sanctuary use of the terrain circumstances in favor of the pragmatic was formulated with tri-sided apse in the exterior, while in the constructive solution. Hence, the total length of the church interior of the temple, two miniature niches laterally of the measures 6.50 m, while the width is 4.05 m. These miniature apse, enabled the function of a prothesis and diakonikon. dimensions of the building were chosen as ideal not only for When the remnants of the edifi ce come to question, one its spatial exposition, but also for its appropriate ambiental can notice that the north wall of the edifi ce along its full length, inclusion within the exterior design of the urban structures the southern half of the apsidal conch, the southern wall up to in the town of King Marko. Located on the city plateau and the point where the western cota of the central bay ended and accompanied by residential objects and other elements of the a small portion of the western wall in its northern line, are pre- urban infrastructure,28 the church represented the main reli- served out of the original architectural structure of the church. gious point in the settlement, fulfi lling the essential needs of The highest point of the preserved building structure, which its ktetor and his fellow citizens. is a part of the genuine eastern arch under the dome, can be In regard to its architectural matrix, the temple dedicat- 27 Popović, Prilog, 116. ed to Saint Kyriake is single-naved and composed of a central 28 Lilčić, Markov grad – Matka, 286. bay with dimensions: 2,40 x 2,40 m, originally covered by a 29 Popović, Prilog, 116. 105 ЗОГРАФ 35 (2011) [101–110] by a cubical dome and enclosed by rustically executed fa- cades, it successfully resisted the savage winds of destruc- tion from the high, almost frightening position of its spatial location. Although the interior of the temple does not contain any ktetorial inscription, the organization of the ground plan and the manner of the applied building technique unambigu- ously point to the fi rst half or the middle of the fourteenth century.30 On the pick of the dome a bronze cross was once positioned measuring 0.40 m. which, after the demolition of the vault portions, was brought to the Church Museum of the Skopje Metropolitan eparchy.31 The fresco decoration applied on the walls of the church is devastated to a great extent, mostly due to the dem- olition of the dome and the damages done to the wall struc- tures. As a result, only small portions of the original painting are preserved, mainly in the eastern part of the edifi ce. Out of the genuine fresco ensemble designed for the decoration of the interior, one can see parts of the altar arrangement, fragments of the compositions depicted on the lateral walls, as well as several saintly images, recognizable in the eastern parts of the north and south wall surfaces. These preserved portions from the painted decoration are highly damaged and pale, whereat the pictures are visible only in silhouettes. According to the degree of demolition, it is clear that after the destruction of the vault structures, the atmospheric con- ditions caused erosion to the painterly pigment, which could indicate that the colors were applied on a dry surface. Hence, the massive devastation of the painterly structure comes as no surprise, since the al secco technique is highly sensitive to the atmospheric moist, as well as to the drastic amplitudes of aerial climate.32 Out of the genuine painterly program in the temple, one can see that a part of the composition depicting Offi ciat- ing Church Fathers is preserved on the semi-circular surface of the apse, in which the bishops attain the ceremony in hon- or of the sacrifi ced Christ. Although the preserved elements are not suffi cient for a complete reconstruction of the scene, the dimensions and the position of the bishopric fi gure in the southern part of the apsidal wall imply a chamber format in the execution of the Liturgical Service, appropriate to the spatial opportunities, restricted by the modest diameter of the altar apse. On the pilasters west of the sanctuary, the fi g- Fig. 6. The church of St. Kiriake, the patron saint ures of two stilites are depicted, the signatures of whom are highly devastated, thus, the inscriptions verifi ed in the older- seen at the height of 4.12 m, while the preserved walls of the date literature
108 Dimitrova E.: In the heavenly horizons
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У небеским висинама Три средњовековне цркве у региону Матке код Скопља
Елизабета Димитрова
Међу десетинама цркава које се налазе у региону лошки налази, упућује на постојање средњовековне Матке код Скопља посебну пажњу привлаче три храма у некрополе и говори у прилог претпоставки да је црква средњем и највишем географском појасу тог подручја. Светог арханђела Михаила, заштитника праведних душа Прва од њих јесте црква посвећена Светом и брижљивог психопомпа, имала фунерарну функцију и арханђелу Михаилу на локалитету Петрова стена, два да су се у њој обављали погребни обреди. километра јужно од села Горње Матке. То је најстарији Друга црква, посвећена Светом Спасу, саграђена је средњовековни хришћански споменик у региону, пре- педесетак метара од храма Светог арханђела Михаила. ма одликама градње и археолошким налазима датован у Подигнута је шездесетих година XX века на темељима касни XII век. Реч је о базиликалној грађевини с нартек- старије грађевине, која, према истраживањима аутора сом, чији су зидови сачувани до висине од једног метра. овог текста, потиче из касног XIII и раног XIV века; у У цркви је пронађен богат археолошки материјал. Међу то време црква Светог арханђела Михаила већ је била важније налазе спада масивна погребна стела са епита- ван употребе, што је потврђено налазима прецизно фом исписаним на црквенословенском језику, пронађена обрађених камених блокова, откривених поред данашњег у средишњем делу наоса. Та стела, као и други архео- храма. Црква је била порушена почетком турског перио- 109 ЗОГРАФ 35 (2011) [101–110] да, па је поново саграђена током XVII века, о чему гово- Светој Недељи и саграђена у облику уписаног крста са- ри одлично очуван сокл са обележјима поствизантијске жетог типа, та је црква представљала главни религиозни архитектуре скопске области. Почетком XX века, пошто пункт у поменутом насељу, у којем је живео и њен не- се нашао на имању досељених муслимана, храм је поно- познати ктитор. Иако је од архитектуре преостало врло во страдао, да би 1968. године (како стоји у ктиторском мало (поткуполни лук на источној страни, два источна натпису) последњи пут био подигнут. Та грађевина сачу- пандантифа, бочни зидови до висине од једног и по ме- вана је до данас. тра), сачувало се и нешто живописа (Литургијска служба Трећа црква налази се два километра од локалите- у олтару, лик свете Недеље на јужном зиду), а он својим та Петрова стена, у највишем делу планинског појаса, стилским обележјима упућује на могуће датовање сли- на централном платоу у тзв. Марковом граду. Посвећена карства храма у прву половину XIV столећа.
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