Good Friday today, the day of absolute mourning for Christianity. The bells are mourning and the churches flock to the faithful to bow to the pain of the soul in the martyrdom of Jesus Christ. In his trial by Pontius Pilate, his witness to Golgotha, his crucifixion and burial. In the Epitaph they leave a few flowers on the crimson fabric with the representation of the dead Christ.

The Epitaph is not only the wooden canopy, representing the tomb of Christ. It is primarily the fabric that is placed inside it and bears the representation of Jesus dead and around him the Virgin Mary, Joseph and Nicodemus -who took over the burial -, John, the Myrrhs to mourn and be ascended.

Every Epitaph is a work of art and a functional object with very deep symbolism, as it presents the physical sacrifice of Christ and causes the emotion and involvement of believers in divine pain. At the end of the tour, the fabric is kept in the sacred step and is not used again until the next big week.

Heirloom of 1724

A special case of epitaph is found in Saint George in Nea Moudania, Halkidiki. It is a heirloom of 1724, brought with by refugees during the uprooting of 1922.

Dr. Panagiotis Kampanis, Archaeologist-Historian, Director of Publications and Digital Applications of the Museum of Byzantine Culture of Thessaloniki, transfers through Voria.gr The extremely interesting story of this gold -embroidered epitaph, who is associated with his wife’s family.

After the Treaty or the truce of the Moudania, in September 1922, about 250,000 Christians left refugees from Asia Minor to Mother Greece. Inside their bogs, few of their possessions, but also 2,000 years of history, passed on to the other side of the Aegean, looking for a new beginning.

“Among them was Pope-Constantis (grandfather of my mother-in-law Theodosia Papadopoulou-Leontis), the last priest of the wider Moudania area, based in the monastery of the audit, who, like many others in his place, were able to convince them that they were to persuade them to persuade them. their personal object above. After distributing all the treasures he could, from the monasteries and churches, he gave them his wish for a quick reversal, he boarded with his family in a sapphire and traveled to the New Earth, ”says Mr. Kampanis.

The inhabitants of the Gulf of Kios arrived in Halkidiki and set up their villages as they were in the … lost homelands. New side, New Triglia, Nea Moudania. In the first temple of the first temple built in Nea Moudania, by St. George, everyone deposited the relics that had been protected and transferred to the new “land of the profession”. Pictures, manuscripts, gospels, sacred utensils. Among them was the Epitaph, whom the legend wanted to be embroidered by a fellow villager, Mariora, who embraced him with one hand, since her left were cut because of illness.

“My mother -in -law, while recounting, also represented the way she was embroidered, placing the heavy fabric between her neck and shoulder. The Epitaph as a kind of blessing was decided to be given to a family every year. My mother -in -law, as Papadoengona, was honored to host her home for more than a year. What he strongly remembers is the aunt and spooky smells that were rolling when they bent over to worship him and the tears of the elders who watered the precious silk, reminding them of the epitaph of their own lives, “says Mr. Kampanis.

According to his study, the Epitaph is 70.7 cm wide and 58 cm high. work of 1724 According to the inscription on the bottom, embroidered by Mario, and is a tribute to the Church of St. Averkios, the historic Monastery of Theotokos of the 12th century Asia Minor controls: Divine Liturgy of the Monastery of St. the Christian. Poor K (s) Marioras.

Mariora’s life

As Mr Campanis explains, “We do not know much about Marora’s personal life. What we know for sure is that there was a large embroidery and teacher, whose reputation had been spread to many of the Orthodox communities of the East and Europe. Her works were adorned not only churches and metropolises of Asia Minor but also the great monasteries of Greece and Moldova. Mariora’s workshop was in Constantinople, with her daughter Sofia and the Monks Sophronia, Areti, Irene, Agathi and Maria. It is alleged that she was born and lived until her death in 1758, and with her own desire to be buried on the island of Halki. “

Until the events of 1965, her tomb was in Our Lady of Kamariotissa and the tombstone that covered him brought the following insight: “I cover the wife Ferzoulachi, by Mariora Klinos Kouzi. Motion not all of them in the light of God as a Provision of August IZI. “

Mariora’s art coincides with the acne of the 18th century Fanariots. The merchant Caesar Daponthon (1713 – 1784) and one of the most important Greek lyricists and chronographers of the 18th century, a friend of Mariora and her husband, in his autobiographical dyeing narrative Garden Hariton wrote:
“… And I was shaking Fellonia, lyrics, rockets, sacks and gospels, glasses, candlesticks. A load of loads and greatly with them and more things and more. “

The air that became an epitaph

“The Epitaph is the evolution of the air, the square cover of fabric, with which the officer covers in intent and in the Holy Bank, the two sacred vessels, the disc and the chalice. It is called air, because moving over the honest gifts during the recitation of the symbol of faith creates air. During the Divine Liturgy, in the ancient church, the deacons created air over the honest gifts by shaking ripples (large fans with wings), to prevent insect approach. This act continues today the reciprocating movement over the honest gifts of the air cover, “Mr. Campanis tells us, adding that” in the 14th century, the air now acquires the name Epitaph, as Symeon Thessaloniki states: “” The last one and the air and the last one and the air. Many times Jesus walks and epitaph is said. “

The Epitaph was of a heavy fabric, from those produced in the palace’s laboratories for the courtyard and the church and costly. Most of the gold -embroidered epitaphs who have survived as ecclesiastical relics belong to the Paleologian era, while for many who have been lost there are written testimonies of the wealth and gold embroidery they brought on them. They were usually crafted on atlas, the well -known glossy and smooth silk fabric, cotton and linen or wool.

According to Mr. Campanis, “The Epitaph of the New Moudania has been embroidered on red atlasthe edge of which is adorned with Gold, fried chevy and with fine materials, such as gold and silver wire for clothingthat keep the light thus creating some plastic impression. The body of Christ and the faces surrounding him have been embroidered with fine silk and the stitches follow the direction of anatomical calligraphy, just as the painter’s painter follows the creation of the forms. “

In the mid -18th century. Marora’s art has retained the simple greatness that characterizes its Byzantine standards. The faces have a calm and sweetness and their emotion is restrained, the inner suffering is not expressed by vivid contractions, as in other known works of that time. There is a tenderness in the gestures, but it is just expressed. The austerity of the composition and the serenity exuded by the forms are reminiscent of patterns of the Paleologian era.

Mr. Campanis proves that it is a rare and extremely valuable heirloom that measures three centuries of history and remains unchanged. The day that is today the faithful who will come to the churches will worship him and many great epitaphs. After all, every Epitaph is important, as it symbolizes the martyred death of Christ.

Source: voria.gr