Royal Doors of Maramureș beyond their appearances

muse i ko n A Journal of Religious Art and Culture | Revue d’art et de culture religieuse 6 / 2022 Muzeul Național al Unirii, Alba Iulia Department of the History of Art and Architecture Tufts University, Boston ICD - Interactions Culturelles et Discursives, Université de Tours Centre d’Études Supérieures de Civilisation Médiévale, Poitiers Royal Doors of Maramureș beyond their appearances Alexandru Baboș alumnus of Lund University (se) translated by Alice Isabella Sullivan résumé : Dans les églises de rite byzantin, les ‘portes royales’ de l’iconostase se distinguent par leur richesse, leur étrangeté et leurs mystérieux ornements. Malgré le rôle décoratif essentiel qu’ils jouent, la finalité de ces traits caractéristiques demeure souvent obscure. Le manque d’explication cohérente devient ainsi l’un des défis scientifiques les plus stimulants à relever, afin d’en clarifier la signification. Étant donné que les recherches en ce sens sont encore absentes du panorama critique de l’histoire de l’art post-byzantin, mettre l’accent, dans une analyse du symbolisme des ‘portes royales’, sur une province lointaine telle que le Maramureș pourrait surprendre. La présente étude se propose toutefois d’interpréter la décoration des ‘portes royales’ au sein du cadre strict de l’espace rituel et culturel byzantin dans le territoire des Carpates du Nord à l’époque prémoderne, en s’appuyant, pour ce faire, sur des écrits religieux contemporains des objets étudiés. Puisque ces écrits, à travers les traductions en langue vernaculaire, ont influencé la culture populaire de la région, la décoration des ‘portes royales’ doit être interprétée en clé mariale. Aussi, tous les traits caractéristiques, les détails et les significations de ces portes illustrent la porte du ciel, attribut caractéristique de la Mère de Dieu dès l’incarnation du Christ. Il semblerait donc que le thème central en soit l’Annonciation. Ainsi, l’étude se propose de montrer la manière dont ce thème a été amplifié et diversifié sous forme de cycle iconographique composé de quatre parties, que l’on peut observer à la fois en peinture et en sculpture. Les sculptures témoignent d’un emploi particulier du langage métaphorique, exprimé d’une manière allégorique et emblématique, à travers laquelle les ‘portes royales’ sont transformées en pièces centrales et complexes de l’iconostase. Plusieurs prophéties concernant la Venue du Sauveur grâce à une vierge ont été choisies et représentées dans la sculpture des ‘portes royales’ de la région des Carpates du Nord, qui devient le centre d’un développement iconographique particulier. Sans doute, les disputes religieuses ont-elles façonné la culture spirituelle des croyants orthodoxes des Carpates, à l’époque turbulente de la pré-modernité. À cet égard, la rhétorique du langage artistique visuel se pose en miroir des témoignages apportés par les documents, les inscriptions et les collections folkloriques des communautés de rite byzantin. Situé à un carrefour de civilisations, l’art sacré de Maramureș contribue à une meilleure compréhension de la signification et de l’évolution de ces ‘portes royales’ à l’époque postbyzantine ; mais il nourrit également l’étude de l’histoire de l’art européen dans son ensemble. mots-clés : Mère de Dieu ; art post-byzantin ; iconostase ; sculpture ; Carpates du Nord. rezumat: În bisericile de rit bizantin, ușile împărătești se disting prin bogăția, ciudățenia și misterul ornamentelor, pentru care, cu toată importanța acordată, nu avem o explicație coerentă a rostului lor. Din acest motiv, una dintre cele mai mari provocări științifice este de a le lămuri semnificația. Deoarece unui astfel de scop istoricii artei bizantine nu i-au dedicat încă cercetări aplicate, concentrarea atenției asupra Maramureșului poate intriga. Se mai păstrează aici o cheie de descifrare a acestor simboluri? Acest studiu operează în cadrul strict al ritului și spațiului de cult bizantin, în teritoriul nord-carpatic, în epoca premodernă, făcând apel la vechile scrieri religioase. Aceste scrieri au influențat cultura populară din zonă, datorită traducerilor în limbile vernaculare. Pentru a descifra iconografia ușilor împărătești este propusă o cheie de interpretare mariană. În toate trăsăturile, detaliile și semnificațiile lor, ușile împărătești ilustrează poarta raiului, care este un atribut definitoriu al Maicii Domnului din momentul întrupării lui Hristos. Tema centrală a ușilor împărătești este Buna Vestire. Studiul arătă pentru prima dată că ea a fost amplificată și diversificată la dimensiunea unui ciclu iconografic, compus din patru părți, redate atât în pictură, cât și în sculptură. În sculptură, studiul demonstrează folosirea unui limbaj metaforic, exprimat alegoric și emblematic, prin care ușile împărătești au fost transformate în cele mai complexe și mai semnificative piese ale iconostasului. Un alt rezultat semnificativ îndreaptă atenția către câteva profeții despre venirea Mântuitorului prin o fecioară. Aceste profeții au fost alese, lărgite și subliniate în sculptura ușilor împărătești, ducând la dezvoltarea unor trăsături distinctive în arealul Carpaților de Nord. Disputele religioase sunt cauza și mijlocul prin care a fost modelată cultura spirituală a credincioșilor de rit bizantin din Carpați în agitata epocă premodernă. În acest sens s-a apelat la o retorică a limbajului artistic vizual, ale cărei reverberații în comunitățile de rit bizantin poate fi recunoscută în documente, inscripții și culegeri de folclor. Aflată la o răscruce a civilizațiilor, arta sacrală din Maramureș contribuie la o mai bună înțelegere a semnificației și evoluției ușilor împărătești în epoca postbizantină, cu relevanță pentru întreaga artă europeană. cuvinte-cheie: Maica Domnului; artă post-bizantină; iconostas; sculptură; Carpații nordici. Museikon, Alba Iulia, 6, 2022, p. 263-294 263 264 | Alexandru Baboș Introduction From the wooden churches of Maramureș, a significant number of royal doors have been preserved, which can be dated to the 17th, 18th, and the first half of the 19th centuries. Together, they form a unique, valuable, homogeneously thematic, and stylistically varied mobile heritage. At first glance, the royal doors are distinguished by the interweaving of two distinct means of artistic expression: painting and sculpture. Following the relationship between the two in the aspect of the royal doors, one can observe a development over time that cannot be explained in purely aesthetic, stylistic, and thematic terms. Beyond the visual property of painting and the tactile dimension of sculpture, there are ideas and messages about their purpose in the space of worship, which surface and give voice and life to the royal doors. What do they communicate? How can their significance be recovered? How does their symbolic language contribute to the understanding of these objects of worship? What do they say about the world in which they were created and the past generations of believers who venerated them? The purpose of this research is to highlight the royal doors of Maramureș through what transpires beyond their appearance. In this regard, I will focus on the symbolic language invested in them, which can open a new perspective of understanding their purpose in the space of worship. To penetrate the symbolism of the royal doors, the present study confronts the original material documented in the field with the liturgical books of the Byzantine Church and theological writings, which circulated in premodern era. They provide a necessary platform of analysis and an interpretive guide, which are essential for understanding the royal doors.1 Throughout the centuries, the liturgical texts were sung, recited, and listened in local churches, as well as in the whole Eastern Christian Church, cyclical and uninterrupted. Moreover, with their translation for everyone to understand, which took place between the 16th and 18th centuries, they shaped, settled, and consolidated the faith of the communities through Fig 1. Mănăstirea Giulești. Archangel Gabriel in the scene of Annunciation on royal doors, painted within a medallion carved with surrounding red petals. Photo 1995. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. common religious ideas and images. Naturally, for theologians and artists Scripture, liturgical books, and theological writings were essential sources of inspiration, which gave unity to the Orthodox Church after the fall of the Byzantine Empire. Although the royal doors were during the same time formally influenced by artistic currents from the West, especially from the Latin Church, their message did not go much beyond the hermetic framework of the theology of the Eastern Church, codified in liturgical texts. Finally, I appeal to available specialized literature, dedicated to the history of Byzantine art. The literature dedicated to iconography and artistic evolution in the area has increased significantly since the fall of communist regimes and the growing cross border collaboration. Scientific research has long established the major influence that liturgical texts have had on iconography. On the other hand, very little has been written about the significance and complex appearance of royal doors. Knowledge of their sculpture is still quite limited.2 In this study, discussions about the royal doors oscillate between two interconnected spatial planes. In the background is the reference space of the Northern Carpathians, especially the Ruthenian environment, where major cultural interferences generated innovations in postByzantine art. In the foreground is Maramureș, also located in the Northern Carpathians, but in an area of cultural diffusion. Here, attention is directed to the communities of Romanian nobles, open and receptive to cultural impulses coming from the north of the Carpathians. Researching the symbols contained in the royal doors requires a gradual approach, starting from the overall picture to the detail. At an overall level, one must identify an entrance key to the subtle dimension of the royal doors. Three introductory aspects serve this purpose: the historical, architectural, and especially ritual context of the 17th-19th centuries. With the help of that key and the liturgical texts, we can delve into several layers of meanings gathered from the iconography of the royal doors, to offer orientation to the numerous details that compose their whole. Finally, the meanings of the symbols Fig 2. Mănăstirea Giulești. Virgin Mary in the scene of Annunciation on the right wing of the royal doors, painted around 1692. Photo 1995. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. Royal Doors of Maramureș beyond their appearances | 265 inscribed in the royal doors will be formulated, necessary conclusions will be drawn, and some consequences will be discussed. Due to the complex nature of this subject and to the inherent limitations, the approach is neither perfect nor exhaustive. For this reason, the study is left open for future multidisciplinary efforts guided by intercultural dialogue. The Historical Context. In Central Europe after the Protestant Reformation, the relationship of relative tolerance between the two great Christian traditions, Latin and Byzantine, significantly changed and fluctuated. The competition, as well as the religious, political, economic, and social disputes between Catholics and Protestants also extended to the Orthodox communities located in the areas of coexistence. In places where they were politically dominant, both Latin confessions endeavoured to attract the Orthodox faithful. The disputes led to the division of the Orthodox into two communities: those united with Rome, Greek-Catholics,3 and, with some Protestant support, those who remained in their old course, Greek-Orthodox.4 North of the Carpathians, in the Polish-Lithuanian territory, the Ruthenian communities of Byzantine rite took the first steps of joining the union with Rome toward the end of the 16th century. In the following two centuries, dialogues, and polemical exchanges between non-uniates, uniates, and Latins focused on the process of union and its effects on the Byzantine theological foundations, creed, rite, and tradition.5 Subjected to strong acts of subordination and affected by conversions to Latin denominations among the elites, the Churches of Byzantine rite in Central Europe, both Uniated and Orthodox, were forced to revise their foundations. For the Byzantine rite believers, the 17th and 18th centuries were periods of probing, adaptation, and modernization, but also of definitions and defences of sacred values.6 The varied and competing answers of the Byzantine rite Churches were transmitted for educational purposes to the communities, being largely formulated in the space of rhetorical and visual communication in front of the altars. Located in the centre of attention of this space, the iconostasis was remodelled and developed, with visible effects in the architecture of Byzantine churches.7 From the very beginning, the royal doors were essential parts of the iconostasis, and thus were well articulated both in their messages and in their artistic expressions.8 Their models were perfected in several significant spiritual and cultural centres. From there, they were adapted and disseminated in more or less coherent and representative forms in all corners of the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth, from monasteries, towns, and fairs, to villages, and from one craftsman to another. In this way, new models of royal doors and even of iconostases entered Maramureș, which is located in the immediate vicinity of Poland and where the religious climate was somewhat similar. In the second half of the 16th century and throughout the 17th century, the Byzantine rite communities of Maramureș experienced a period of Reformation dominance under the rule of the Calvinist princes of Transylvania, which lasted until the third decade of the 18th century. In the 17th century – even during the re-establishment of the local bishopric (1690-1733) and despite the efforts to re-establish the role and estates of the old monastery of Peri – the Orthodox communities no longer had their own cultural and spiritual centre of importance.9 After the separation Fig. 3. Vișeu de Mijloc. e royal doors are dated from 1767 and attributed to painter Alexander Ponehalsky. Human figures, angels, a lot of plant and even zoomorphic details, have, at first sight, no obvious connection between them. In Maramureș Museum, i383 A-B. Photo 2019. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. of the region from Transylvania and its annexation to Hungary in 1733, the Byzantine Rite Church from Maramureș united with Rome, and a Greek-Catholic Diocese was established in Mukachevo. Until the late 18th century, the people of Maramureș had to attract more skilled painters and sculptors trained beyond the Carpathians, who would support the desire to manifest their religious attachment and devotion to the Byzantine rite. After the subordination of Maramureș to the Uniated Diocese of Mukachevo, many craftsmen and artists were directed and coordinated from this new centre. No matter 266 | Alexandru Baboș where the artists came from, their works, including the design of royal doors, speak largely about their local reception, as well as about the artistic taste and economic power of the communities. At the same time, they reveal the connection of priests, founders, and artists to a much wider space and cultural phenomenon in which denominational disputes were closely observed, as well as the response of the Byzantine rite Churches in the artistic sphere was adapted and received as a common good. The Architectural Context The Byzantine sacred space is designed to house and support the liturgy. The division of the Maramureș churches into several distinct rooms, in accordance with the principle of Byzantine architecture, accentuates the sacredness of the space and gradually increases the spiritual experience of the liturgical act, from west to east.10 In the Maramureș idiom, the parts of the church, in their succession, are known as: tindă (narthex), beserică (nave), and altar (sanctuary). Due to the different degrees of sacredness, significance, and utility in the ritual, each room was separated from the others by a solid wall. In this strict structure, both mental and physical, the doors gained a double role: to functionally link distinct spaces and to aesthetically affirm and regulate the significance of the transition to the next space. In the 17th-18th centuries Maramureș, the first of the entrances marks the access to the consecrated space, announcing and anticipating the ascent to heaven.11 The next entrance controls the access to the nave and marks the transition between the space reserved for women and the one dedicated to men. The third entrance marks the passage to the altar, which represents a final passage between the earthly sphere and the world beyond, between the seen and the unseen.12 The decorations of the royal doors, which extends over the entire east wall of the men’s nave – known as the iconostasis – underline the importance of the entrance to the sanctuary. The role and meaning of the iconostasis in Byzantine sacred spaces are indicated by the special position and function of this threshold marker. By delimiting the visible world from the invisible one and by its monumental and complex elaboration, the iconostasis enables the faithful to see an unparalleled icon of the entrance to Fig 4: Botiza. e wooden church is one of the most representative and valuable churches in Maramureș. It was built in 1699 in Vișeu de Jos, by its founders, the nobleman Ștefan Pop and his wife, Maria and it was moved to its current location in 1899. Inside, stands the original carved iconostasis, dated in 1700. Photo 2017. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. Fig 5: Rona de Jos. e wooden church with eyes, dated around 1637, was provided with a suite of entrances, along the axis of the church, looking from west to east. Photo 2017. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. Fig. 6: Călinești-Susani. e royal doors are metaphorically called: Door to Heaven, in the inscription of the donator from 1761, written on their frame. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. the kingdom of heaven.13 The iconostasis is, indeed, the most remarkable piece of furniture inside the church. The entrance in the axis of the iconostasis comprises its essence. Two royal doors control the main entrance to the sanctuary. They are objects of worship with a central place in the sacred space, and with significant meaning in the liturgical act. Thus, the royal doors bear essential symbols for the Byzantine rite. The Ritual Context In Christianity, Christ, the Son of God, and Mary, the Mother of God, are at the centre of devotion. The entire Christian art revolves around them. The two dominate the church iconography and consequently of the iconostasis. In addition, they are often represented in relation to one another, compositionally and iconographically. Therefore, many representations and meanings can be interpreted in either a Christological or Mariological key, each leading to different and multiple interpretations and addresses.14 In order to understand the royal doors, the right key must be identified. That can only be found in the Byzantine Royal Doors of Maramureș beyond their appearances | 267 liturgical context. To this effect, three fundamental aspects related to the royal doors are further highlighted and analysed: their name, use in worship, and structure. 15 (a) The Name. Although the two wings that mark the main entrance to the iconostasis are known by different names, in the Byzantine and Romanian cultural contexts they are generally called the royal doors. The name comes from an essential attribute of the Mother of God, named as the door of the Great King (Christ). This attribute is synonymous with that of Theotokos.16 The Ukrainian monk Teodosij Sofonovych, once head of the Kyivan Mohyla Academy, left us a direct testimony of how the royal doors were to be understood in the Carpathian and Russian Byzantine worlds in the 17th century. He explained that their name is determined by their meaning: “because through them only the King of glory, Christ, and the priest enter, [the latter being a] symbol of His presence.”17 Therefore, the royal doors are symbols of Christ’s entry into the world, through the Theotokos.18 Several liturgical hymns of the feast of the Entry into the Temple of the Virgin Mary reflect this attribute of the royal doors. The Mother of God is invoked on this occasion as “the door looking to the east... toward God’s holy place,”19 “called an embellished empress... the one who stands in the church before the King and God.”20 “the holy door... openings the doors of the church to God.”21 In Maramureș, the doors are recorded in inscriptions either as царски врата, a phrase consecrated in Church Slavonic and translated into Romanian as uși împărăteaști (royal doors), or as dveri and zveri.22 (b) The Interdiction. The main entrance to the sanctuary is marked by two light doors, without locks.23 However, the royal doors are always closed, being opened only at certain moments during the liturgical celebrations. The opening of the royal doors during the liturgy signifies an exchange of gifts between the heavenly sphere and the earthly faithful. They are a material ritual gate between the sanctuary and the church, the first representing the divine, and the latter the profane. From time immemorial, the passage through these gates has been restricted to the clergy and categorically forbidden to the uninitiated.24 A clear warning in this regard was written above the royal doors of the former wooden church in Berbești: “This door will be locked, and it will not open, and no one will pass through it [Ezek. 44, 2].”25 The location of the closed door in the axis of the church and the interdiction around it are contradictory aspects of Byzantine liturgical spaces and rituals, which cannot be explained without a symbolic attribute. The subtle meaning given to the closed entrance in the centre of the iconostasis comes from a vision of the prophet Ezekiel concerning the door of Solomon’s temple, which was closed and reserved exclusively for God.26 Church Fathers saw in the remarkable unopened door of the temple the perfect purity of the Theotokos. The doors are thus interpreted as a foreshadowing of the immaculate conception of Christ.27 This attribute was associated with the second name given to the Mother of God: (Ever-) Virgin.28 St. Simeon of Thessaloniki clarified the intimate connection between the royal doors and the Virgin through the example of the bishop who enters “through the royal doors as Christ entered us through the closed door, (i.e.,) through the Mother of God, and (thus) they opened for us the doors to heaven.”29 The identification of the Virgin with the closed doors of the place of worship is stated in several liturgical hymns, such as: “Rejoice, O gate of the King of glory, for through thee the Most High alone has passed. He left thee sealed again, for the salvation of our souls”.30 On the feast of the Annunciation it is sung: “Rejoice, O Mother unwed, who knew not wedlock! ... Thou will remain incorrupt and wilt give birth to the Lord, O all-holy one!”31 (c) The Separation. The third fundamental aspect is the composition of the royal doors of two symmetrical pieces. Theodosius Sofonovych clarifies in his work from 1668 the subtle meaning of the division of the royal doors into two wings, indicating “the separation and difference between invisible things and visible things.”32 St. Simeon records that “for this reason ... the royal doors of the sanctuary are opened, meaning that those from above open and unite with those on earth.”33 In other words, the royal doors are the miraculous meeting place between the heavenly and the earthly spheres. The distinction between the two worlds, but also the meeting between them becomes clearer in the opening and closing of the royal doors. The symbolic meeting between the two worlds is also assigned to the Mother of God. Thus, in a hymn of the eve of the feast of the Entry into the Temple of the Virgin Mary one can read: “Rejoice in heaven and on earth, seeing the virgin without any blame ... the door of the Lord, the doors of the Temple opened to you, and rejoicing you entered.”34 During the feast of the Annunciation a hymn proclaims: “Today is the joy of the annunciation, the triumph of virginity! Those below are united to those above.”35 The troparion of the Mother of God announces: “We cry to Thee with a joyful voice, O Theotokos, with the angels in heaven and men on earth: Rejoice, Gate wider than heaven! Rejoice only salvation of the human race! Rejoice, O pure one full of grace, for you gave birth to the incarnate God.”36 The three aspects of the ritual reveal the Marian identity of the royal doors. Because of the Marian identity and the distinctive location, the royal doors received the symbolical meaning of the gate or door to heaven.37 This is undeniably demonstrated by two inscriptions on the royal doors from Călinești-Susani (Fig. 6). According to St. Simeon of Thessaloniki, “the opening of the divine royal doors means the entrance to heaven.”38 Considered essential parts of the church building – a symbol of heaven –, the royal doors could be preserved where they were initially consecrated for a long time, until their deterioration.39 This explains why many churches in Maramureș retained the old royal doors, even though all the other icons of the iconostasis had been replaced.40 The attribute of the door of heaven given to the Mother of God had been cherished and defended by the Holy Fathers of the Church, inspiring hymnographic poetic literature.41 One of the most famous works is the Akathist of the Annunciation. In the Akathist, the shepherds bless the Virgin: “Rejoice, opening of the gates of Paradise!” Those above and below, together, address her: “Rejoice, Door of solemn mystery!” and “Rejoice, Door through which heaven opened!”. Then Jesus urges people to say, “Rejoice, Gate of salvation!”42 (d) The Iconographic evidence. Several scenes painted inside the churches of Maramureș provide direct evidence that the royal doors were identified with the Virgin Mary, through the metaphor of the door of heaven. In this regard, the prophet Ezekiel is almost indispensable represented on the old royal icons of the Mother of God, in which she is glorified by the prophets. Prophet Ezekiel is always associated with his prophecy the closed door of the temple, a typos of the 268 | Alexandru Baboș royal doors. An example from the 17th century is found on the royal icon of the Mother of God with the Christ Child from Șieu, where a pair of royal doors was sketched next to Ezekiel (Fig. 8).43 From icons, the scene of the Mother of God surrounded by prophets was transferred to the iconostases from Maramureș and developed into a distinct register dedicated to the prophets. It was meant to emphasize allegorically the continuity between the Old and New Testaments. In the scene Long Ago the Prophets Announced You or Rejoice, also found in the iconography of the Akathist of the Mother of God, prophet Ezekiel is portrayed together with the other prophets of the Old Testament, turned toward the praying Virgin in an attitude of greeting and admiration.44 On the iconostasis from Desești, Ezekiel holds in his right hand a phylactery with the addressing formula “Rejoice, Door of heaven!”, and in his left hand he displays a pair of royal doors, divided into six parts and closed at the top with a cross (Fig. 10). Two letters – O and N – appear on the doors, which are an abbreviation of O Ω N, meaning “He Who is”, an indispensable mention on the halo of Jesus.45 The two letters on the royal doors refer to the coming of Jesus through the unopened door, that is, through the Virgin Mary.46 Therefore, in the Byzantine liturgical tradition the royal doors bear the symbol of Christ’s entry into the world and his immaculate conception. Moreover, they are in connection with two fundamental attributes of the Mary, as Theotokos and Virgin. These attributes were metaphorically expressed through the door of heaven, the meeting place between the unseen and the seen world. In other words, in the case of the royal doors, we are dealing with a liturgical object associated directly to the Mariological cult and indirectly to the Christological one, just as in the icon of the Mother of God with the Christ Child. This attribution offers the key to decode the symbols from the decoration of the royal doors in Maramureș, in order to understand their iconographic, allegorical, and compositional aspects. The Annunciation cycle in painting The royal doors are ornamented only on the side facing the nave, thus addressing the community of the faithful (Fig. 20-21). Their study requires a differentiated, yet complementary, approach between the painted and sculpted parts. The painted scenes were rendered in a narrative and metaphorical language proper to Byzantine tradition. The iconography of the scenes painted on the royal doors from Maramureș, common for the whole Byzantine cultural space, depicts a chain of subjects that support and amplify the identification of the doors with the Virgin at the Annunciation. Four iconographic subjects dominate the artistic representations painted on the royal doors from Maramureș. They refer to four announcements: the blessed, the teaching, the confessional, and the prophetic. Together, they form a cycle of the Annunciation (Fig. 9, 24). At the centre of this cycle is the main scene: the Annunciation proper or the blessing proclamation, where the mysterious and unfathomable event of the incarnation of the Divinity occurred.47 The other three announcements represent a development of the Annunciation scene and play the role of expanding and strengthening people’s faith in the fulfilment of the first, as shown in a troparion of the Mother of God: “The prophets have foretold, the apostles taught, the martyrs professed and we have believed that thou art indeed the Mother of God.”48 (a) The blessed Announcement. The Annunciation is the turning point in the history of Christianity. It is the key moment in saving mankind from original sin and the fulfilment of the covenant between God and man. In the Annunciation, the archangel Gabriel announced and the Mother of God received the wonderful coming of the Son of God in the history of mankind. This was the moment when the Mother of God assumed the change of destiny for all human race. The significance of the event is expressed in the troparion of the Feast of the Annunciation: “Today is the crown of our salvation and the revelation of the mystery which is from before the ages! The Son of God becometh the Son of the Virgin, and Gabriel announceth the glad tidings of grace. Wherefore, with him let us cry out to the Theotokos: Rejoice, O thou who art full of grace! The Lord is with thee!”49 According to the Byzantine liturgical tradition, the most suitable place in the space of worship to illustrate the Annunciation is the royal doors. The scene of the Annunciation is invariably divided into two parts, which correspond to the two wings: Archangel Gabriel, who came from heaven as a representative of the Divinity, is depicted on the left door; the Mother of God is portrayed on the right door, representing all humanity. In their meeting, the heavenly and earthly spheres intersect and communicate with one other, reunited in a single scene. The Annunciation50 is the most important, the best adapted and, of course, the central and original theme of the royal doors, in which the composition of the scene and the division of the doors unite and support each other. (b) The Teaching Announcement. The teaching announcement gathers the Four Evangelists, namely the four Evangelists. The term Gospel, in Greek and Church Slavonic, means good news, a name inspired by the act of the Annunciation. The Gospels are, therefore, the written witnesses of the good news, of the coming of Jesus through the Virgin to save humankind.51 The Evangelists are a popular theme in the iconography of the royal doors throughout Byzantine art, from the early Middle Ages.52 Usually, the Four Evangelists appear under the scene of the Annunciation, suggesting a hierarchical and chronological order between the themes (Fig. 11-13). Teodosij Sofonovych explains the presence of the Annunciation scene and of the Evangelists on the royal doors as themes already established in contemporary iconography. He claims that “that is why the Annunciation appears on the royal doors above the Evangelists, because the Archangel proclaimed our salvation from the heavens, and the Annunciation was preached by the Holy Evangelists throughout the world.” He adds that “through the teachings of the four Evangelists, the foundation of the Church was established, and the whole world was united in one law, in one Church.”53 (c) The Preaching Announcement. The third announcement draws attention to the martyrs, the hierarchs, the saints and the righteous of the Church. They carried the faith further, not as direct witnesses, but by confessing their faith in the works and teachings of Christ, as transmitted through the Apostles. Through their writings, the Holy Fathers passed on the good news. Their presence directly on the royal doors of Maramureș is very rare. The deacons Prochorus and Stephen make a noteworthy example on the royal doors in Valea Stejarului. Instead, some altar servants from the first centuries, hierarchs, and deacons, appear on the side frames of the royal entrance and of the side doors to the sanctuary. In those churches where a frame of the central gate to the sanctuary was introduced and preserved, St. Basil the Great and St. John Chrysostom, two of the three Royal Doors of Maramureș beyond their appearances | 269 greatest theologians and hierarchs of the Eastern Church and authors of the liturgies, are painted on either side of the royal doors (Fig. 15-16).54 It is no coincidence that on the feast dedicated to them, the hierarchs and saints are called together with the Mother of God in the prayers of the faithful: “Thou art the true vine, O Theotokos, bearing the Fruit of life. Thee do we implore: Wherefore, O Lady, intercede tough together with the Holy Hierarchs and with all the saints for the salvation of our souls.”55 (d) The Prophetic Announcement. The Holy Fathers of the Church attributed the foreshadowing of the Mother of God to the prophets. The Church Fathers commented on Old Testament texts through figurative interpretations, in order to identify veiled references to the Mother of God and, through her, to establish a bridge with Christ’s entry into the world and with the teachings transmitted by the Apostles. Marian prophecies, identified and interpreted typologically, were imposed and celebrated throughout Christendom as evidence of the continuity and concordance between the Old and the New Testaments. The prophets thus entered the choir of the heralds of the Mother of God, as we can read in one of hierarch Mitrophanes’s verses: “From afar the sacred choir of the prophets revealed thee as the one who would become the true Mother of God, O pure one who art more exalted than the cherubim and all creation.”56 It is possible that the prophets were painted on several much-older royal doors in Maramureș, but which have not survived. On the extant doors, we find them only later, toward the end of the 18th century. We have several examples of prophets painted in the medallions of the royal doors at the churches from Poienile Izei, Torun, Pylypets, and the same was probably at the churches from Bocicoiu Mare and Roztoka. The reason why the prophets disappeared from the iconography of the royal doors for about two centuries could be explained by the increasingly important role sculpture received in the program. The Prophetic Announcement in Sculpture The addition of sculpture on the royal doors of the Byzantine churches from the north of the Carpathians, and later from Maramureș, significantly transformed their appearance. The sculpture was elaborated, displaying a bold composition and an innovative artistic expression.57 At first sight, even an informed viewer may question the appearance of the carved doors. Why do they look like this? Why was sculpture needed? What do the sculpted motifs mean? As it appears, the purpose of the sculpture was to take over and give a new expression to the prophetic announcement in the iconographic cycle of the Annunciation. Since the Old Testament prophecies were communicated through symbols and allegory, nothing in the content of the texts was what it seemed at a first reading. If the sculptural language followed that of the prophetic text, then it is not surprising that the appearance of the royal doors does not offer a direct meaning. Thus, to recover the message of the sculpture double reading is needed: one formal, to a certain point, and another allegorical from there on. To reveal symbols and interpret allegories was a game of intuition and intelligence. It involved a refined system of decoding and understanding forms and compositions. This was much favoured by the elites of the pre-modern era. The layered content was so veiled that it required, in addition to a correct reading, a cultivated and elevated commentary in rhetorical language. To complicate matters further, the hidden message was constructed polysemantically in several coherent and intertwined layers of interpretation. The more overlapping meanings there were, the more sophisticated and refined the allegorical interpretation became. Over time, for unclear reasons, the allegorical interpretation of the sculpture of the royal doors lost its relevance and was erased from the collective memory. Consequently, it is not surprising that, for some time, the sculpture of the royal doors has been regarded more as a formal and aesthetic aspect with decorative value. In order to recover the meaning and semantic richness of the royal doors, we must make an effort to approach their sculpture as it was conceived, in symbolic and allegoric terms. Next, using the Marian key, we will explore the figurative meaning of the sculpture, going through two levels of interpretation. (a) The Closed Garden of Paradise. At the first level of iconographic interpretation, the prophetic announcement was manifested and enhanced through the representation of Mary as Virgin and Mother of God, using two overlapping allegoric images: the Closed Garden and the Garden of Paradise where only the divine enters. The Closed Garden was inspired by one of King Solomon’s canticles: “A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with pleasant fruits, fragrant henna with spikenard, spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh, and aloes, with all the chief spices.”58 Elsewhere, Solomon urges: “Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine has budded, whether the grape blossoms are open, and the pomegranates are in bloom. There I will give you my love. The mandrakes give off a fragrance, and at our gates are pleasant fruits, all manner, new and old, which I have laid up for you, my beloved.”59 From the poetic images of the closed garden, various flowers, leaves and fruits were taken as source of inspiration (Fig. 13-14). They were combined with the dominant motif of the vineyard with grapes.60 The meaning of the closed garden can be easily identified in the two wings of the royal doors, due to the richly carved decoration in vegetal patterns. The Garden of Paradise as an image of Mary is plainly expressed in a resurrection canon: “The power of the Most High overshadowed thee, O Maiden, and made of thee a paradise of life, having the Lord and Mediator as a tree in thy midst.”61 As the garden was already inspired and shaped by the symbol of the Closed Garden, the royal doors need only an additional tree in the middle to reach a new meaning. The tree can be recognized in a slender pillar placed at the meeting between the wings, in the axis of the royal doors. The pillar is always crowned with a cross, which is a well-known symbol of the Tree of Life.62 Thus, the iconography of the Garden of Paradise with the Tree of Life in the middle was allegorically formed through the relationship between the three parts of the royal doors, namely the two wings viewed as a symmetrical garden, and the central pillar as a tree. (b) The Tree of Life. The formal evolution of the pillar in the axis reveals its growing importance in the iconography of the royal doors. During the 17th century, the pillar evolved from a simple pole to increasingly elaborate vertical forms, as a part of the layered significance of the royal doors. The oldest column-like pillars carved with plant motifs in openwork appeared in the axis of the royal doors of Maramureș at the beginning of the 18th century (Fig. 17). They became popular in the second half of the century, and were then replaced by pilaster-like pillars carved in 270 | Alexandru Baboș Fig. 7. Poienile Izei. e church was built in the first half of the 17th century. The simple iconostasis of this church was painted directly on the wall between the church and the altar. The work was signed by the painter Gheorghe Plohod from Dragomirești and dated 1793. The tier of festive icon was painted by the same artist. Some of the large imperial icons can be attributed to his son, Ioan Plohod, in the first decades of the next century. Currently, it is one of the few completely preserved, unaltered, Maramureș iconostases of this simple type. Note the openwork sculpture in the royal doors, also extended to the frames of the icons. Photo 2017. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. high relief, especially in the first part of the 19th century. This remarkable evolution was due to the increasing identification of the axis section with Christ. Alexa, a well-known artist in Maramureș from the second half of the 18th century, left us a unique and revealing piece of evidence, which leaves no room for doubt regarding the identity of the pillar: in the axis of the royal doors from Strâmtura the face of Christ is graved on the column (Fig. 23). He most probably wanted to illustrate here a canon dedicated to the Theotokos: “The Word from The Holy Spirit ... became visible in thee in human form.”63 The basic symbol for Christ in the central pillar was the Tree of Life that grows in the middle of the Garden of Paradise. The purpose of the Tree of Life in the Garden of Paradise is to nourish and heal the faithful, as it is shown in the Book of Revelation: “In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits ... The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”64 The Tree of Life is often represented as a vine, laden with leaves and grapes, growing in a spiral on the spindle of the column. In the upper church of Apșa de Mijloc, the central column was carved with twelve grapes, thus providing a precise interpretation as the Tree of Life.65 When shaped in the form of a column laden with leaves and grapes, the pillar also resembles a staff. The staff shares with the Tree of Life the same appearance and symbolism, but it has other prophetic allusions as sources. Aaron’s staff is a well-known symbol of the coming of the Saviour through a Virgin. It is often employed in the Royal Doors of Maramureș beyond their appearances | 271 iconography of the row of prophets in the iconostasis. Especially distinctive in this sense is the episcopal mitre with a cross above, placed at the top of the pillar, which refers to Christ through the staff by which Aaron was elected priest.66 In Christian terms, the wood of the cross blossomed like the staff of Aaron, revealing Christ as the High Priest and the Head of the Church. An eloquent detail was introduced in the second half of the 18th century, namely the partition of the column into two more or less distinct and equal segments. Painter Alexa marks this partition with a red element, which he placed right in the centre of the royal doors in Strâmtura (Fig. 23) and Călinești (Fig. 19). This decorative motif could be interpreted as the girdle of the Mother of God, venerated throughout the Byzantine world for its miracles and to which numerous verses have been dedicated. The girdle represents both the virginity of the Theotokos and the reception of the Divinity in her womb. One of the most significant canons in this regard states that “Having given birth to the all-comely Word in the beauty of thy virginity, thou didst wind thy cincture about Him as a babe.”67 Through text and image, the division of the column with a red girdle affirms the double nature of Christ, divine and human, after the incarnation. During the end of the pre-modern era, under the influence of Rococo and eclectic styles, the column was replaced by a pilaster. On the Rococo pilasters, the two halves received well-differentiated shapes with flowers and fruits carved in relief, life-size, hanging in a downward motion, as subjects to the law of gravity (Fig. 26). The eclectic pilasters (Fig. 25), in turn, show rows of money on either side of a central flower, suggesting a reference to two lesser-known staffs of Christ, inspired by Zechariahʼs prophecy: “I called one ‘Mercy’, and the other ‘Covenant’.”68 In Maramureș, the central piece of the royal doors takes on a variety of details and symbols. For example, the column of the doors in Glod received, at the base, a vessel with live fire,69 another symbol of the virgin birth of Christ. The spindle of this column is decorated with vines, loaded with grapes and leaves. The upper part ends with a globe and a cross inscribed in a sun surrounded by rays. These symbols refer to a hymn of the Octoechos: “The twelve apostles, twelve time radiant, have appeared to the earth like the sun ... for their sake Thou dost illuminate the souls of Thy servants”70 (Fig. 17). The pilasters often begin with a bud at the bottom and end with a mitre or a crown placed on a pillow and a cross at the top. These are signs of royalty and of a high bishop. The cross, no matter how small, is a constant at the top of the pillar in the axis, and its function can be found in a hymn of the Octoechos: “Your cross, Lord, Heaven has opened to the human race.”71 The cross and, by extension, the whole pillar bear the symbol of the Tree of Life. The royal doors, in their entirety, are an icon of the Garden of Heaven, as stated in one of the hymns of the Octoechos: “Heaven, you appeared to us, Immaculate, with the Tree of Life in the middle.”72 The sculpted image of the Closed Garden of Paradise with the Tree of Life in the middle emphasises a widely popular and easily recognisable prophetic allusion to the coming of the Saviour through the Virgin Theotokos. It can be found on royal doors throughout the Carpathians, some of considerable antiquity, which demonstrates a long development in time of the theme, and within a wide geographic area.73 In other words, the sculpture of the royal doors regarding this theme is not limited to the Northern Carpathians, but is well represented and further elaborated here,74 and thus introduced even in Maramureș. Fig. 8. Șieu. Icon from the 17th century, with the subject of the Mother of God surrounded by prophets. One of the twelve figurative prophets is Ezekiel, who holds a phylactery with Slavonic text in his hands. In front of him, appears the attribute: two royal doors, taken from his prophecy regarding the Mother of God. The royal doors are sketched, clearly divided into six fields, and provided with a rich crowning. Photo 2019. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. (c) The double identity of Mary. Mary was sublimated and revered as Virgin and Mother of God in the ornamental vegetal motifs of the wings of the royal doors. However, beyond this first reading, there is a second level to be revealed: her double identity, in body and spirit. Within this double identity, a theological lecture was embedded, addressing to Byzantine rite communities. Could this be the reason why in 1635 the brotherhood from Lviv corresponded with Patriarch Theophanes of Jerusalem? The patriarchʼs letter addressed some innovations concerning the royal doors coming 272 | Alexandru Baboș Fig. 9. Budești-Susani. Inside the church, there is a unique painting on canvas, datable around 1755. The subject on this canvas is the Annunciation cycle, with direct references to the composition, iconography and meaning of the painting on the royal doors, of that time. The canvas need be read starting from the scene of the Annunciation, which was placed in-between the four evangelists. The three hierarchs were attached eccentrically at the right end. Its original place inside the church remains unknown. The author was the painter Alexander Ponehalsky, alias Alexa, from Berbești. Photo 2019. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. Fig. 10. Desești. Painting on the wall of the iconostasis, dated 1780 and signed by the painter Radu Munteanu from Ungureni. In the medallion, the prophet Ezekiel and King David are portrayed together. Ezekiel holds in his right hand a phylactery addressing to the Virgin: ‘Hail, Door of Heaven!’ and in the left hand a pair of royal doors, divided into six parts, and ended by a cross. Two letters appear on the doors, O and N, which means ‘He who is’, meaning that Jesus always wears in his halo depicted on icons. Photo 2019. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. from Lviv, unknown until then in their iconographic program. The patriarch’s response was positive, but the details are not known to us.75 To reach the second level of iconographic interpretation of the prophetic announcement, we turn to a text from the Sunday of the Expulsion from Heaven, which marks the beginning of Great Lent. Here, Adam, the first man, and through him the whole of humanity, prays to the Virgin Mary to be able to re-enter the Garden of Paradise and to commune of the Tree of life, that is Christ: “Virgin and Bearer of God, by descent thou art a daughter of Adam, but by grace Mother of Christ our God. I am an exile from Eden: call me back again.”76 The canon captures a double identity of Mary: the one of the flesh, as descendant of Adam, and the one of the grace, as Mother of God. This double identity, due to its importance, was integrated into the scene of Annunciation. Heaven, through the voice of the Archangel, addressed Mary: “Rejoice, O full of grace!”77 The moment is considered the beginning of the salvation of humankind, and for Mary it meant her spiritual birth, making possible the understanding of the event and the conscious reception of the coming of the Divinity in human form. Since receiving the grace of the Holy Spirit, the Mother of God has been honoured in her double identity, in body and in spirit. For this very reason, her dual identity was represented and celebrated in the remarkable iconography of the Assumption. Christ speaks of this duality when he reveals to Nicodemus that every man born on earth is summoned to be born a second time, in spirit, for eternal life.78 Royal Doors of Maramureș beyond their appearances | 273 The two aspects of Mary were allegorically expressed in the royal doors of the Northern Carpathians by two trees, one with an instructive meaning: the tree of an-cestors – representing the bodily birth – and the second with a moral meaning: the good tree – meaning the spiritual birth. The two trees are rendered on the two wings that together make up the royal doors, i.e., the Garden of Heaven. The trees are not formally differentiated, because of the required symmetry. Thus, they must be read from the same iconographic source. The trees on the royal doors do not closely resemble trees. They are rather represented by a series of common plant elements: root, sprout, leaf, flower, and fruit. These defining elements were inspired by two prophecies foreshadowing the coming of Christ through a Virgin: the branch of Jesse and the staff of Aaron. The branch of Jesse was revealed by the Prophet Isaiah: “And the rod shall come forth from the root of Jesse, and the flower from the root of it shall lift you up.”79 Aaron’s staff grew and budded, blossomed and yielded ripe fruits in the tabernacle of Moses.80 One of the canons of the Theotokos captures the correspondence between the branch, the staff and Mary: “Rejoice, undefiled, the one who sprouted from the root of Jesse; rejoice, the one which, by the sprouting of Aaron’s staff, was conceived before in mystery and depth; and like those almonds, so you have made Christ blossom.”81 To better understand how the double feature of the Mother of God was imagined in the sculpture of the royal doors in the Northern Carpathians, let us examine further the iconography of the two trees and the symbols that characterize them. Upon a more detailed analysis of the sculpture, we discover that each plant element and complementary feature could have a particular meaning, specific to each of the two trees. (d) The tree of the ancestors, of the birth in body. The tree of the ancestors is known in literature as the Tree of Jesse, when it refers to the genealogical origin of the Theotokos, and through her of Christ.82 On the first royal doors of Baroque inspiration from north of the Carpathians, dating from first half of the 17th century, the fruitful tree of the ancestors appears veiled, limited to only a few defining features: the root, the sprout, the flower, and the fruit.83 In Maramureș, trees of the ancestors can be identified on the royal doors after the middle of the 17th century. Complementary zoomorphic and anthropomorphic motifs were placed on the royal doors of Maramureș starting with the first half of the 18th century, to make the message more detectable and more comprehensible.84 e root represents the genealogical origin of the Mother of God, Jesse being indicated as her direct ancestor. In the oldest royal doors carved with shoots, flowers, and fruits from Maramureș, dating to the second half of the 17th century, the root is not individualized, only implied. At the beginning of the 18th century, in Maramureș, the root begun to receive a distinct representation, probably to facilitate the understanding of the motif. In the figurative language of the vegetal motif, the root was rendered by a strong thickening of the rod at the bottom, as it can be seen at Săliștea de Sus-Buleni (1724) (Fig. 18), or it received a distinct form, as in the church from Coștiui (1780). After the middle of the 18th century, on a series of royal doors made by the painter Alexa85 the root was anthropomorphized by the figure of Jesse, who was accompanied, most often, by his son, King David. On several of these royal doors,86 the painter Alexa placed the incipit of the kathisma of the feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos: “From the Root of Jesse, and from the Thighs of David, [Mary] the daughter of God is born”87 (Fig. 19). Here, we are dealing with one of the rare situations in Maramureș in which the theme carved on the royal doors is accompanied by a subtext, according to the model of an emblem. The emblems form a coded communication system, composed of image and text (motto). This artistic style was appreciated in that era.88 Taken separately, the motto and the image allow a multitude of interpretations. However, read together, they complement each other and translate exactly the meaning of the emblem. In this case, the Marian identity of these doors is decoded through the text. If the painter wanted to refer to the Christological 274 | Alexandru Baboș Fig. 11. Oncești. e original royal doors, date from 1621, most probably from the consecration of the church. Painted in a post-Byzantine tradition, their front side were divided into six fields, by frames lightly decorated with half-palmettes and zigzags in the ground of the painting. The Annunciation is narrated in the upper register, while the four evangelists are depicted in the large cassettes below. Photo 2019. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. Fig. 12. Budești-Josani. e royal doors go back to the consecration of the church in 1643. They are painted in the post-Byzantine tradition, with decorated frames inspired by Renaissance. Their face is divided into six fields by ropes lightly carved in bas-relief. A slightly more pronounced rope marks the vertical axis. The Annunciation is told in the upper register, and the four evangelists arranged in the four large fields below. This model was characteristic for Maramureș, around the middle of the 17th century. Photo 2018. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. Royal Doors of Maramureș beyond their appearances | 275 Fig. 13. Sârbi-Susani. e royal doors can be relatively dated to the second half of the 17th century and attributed to painter Grygoriy of Colomeea. The medallions were painted in the post-Byzantine style, while the main part of the front was carved in the Baroque style with loosely unfolded plant motifs in bas-relief, in a composition radically different from earlier models. The most probable prototype of these doors can be identified at the church of the Assumption of Mary in Lviv (circa 1629, later moved to Velyki Hrybovytsi). Photo 2019. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. Fig. 14. Mănăstirea Giulești. e original royal doors can be relatively dated to around 1692. The medallions are painted in the post-Byzantine style. The doors were carved in openwork with exotic and lush plant motifs, reminding of the Song of Songs. The doors were stolen from the church in 1999. Photo 1995. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. 276 | Alexandru Baboș Royal Doors of Maramureș beyond their appearances | 277 Fig. 15-16: Apșa de Mijloc, upper church. e painting extends on the soffit of the frame, while it retracts significantly on the royal doors. Basil the Great and John Chrysostom, the authors of the Byzantine liturgies, are painted on the frame close to the royal doors, here in the role of preachers of the Announcement. They were repainted and signed by the painter Cornelius Romanowsky in 1840. Photo 2019. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. Fig. 17: Poienile Izei. Openwork carved pillar in the axis of the royal doors, topped by a cross, surrounded by sunrays, over a bishop mitre. Photo 2019. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. identity, then he would have appealed to another text from the New Testament: “Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has overcome ...”89 Therefore, the iconographic theme of the flowering branch coming out of Jesse’s root should be read in a Marian key. For this reason, even on the royal doors where the root is replaced by a lion, the image cannot be associated with the text of Revelation, but is still a visual complement to the text of Isaiah. In this reasoning, the lion’s mouths on the royal gates of Desești (Fig. 22) must be understood as a simplification of the heraldic lion, a symbol of the people of Judah, from which the Mother of God is also derived, just as the hymn states: “The holy David and Jesse render praise, and Judah offereth homage; for the pure Virgin, of whom the pre-eternal God was born, grew forth as fruit from their root.”90 There is an alternative representation on the royal doors of Borșa de Jos, where the root is replaced by a whale. The whale represents the giant fish in the story of the prophet Jonah, an image that symbolically and visually overlaps the mouth of the Leviathan, from which Christ took out his ancestors, shattering the chains of hell.91 Consequently, the root was still in the mouth of the great fish when the Mother of God conceived and then gave birth to Christ. This image indirectly emphasizes the contribution of the Theotokos to the salvation of the ancestors from original sin. e staff and the shoot. The rod is the stalk that grows from the root and sprouts, i.e., it offers a shoot. The staff and the shoot, added together, designate the Virgin,92 as shown in a canon of the Theotokos: “O Virgin Mother undefiled, Thou art the Rod from the root of Jesse from which has sprung up Christ the Flower, that brings life to all on earth.”93 From a broader perspective, the shoot laden with fruit can be interpreted as a metaphor or allegory of the passing from one descendant to another, i.e., “from fruit to fruit”, according to an old Romanian expression taken from Church Slavonic. The shoots loaded with grapes on the royal doors twist and shift, suggesting visually and ideologically the exchange of generations, the heritage, or the bloodline. e fruit of the shoot was formally represented by a pome, a grape and even abstracted by painted medallions. The fruit (representing a descendant or a generation) in the form of ripe cluster of grapes, is popular in the sculpture of the royal doors. Quite often grapes are symbolically associated with Christ, the Fruit of Mary. In a canon of the Theotokos it is written: “O Virgin, thou hast borne the ripe Cluster of grapes. From Him we receive the wine of salvation.”94 e flower. The painter Alexa was an expert of the symbols and allegories woven on the royal doors. These might have been well understood by the top of the local elite, but most of the faithful were illiterate, even among nobility. Therefore, following models from Northern Carpathians, he introduced human and zoomorphic cha- racters within the fabric of the royal doors to make their allegorical meaning more explicit to a larger part of believers. At the bottom, he placed the ancestor Jesse as a hermit, most often together with King David, to show the root of the Theotokos (Fig. 19, 23). At the top, he visualized the flower coming out of the shoot, signifying the role of the Virgin in bringing Christ into the world. In the prophecy of Isaiah, the purpose of the shoot is to bloom, the flower being here a symbol of the blessing of the Holy Spirit and of Mary’s spiritual birth, leading to the birth of Christ in flesh. We find the interpretation in a theotokion: “Thou art a staff from the root of Jesse, Blessed Virgin, who from the Flower brought the Fruit of salvation for all those who cry with faith to Thy Son: God of our fathers, blessed art Thou.”95 The strophe was built on a series of symbols which appear frequently on royal doors: root (Jesse) – staff (Virgin) – flower (birth / Holy Spirit) – fruit (Christ). In order to clarify the role of the Mother of God on the royal doors, Alexa introduced some complementary symbols in their sculpture. In the crown of the ancestors’ tree, next to the flower or in its place, he carved pairs of figurative motifs, such as birds and seraphim, both signifying the coming of Christ. On the royal doors of Sârbi-Josani and Vișeu de Mijloc (Fig. 3), the presence of seraphs and birds expresses a verse from a hymn of the feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple: “He Who is borne upon the cherubim and is hymned by the seraphim, borne into the temple of God today in accordance with the law, sitteth in the arms of the elder as on a throne, and as God receiveth gifts from Joseph: a pair of turtle-doves – the undefiled Church and the people newly-chosen from among the gentiles; and two young pigeons – the beginning of the Old and the New.”96 Associating the text with the images, one can deduce that, above the tree of the ancestors, the two birds illustrate two pigeons or two doves, i.e., the sacrifice brought to God on Christ’s behalf, who was born in the old law and initiated the new law.97 In their turn, the two cherubim flank the cross in a heraldic manner, reminding of Christ, the infant “born upon the cherubim”. By adding up the embracing presence of the Theotokos through the carved Closed Garden of Paradise, her warming girdle on the central piece, and the pigeons above the two wings of the royal doors, an even sharper image of the new-born Christ, the incarnated Word, comes through. All around Him stands the Mother of God, as foretold by prophets, a Virgin from the root of Jesse and from the family tree of David. (e) The good tree, of the birth in spirit. e good tree should offer a moral compass for all those who want to be born in the spirit, i.e., a guide to the Christian spiritual life. It brings visible contributions to the whole composition and proposes an alternative reading to the carved ornaments of the royal doors. In the collection of parables offered by Christ, we find an allegory of a good tree and a corrupt tree. In this parable, people are advised to choose carefully, on the basis of the quality of the fruits: “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruits is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them.”98 In the iconography of the good tree, the presence of the good fruit, with the meaning of virtues, is essential. The fruit, in the form of ripe cluster of grapes, is one of the most characteristic figurative ornamental elements of the royal doors and of the sculpture of the iconostasis in general. It is used to emphasize the presence of the good 278 | Alexandru Baboș Fig. 18. Săliștea de Sus Buleni. e royal doors are original, dated in November 1724, together with the church, and were carved in bas-relief, most likely by a local painter from Maramureș. These are the last surviving doors from the campaign to rebuild wooden churches in the upper district after the Tatar raid of 1717. Photo 2018. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. Fig. 19. Călinești-Susani. e royal doors with the tree of ancestors illustrated by the presence of Jesse and David at its foot. On one strip, a motto was written quoting from a liturgical book. In the upper part, appear flowers, birds with dragons in their beak and the cross, an allegorical ensemble that can be interpreted as the coming of Christ. The girdle that divides the central colonnade into two segments and the bishop’s miter below the cross give important support for the interpretation. The doors are the original ones, dated 1761 and attributed to the painter Alexa. Photo 2019. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. Royal Doors of Maramureș beyond their appearances | 279 Fig. 20-21. Călinești-Susani. e backside of the royal doors is left undecorated. No less than ten distinct wooden pieces can be identified, fastened together with wooden nails and glue: the two wings, the two pieces on the sides, the central pillar, the cross, and four transversals. To these are added four hinges made by a local blacksmith, fastened in nails. Nail marks on the top crossbars indicate the existence of a small lock, now vanished. Photo 2019. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. Fig. 22. Desești. ese are probably the oldest doors with a pillar carved with openwork, known in Maramureș, dating in the first half of the 18th century. They are reused within the present wooden church. It combines the rich vegetal elements (shoots, leaves, flowers, fruit) with lions’ heads at the root and a dove at the top above Mary. Photo 2019. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. 280 | Alexandru Baboș Fig. 23. Strâmtura. e original royal doors are dated 1776 and attributed to the painter Alexa. The medallions were painted in the post-Byzantine style and the openwork sculpture was made in the Mannerist-Baroque style, most likely by the same artist. The centrepiece features a unique and extremely valuable detail of the portrait of Christ, personalizing and identifying the colonnade. In the lower part, Jesse and David are lying down, from whose ribs grow vine shoots, an image built on Isaiah’s prophecy about the coming of Christ from a virgin. Photo 2018. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. tree. On the royal doors of Săliștea de Sus-Buleni (Fig. 18) and Ferești, the grapes are accompanied by figs, paraphrasing the parable of Christ, and affirming the presence of a model worth following. An adaptation of the image of the good tree, allegorically built on the parable, for the pedagogical purpose of illustrating the Christian life, is found in Avva Agathon: “A human being is like a tree: as such, manual labour is the leaves, while the interior spiritual life, that which keeps watch, is the fruit. Since, according to what is written, ‘Every tree that does not produce good fruit gets cut down and thrown into the fire,’ it’s clear that all our diligence and zeal is for the fruit, that is, safeguarding the mind. But we also need the protective shade and beauty of the leaves, that is, manual labor.”99 From these allegories emerges the presence of a model worth following, built through the image of a tree with good fruits and adorned with leaves. The royal doors were provided with all the defining features in this regard. In the thematic framework of the good tree, the focus lies on the identity of the Theotokos by her second birth, in spirit, full of virtues, in which she serves the role of an exemplary and ideal moral model in life. In this regard, numerous hymns are dedicated to the Mother of God: “A tree of beautiful fruit and a good shade, we, the faithful, call you, Thou who gave birth to the beautiful Fruit and Saviour ...”100 In another hymn, the faithful address her: “Rejoice the true and fruitful offspring, Thou who have raised the Grape of immortality.”101 Since no one attains virtue or is born in the spirit without his own efforts, a hymn addressed to the Mother of God captures the metaphor of a well-cared vineyard: “Ripening like a vineyard at the cry of the angel, O Virgin, prepare thou to put forth the ripe and incorrupt Cluster.”102 The flower might represent the presence or the reception of the Holy Spirit, and therefore it most suitably can stand for the second birth, in spirit or in grace. Through this symbol, the often-employed motif of medallions emerging from flowers in which the Evangelists or some other human characters are bestowed with grace becomes clearer. Instead, the motif of flowers emerging from another flower can be understood as gifts or virtues springing from the Holy Spirit. On the flowery doors, flowers become an attribute of identification and aesthetic beatification of the good tree – vineyard –, garden of heaven, i.e., of the Mother of God, and by extension, signs of the beauty and purity of her virtues: “Rejoice, queen, the book of Christ, the one with many flowers adorned and the union of the separated, rejoice the river of life, rejoice the tree of delight and clean place ...”103 The bird, which lives at the top of the good tree, offers multiple possibilities of metaphorical and overlapping interpretation. A first interpretation can be taken from the second part of Isaiah’s prophecy, related to the rod of Jesse: “And the Spirit of God, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of good faith, and the Spirit of fear of God will fill him.”104 In the iconography of the good tree, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit can be interpreted as seven fruits or virtues: wisdom, understanding, counsel, courage, knowledge, piety and fear of God, sometimes imagined in religious art in the form of seven doves with divine aura, suggesting their common source, as a diffraction from a single ray of light from the Holy Spirit. The first and the second verse of Isaiah 11 can also be interpreted as a typological prophecy of the Annunciation, where the Holy Spirit is invariably imagined concentrated in one dove, traveling on a ray of light. In a second Marian sense, the bird can refer to the virtues and distinction of Mary, as we find in a hymn: “Rejoice the chosen dove, polished with the wings of virginity, and the beautiful dove ... the fruitful vineyard, which gives the wine of martyrdom. Ask Him to show great mercy to your servants.”105 In the context of the good tree, the birds on the royal doors still allow a third alternative interpretation that is complementary to the other two. It is about the presence of a fabulous phoenix bird, the royal eagle, the immortal and traveling bird from one realm to another. For this reason it is used within Christian iconography as a symbol of Christ. In Călinești-Susani (Fig. 19), the bird appears near the cross in the axis, together with a dragon and a flower, alluding to the eternity, rebirth, and transformation phases of the phoenix. The image is partially inspired by the Flower of Virtue and the Physiologist.106 In the end, all three interpretations seem to support the presence of significant moral virtues, which are expressed through the images of birds, with direct or indirect references to the scene of the Annunciation, where the Theotokos receives Christ from the Holy Spirit. Royal Doors of Maramureș beyond their appearances | 281 The Reception of the Royal Doors in Maramureș Through their ornaments, the royal doors received the meaning of the gates of heaven. Where else, if not here, could the duality of human nature be highlighted? However, in order to communicate such meaning, the ornaments require a subtle and allegorical reading, and presume the existence of an elite capable of mastering and passing it on. For this reason, it is necessarily to find out in what extent were the subtle messages of the sculpture of the royal doors comprehended by the majority of belivers, beyond the gates of some few centres of spirituality and culture? Were the messages understood and used by the common people of Maramureș? (a) Blagorodia. To understand the interest of the people of Maramureș for the duality of human nature, in spirit and in body, the concept of blagorodia, which circulated in the region in the pre-modern era, must be clarified.107 Blagorodia addresses to the privileged class, to the intellectual and clerical elite from the Byzantine rite environment in the Carpathians, in a shaping and moralizing sense. It carries the meaning of nobility and appeals equally to a personʼs descent as to his moral qualities. In the contemporary European literature on nobility, the emphasis usually shifted from the inheritance of noble privileges to the aspiration for noble ideals and moral virtues, essential attributes of a Christian life at the top of the social hierarchy. The discourse about nobility, in its social expression, took easily root in the hierarchical environment of Maramureș. The preservation of privileges from generation to generation, starting from a diploma inherited from a common ancestor in the Middle Ages, was a continuous concern and a necessity for the Maramureș nobility. According to numerous written sources, especially during the processes of investigating the noble status of families in Maramureș in the 18th century, genealogical trees, along with the remarkable deeds of their ancestors, were learned, memorized, and defended in all their branches. Thus, long bloodlines of family members, family alliances, or relatives who emigrated far away and detached from the common trunk many generations ago could have been evoked.108 The family tree and the deeds of the past were a true history book of the family, the community and the country, with a strong educational role. For example, in the preliminary part of an act of attestation of nobility from 1633, written for several Maramureș noble families from Iapa village, the notary of the convent from ClujMănăștur noted the way the nobles in the principality of Transylvania and Maramureș felt about nobility in his time: “... the brilliant deeds and the acts of bravery make anyone who seeks to reach virtue be remembered forever and usually bring a very great and useful reward to the descendants ... ”109 From the quote transpires a trinomial: deed – virtue – reward, that may correspond on the visual-allegorical level of the royal doors with the series of leaf – flower – fruit symbols. About the moral side of nobility speaks the large number of inscriptions preserved inside the churches of Maramureș, which record deeds, founders, and donations, in the memory of ancestors, for the spiritual benefit of donors and their descendants, from generation to generation. A good example is provided by three inscriptions in Church Slavonic on the royal doors in Oncești. Written on the front side, they capture two donor families, Vancea Fig. 24. e structure and arrangement of symbols in the royal doors in Maramureș. In Cuhea, the original entrance in the axis of the altar dates from around 1754. The author is anonymous, but his works in Verchoyna and north of the Carpathians indicate a Ukrainian, Galician artist. The entrance includes: a frame, royal doors, and a crown. The frame consists of side panels and a sound box over the doors. The frame brings more distinction and allows a diversification of shapes in the opening of the entrance. On the side panels, two of the most important bishops, are painted, preaching the wonderful news, as part of the Annunciation cycle. Over the doors, the Mother of God appears in the height of the sky, and above the frame, in the crown, the presence of Trinity has been suggested, floating above the depths of Heaven. The royal doors are carved in openwork with the theme of the Garden of Heaven, to strengthen the prophetic vision. In the medallions, the teaching evangelists and the Annunciation are depicted. The entrance to the altar in Cuhea reaches a level of elegance, sophistication, articulation, and eloquence unusual in Maramureș until then, practically a pinnacle of Baroque artistic expression and quality in the area. Photo 2017. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. 282 | Alexandru Baboș Fig. 25. Rozavlea, royal doors carved and painted by the artist Philipp Schaitzner from Sighet, in 1823, in an eclectic style. e central pilaster is decorated with chain of coins and divided into two parts by a sunflower in the middle (Christ), a reference to the staffs of Christ in Zechariah’s prophecy: called covenant and mercy. Characteristic details on the pilaster: a bud (beginning) at the bottom, bishop miter with crown set on a quatrefoil, (end), at the top. Also, characteristic is a garland placed over the door that suggests the protective covering of the Mother of God. Photo 2018. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. and Gogea, the main noble branches of the community. On the left wing, it is written: “The merciful servant of God, Ștefan Gogea, together with Nastasia Gogea, Chifor, Parasca, Dumitru, Grigorie, Alexa, for the health and forgiveness of sins.” On the right wing: “The merciful servant of God, Vancea Nicoară, together with his father Sava and his mother Fodora and his children Ionaș, Petru, Maria, for their remembrance.” Below, there is a third inscription: “Nicoară and Ștefan bought together these gifts for the patron saint, Holy Archangel Michael, in the year of the Lord, August 17, 1621.”110 The purchase of a liturgical book for the benefit of the community also provided a notable opportunity to note the contribution, the donor, and the benefits expected in return. Similarly, on a Slavonic Antologhion of 1638 (the manuscript was found at the beginning of the 20th century in the upper church of Borșa) there is a note which informs that the manuscript was bought in 1675 by “Timiș Roman with his wife, ... as [alms for] his soul and all his fruit until [the] seventh fruit.” The note continues with the curse of the donor, in order to prevent the removal of the donation from the church. In the end, he asks: “he who is priest [is] obliged to commemorate the souls that are written here; may God remember them in the Kingdom of Heaven.”111 It is worth remarking the extension of the spiritual benefit for endowing the church with this expensive book, up to the seventh “fruit”, i.e., seven generations of descendants.112 The book had been used for a long time, until its replacement with others written in Romanian, toward the end of the 18th century and until the abandonment of the Cyrillic alphabet, after the middle of the 19th century. In the meantime, it probably fulfilled its purpose of commemorating the good deeds of the donors, for the benefit of the seven generations of descendants. An exceptional example of the cultivation of virtues in a community of nobles is provided by a tradition recorded in connection to a chandelier with birds hanging from the nave vault inside the wooden church in Cuhea (Fig. 27).113 The wooden chandelier with its numerous arms spread over three levels, each inhabited by a row of birds, visualizes in an elaborate three-dimensional construction the image of the Tree of Life. As mentioned earlier, in Christian symbolism birds represent the virtues gained by the righteous during their earthly life, thanks to which they were received in the Garden of Heaven and permitted to eat the fruits of the Tree of Life. According to the oral tradition from Cuhea, the birds in this chandelier tree urge the seeking of three virtues: “to be gentle like a dove, to sing like a nightingale, and to be free like a swallow.”114 The continuous cultivation of virtues, the tradition of patronage in the construction and endowment of churches, and the concern to keep alive the family tree demonstrates that blagorodia was a well-known and common concept among noble families in Maramureș in pre-modern times. In this regard, one must read the titles of blagorodnicul (noble) Vasile Săpânțan and his blagorodnica (noble) wife, Ioana Săpânțan, written on their votive paintings inside the church from Cuhea. Therefore, the painted and carved ornaments of the royal doors were naturally introduced and integrated into their social, cultural, and spiritual environment. Obviously, most of the communities of nobles from Maramureș were familiar with their moral and pedagogical message, as it was integrated in the concept of nobility. Royal Doors of Maramureș beyond their appearances | 283 (b) In Folklore. The Christmas carols contain various religious subjects that, despite their theological complexity, were communicated in the simple and native local language, versified and expressive. One of the carols that may refer, directly or indirectly, to the royal doors is e carol of the apples obtained from the king’s girl, which has wide circulation in various forms in northern Transylvania, including Maramureș. It might have been composed inspired by or to explain and popularize the iconography, the figurative message, and the innovations brought in the aspect of the royal doors, during the 17th and 18th centuries. Up there in the sunrise, There is a tree in full bloom, With silver leaves And with golden apples. The sun, when it shone, The apples became ripe, And [when] the wind blew, The apples fell, Young men picked them. – Where did you get them? – From a king’s girl, Standing in a gate of heaven.115 The introductory verses of the carol can easily be understood as a synthetic description of the Garden of Heaven, and as a first allusion to the sculpture of the royal doors. We identify here the orientation to the east, a flowering tree with leaves and fruits, as well as the characteristic polychromy in silver and gold. The flowering tree within the carol bears fruits, ripe from the shining sun, that is, from Christ, and blown down by the wind, a suggestion of the presence of the Holy Spirit. In carols, apples are not the forbidden fruit of the Edenic tree of knowledge, but the ripe fruit of salvation from the flowering Tree of Life. They are offered to the faithful by a king’s girl at the gate of heaven. We can recognize here the Mother of God, a virgin descended from the tribe of King David. In this way, the Mother of God greets the faithful in front of the gate of heaven, mediating between them and Christ. The gate of heaven appears in this carol just like in liturgical texts, as a symbol of the Theotokos and, implicitly, makes a possible second allusion to the royal doors. In a similar carol, the apples are received by some boyars: With great prayer On elbows and knees On that mountain top With successful prayer, From the shining moon.116 The mediating shining moon replaces here the king’s girl, making a synonymous reference to the Mother of God. In another carol from Maramureș, collected at the end of the 19th century, the royal doors are suggested by the presence of three trees, indicating a correct understanding of their structure and meaning: What are these courts, High, wonderful courts? Before these yards There are three rows of trees. In the shade of the trees The lady of the courts sits...117 Fig. 26. Moisei-Josani. e wooden church was consecrated in 1779 and the royal doors are the original ones. The painting in the medallions could be attributed to the official painter of the bishopric of Muncaci, Tadei Spalinsky. The doors were made in Rococo style, with a central pilaster carved in high relief. On the pilaster the Christ attributes are distinguished: the division into two segments, the flower and the fruit, the miter with the cross. The royal doors are today preserved in Ruscova Oblaz. Photo 2018. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. 284 | Alexandru Baboș Fig. 27. Cuhea. Inside the wooden church, the original architectural iconostasis from 1754 is preserved, completed with a unique background painting. From the vault of the church hangs a chandelier with birds, one of the most valuable in the Carpathians. In the oral memory, the symbol of virtues attributed to birds in the Tree of Life was preserved. Inside the nave, the gilt and the paintings of the noble founders, Vasile and Ioana Săpânțan, are preserved. Photo 2017. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. The high courts, i.e., close to the sky, are synonymous with the Garden of Heaven, and the lady of the courts can be recognized as the Mother of God. A related carol, e angry Santa Claus, captures the image of the tree of the ancestors with Jesse at the bottom, who is replaced in this case by Santa Claus. Santa became upset in this carol on people who are driven by passions and vices, forgetting the fruits of the good tree taught by the church. The sun rises red above, White apple flowers, It is a proud-flowering tree. Who’s lying under the tree? Santa Claus lays upset. ...118 Over time, the image of the ancestral tree has passed from religious rhetoric to profane folklore, being thus encountered in a Wedding oration, noted in 1895: You who are honest parents Who are ordained by God Like the fruitful trees Who bear fruit to their branches From the freshness of their roots ...119 A ballad For the repentance of the sinful man from the same folklore collection discusses the second birth and the tree with good fruits planted in heaven: Every man who lives In a defiled life Is like a tree planted And swayed by the storm; The sun makes him pale, He still does not grow old; Although the wind blows it, Its leaf still does not fall Yet, it will bear good fruit In its sweet life. The man of great faith Has no great sigh When his body is broken His soul is renewed. He who would endure to the end He will be saved.120 The transfer of moral and pedagogical teachings from church to folklore, in similar forms to artistic visual expression, especially manifested through the royal doors, demonstrates how far and deep this phenomenon entered the culture of Maramureș and further on, in the northern parts of Transylvania.4 Royal Doors of Maramureș beyond their appearances | 285 Fig. 28. Mănăstirea Moisei. e triptych preserves the deeds and names of the founders to be remembered in the commemorative prayers at the proskomedia. In its form, meaning, and iconography, the triptych can be compared to a pair of miniature royal doors. Archangel Gabriel and Virgin Mary in the Annunciation scene are painted on the doors, while the names of the founders are written inside. By placing the triptych in the altar, it was revealed the obvious desire of the founders to secure a place in heaven. Symbolically, the inscription inside the triptych imitates the writing in the book of eternal life. The triptych from Mănăstirea Moisei can be the original one, made after the consecration of the monastery in 1672. It begins with the names of Archbishop Sava Brancovici and the founder Mihai Coman and continues with numerous other names of donors and benefactors. The face of the triptych seems to have been repainted in the 18th century. Photo 2019. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. 286 | Alexandru Baboș Fig. 29. Călinești-Susani. e altar icon with tabernacle was dated 1789 and signed by the painter Gheorghe Plohod from Dragomirești. Altar icons were introduced in the environment of Maramureș in the second half of the 18th century, under Latin influence. They were inspired by the iconography and symbolism of the royal doors. Their frontside usually depicts the Virgin and the Child wearing crowns, against a rich vegetal background, suggesting the allegory of the Garden of Heaven. In the surrounding openwork sculpture – among shoots, leaves, fruit, flower and cross – appear the four teaching evangelists, painted in medallions. On the back of some altar icons, the scene of the Annunciation appears, functioning together with the frontside as a coin with two complementary sides. In Călinești Susani, the back of the icon was dedicated to John the Baptist, with the text: “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees”. (Matthew 3:2 and 3:10) The meaning of this quote-motto is commented in a verse at the birth of John the Baptist: “The cutting of the axe by the root is near, and it is witnessed, that every tree, which does not bear good fruit, is cut down with the cutter and thrown into the fire of Gehenna. Therefore, my soul, tremble, and bear fruits of repentance.” (Menaion, June 24, matins, ode 4) The verse makes a compelling call to choose the path of the good tree. Thus, the altar icon from Călinești Susani emphasizes the parable of the good tree. Photo 2019. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. Fig. 30. Susenii Bârgăului, Bistrița County. Royal doors with a double-headed eagle in a royal Byzantine blazon construction, with sceptre and sword, devouring snakes. This symbol is common in Northern Transylvania in the 18th century and can be interpreted as the manifestation of Christ in His double nature and quest to overcome evil. The church together with its iconostasis were moved to Livezile in 1909 and moved once again in Dumbrava in 1957, where they are now preserved. Photo 2019. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. Royal Doors of Maramureș beyond their appearances | 287 288 | Alexandru Baboș Conclusions and Discussions. Fig. 31. Tarna Mare, Ugocsa County, an example of royal doors carved in openwork technique. The sculpture is dominated by the Tree of Life in the middle of the Garden of Heaven. The vine is blooming and bearing 12 clusters of grapes. The tier of royal icons from Tarna Mare is signed by Ștefan maliar Maramoroshiansky, in the second half of the 18th century. It was donated in 1937 to a small community in Văgaș, and it is at present preserved in Satu Mare Museum. Photo 2021. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. Fig. 32. Buzești, Maramureș County. Rococo royal doors from the 18th century with the blooming and fruit bearing Tree of Life in the heart of the sprouting Garden of Heaven. There is a visible emphasis on the painted medallions by surrounding them with carved plant motifs, resembling rocailes. Reconstruction after the slightly enlarged royal doors preserved inside the wooden church. Photo 2022. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. The liturgical act and text contribute significantly to the understanding of the appearance of the royal doors in the Northern Carpathians. During religious celebrations, when recited or sung verses vibrate in the space of the church and ritual movements draw attention from one place to another, the motifs and symbols intertwined in the sculpture of the royal doors come to life and gain meaning. In this context, the interpretations, messages, and structure that marked the changes in the appearance of the royal doors can be recovered, step by step. The subtle innovations of the royal doors developed in a social and cultural environment ready to receive them. The Maramureș society of the pre-modern era was guided by the same teachings and ideals as those inscribed in the designs of the royal doors. These aspects are extant in contemporary documents and inscriptions, as well as in the oral folkloric tradition transmitted to this day. The central theme of the royal doors in the Eastern Church was the Annunciation. The scene of the Annunciation highlights a moment of greatest importance for the salvific history of humanity, namely the incarnation of the Divine in the human body. Because the Virgin Mary assumed the role of receiving the Divinity in the name and for the benefit of all human race, the key to interpreting the royal doors is a dominant Marian one. If we interpret the birth in spirit of the Mother of God as the moment of birth of the Christian Church, we may understand even better the importance of the event and the reason of placing the scene of the Annunciation in the centre of the communal religious space.121 The painting on the royal doors forms a coherent grouping of the themes in the Annunciation cycle, which allowed a limited variation in the selection and arrangement of scenes. The painted panels of the wings followed the old narrative and metaphorical art of the icons. Even after the introduction of sculpture, the arrangement, character, and content of the paintings did not change significantly. While the paintings took up less and less of the decorated surface of the doors, they expanded instead on the frame around the royal doors (Fig. 24). The sculpture of the royal doors was introduced to reformulate the prophetic part of the Annunciation cycle. The sculpture highlights the existence of several overlapping levels of figurative interpretation, which require a good control of the allegorical language and a deep knowledge of the meaning of liturgical texts. This supports the origin of the sculpted models, of Baroque inspiration, from an environment of high theological formation, creativity, and cultural exchanges, such as Lviv. This is also suggested by historical evidence. The real novelty seems to be the consistency with which the theme of the three trees was introduced and developed in the Northern Carpathians. This was inspired by several Old Testament sources and liturgical texts, as well as contemporary representations of the Tree of Jesse. The relationship of the three trees with the duality of the human nature – the flesh and the spirit – adds a layer of depth to the reading of the royal doors. The three trees urged the faithful to search for higher grounds in their life: in consensus with the theological, moral, and pedagogical concerns of the time. Examining in detail, despite their diversity, no sculpted symbolic element is detached from the liturgical function of the royal doors in their entirety. References to the symbols should be sought especially in the liturgical and patristic texts that circulated in the area, which help recognize and decode the allegorical meanings. Royal Doors of Maramureș beyond their appearances | 289 290 | Alexandru Baboș Fig. 33. Strâmtura. e wooden panel, together with the applied decoration, the tympanum, and the side colonnettes, all carved in openwork, can be dated, most probably, from the last quarter of the 17th century and come from an earlier icon. The openwork carved decoration of the initial icon constitutes one of the oldest examples of this kind in Maramureș, introduced at the same time as in the royal doors. The current icon of Saint Nicholas was painted by Alexa around 1775, reusing the wood and carved decoration of the old icon, a custom widespread in the area. In the medallion, Saint Nicholas was painted saving a man from drowning, the saint being the protector of those traveling on the waters, a theme probably loved by Maramureș raftsmen. Photo 2019. Credits: Alexandru Baboș. An innovative aspect in the sculpture of the royal doors was the introduction of the openwork technique in the rendering of plant motifs. Through this technique, the doors and their iconographic subjects, as well as their symbolic elements, were more strongly highlighted, beco- ming more realistic and palpable. At the same time, the royal doors became more and more transparent, allowing an improved visual contact with the altar, unprecedented until then. This innovation was not only a formal one, but also a conceptual one, which responded to the criticism brought by Catholics to the Eastern Church that it prevents believers from participating in the obligatory sacramental moments.122 By introducing and bringing to the fore the Garden of Heaven in the decoration of the royal doors, as well as through the transparency offered by the sculpture, the faithful became more involved and more aware of the chances of salvation in the Byzantine rite Church. At the same time, and probably for the same purpose, small openings were cut in the wall that separated women from men.123 This suggests the growing importance of visual and voice communication inside the wooden churches of Maramureș. In the subtext, through all these innovations, one can understand the efforts of the Byzantine rite Church to take the initia- Royal Doors of Maramureș beyond their appearances | 291 tive, to open itself and communicate with the faithful, as well as to lead its flock to salvation, navigating between the necessary reforms and the defence of its identity The sculpture of the royal doors and iconostasis developed in specific historical conditions for the Eastern Church in the Northern Carpathians. For as long as education in the essence of Byzantine rite and tradition was needed, in competition with other denominations, the message conveyed through the royal doors remained relevant. With time passing and changes occurring in the historical context, the sculpture of the royal doors and iconostasis was formalized and transformed under the influence of new fashionable styles. The teaching messages were forgotten, along with the reason for introducing sculpture in the first place. Indeed, the carved royal doors preserved in Maramureș are true and eloquent witnesses of the times of effervescence and challenges that the Byzantine rite communities in the Northern Carpathians experienced a few centuries ago. Since the royal doors could communicate with the faithful, the aesthetics were not a priority. The patrons of Maramureș were most often satisfied with second- or third-hand painters. If we compare the royal doors from Maramureș with their Baroque counterparts from the north of the Carpathians, we can see that they were of a lower artistic quality, with few exceptions. The situation was the same in most rural communities in the Northern Carpathians. This differentiation was determined by the economic power of the church patrons and the possibility to use the services of skilled artists. Only toward the end of the 18th century and in the first half of the 19th century, after several reforms introduced by the bishops of Mukachevo, the artistic level became a priority, significantly improving in Maramureș as well. Maramureș played the role of a transitional space between Poland and the Principality of Transylvania in the field of art and exchange of ideas. The changes that took place here influenced the evolution in the Byzantine rite churches from the north and sometimes in the heart of Transylvania. Here they met and mixed with the influences of the Brâncoveanu school, coming from the other side of the Southern Carpathians. Many of the wooden churches in northern Transylvania are distinguished not only by larger sizes, height, and the richly carved entrances, but also by more elaborate iconostases. Behind these features were, most likely, the cultural exchanges with Maramureș, supported by strong family relations between the nobles of Maramureș, both those who remained in their villages of origin and those who emigrated to the counties in northern Transylvania. This explains, at least in part, the presence in northern Transylvania of carved royal doors like those of Maramureș (Fig. 30-32). In the churches south of the Northern Carpathians, the artist’s fine sculpture at the royal doors becomes more relevant, if we look at it in dialogue with the carpenter’s sculpture at the entrance to the church. At both entrances, in the Carpathian space, the sculpture flourished synchronously, reaching remarkable heights in the 17th and 18th centuries. Symbolically, the sculpture on the portals at the entrance to the church makes a direct reference to the first creation, while the entrance to the altar brings to the fore the second creation, through the wonderful coming of the Divine in human form. The entrance to the church anticipates the later, while the royal doors fulfil the first, opening the personal experience to higher levels of spirituality. The popularity of the sculptures of the royal doors can be traced on other religious objects inside the churches of Maramureș. The most obvious influence appears in the appearance of iconostases and individual icons (Fig. 33), which took over and expanded the theme of the entrance into heaven. A similar influence can be recognized in the triptychs (Fig. 28) that imitate the shape of royal doors and in the altar icons (Fig. 29), which take over the openwork sculpture. Both types of objects carry the theme of the Annunciation and the partial meaning of the gate of heaven. Finally, the royal doors of Maramureș can be understood only together with those preserved beyond the tops of the Northern Carpathians, which served as a model. Conversely, the royal doors from Maramureș – copied, adapted, and preserved in unexpectedly large numbers in a compact region – contribute to a better understanding of the artistic and cultural phenomena of the Northern Carpathians, and beyond. Therefore, the royal doors on both sides of the Northern Carpathians must be examined and further studied as a common heritage. In such a way, we can better understand this unique place of cultural exchanges between east and west, north and south. Notes: 1 Texts may not always have a direct influence on the image, but they do show a common ground for thought and expression. The site Cele șapte laude (https://sites.google.com/site/ortodox007/) was very useful in the study of liturgical texts. I resorted, whenever possible, to old texts, both for a closer understanding of their meaning and to highlight the effort of the Romanian elite in the pre-modern era to raise and impose the language of the people as a language of worship. Modern liturgical books in English are available through Ponomar project (https://www. ponomar.net/english.html). 2 The pioneer of research regarding the royal doors in the Northern Carpathians was the Ukrainian researcher Mykhaylo Dragan, whose reference work was published only after his death, in 1970 (Драган 1970). It is worth mentioning the album: Царські врата 2012. Most noteworthy and inspirational for the purpose of the present study is Svitlana Olianina’s contribution, materialized in her doctoral dissertation on symbols in ancient Ukrainian iconostasis, including the royal doors (Оляніна 2019). 3 In 1596 at Brest, extended in 1692 to Pryzemyśl and in 1700 to Lviv, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, in 1646 in Ungvar, in northern Hungary, and in 1698 in Alba Iulia, in Transylvania. 4 Partial return to Orthodoxy in the early 17th century in Poland, the temporary re-establishment of the diocese of Maramureș between 1690-1733, the re-establishment of the diocese of Transylvania after the riots of the 1760s. 5 Deluga 2019, p. 11-38. 6 Sołtysiak 2006. 7 Sołtysiak 2006; Оляніна 2019; Deluga 2019, p. 39-70. 8 Драган 1970, p. 44-52. 9 Baboș 2004, p. 230-231. 10 Constas 2006, p. 174-175. 11 Baboș 2020, p. 176-222. 12 Florenski 1994, p. 154-156. 13 Шалина 2000, p. 52-84. 14 Оляніна 2019, p. 160-161. 15 About the structure and symbolism of the liturgical act in Byzantine commentaries, see: Ică 2011. 16 Title formulated in the first centuries of Christianity and consecrated as absolute truth at the Third Ecumenical Council (Ephesus, 431). Ladouceur 2006, p. 5-57. 292 | Alexandru Baboș 17 Софонович 2002, p. 58-59. “Why are they called royal doors? Because through them enters only the King of Glory, Christ, and the priest, who is a symbol of His presence. What does it mean that the royal doors open in two? It means the separation and difference between the visible and the invisible, both in heaven and in the altar, there is invisible fire, just as there are visible things in heaven and in the church. Why are four evangelists depicted on the royal doors? Because by the teaching of the four evangelists the foundation of the Church was laid, and the whole world was united by one law into one Church. That is why the Annunciation appears above the evangelists on the royal doors, because the archangel in heaven proclaimed our salvation, and the Annunciation was preached by the holy evangelists throughout the world.” Thanks to researcher Svitlana Olianina for providing the text. 18 The royal doors are sometimes wrongly associated with a parable of the good shepherd, the symbol of Christ the Door (John 10: 9), through which believers are called to enter the kingdom of heaven. The representation of Christ the Door is found in Maramureș only on some doors to the nave or to the narthex, as for example in the church of Strâmtura. 19 Menaion, November 21, at litia, tone 1. 20 Menaion, November 21, another canon, third song. 21 Menaion, November 21, Canons, first song, tone 4. 22 Dveri textually mean curtains, but colloquially referred to royal doors. 23 The doors to the narthex and the nave are, in exchange, closed by massive doors and locks. 24 Braniște 1993, p. 401. 25 Bârlea 1909, p. 21, note 32. Mineiu pe luna Noiembrie, Râmnic, 1778, p. 133; Menaion, November 21, the doxastikon of the Great Vespers, contains exactly the same text. 26 Ezekiel 44:1-13. Solomon’s temple was considered of divine inspiration and for this reason it became an important model in the sacred art and architecture of Christianity. 27 Salvador-González 2020, p. 615-633. 28 The Christian interpretation to the doors of Solomon’s temple influenced the royal doors since their introduction into Byzantine architecture in the second half of the first Christian millennium. Before the fall of Constantinople in the middle of the 15th century, the temple and the royal gates were already crystallized and integrated into the place of worship. 29 Sfântul Simeon al Tesalonicului (1765): Voroavă de întrebări și răspunsuri, cap. 309. See also: Tratat asupra tuturor dogmelor credinței noastre ortodoxe (2002), Suceava, part v, chap. 155. 30 e troparion of the eotokos, tone 8, Sunday, at the end of Matins. 31 Menaion, March 25, at Great Vespers of the Annunciation (litia), tone 2. 32 Софонович 2002, p. 58-59. 33 Sfântul Simeon al Tesalonicului, Tratat (2002), part v, chap. 155. 34 Menaion, November 21, at Great Vespers (litia), at the apostichia, stichera in tone 5. 35 Menaion, March 25, at Great Vespers of the Annunciation (litia), tone 4. 36 Troparion of the eotokos, tone 5, Sunday evening. 37 Among studies dedicated to Marian symbols: Herea 2013, p. 363-381; and Ladouceur 2006, p. 5-57. 38 Sfântul Simeon al Tesalonicului, Tratat (2002), part v, chap. 118, p. 165. 39 At consecration, there are allowed to remain inside the church only “those parts who should stay forever”; among these, the royal doors were essential. Sfântul Simeon al Tesalonicului, Tratat (2002), part v, chap. 108. 40 As for example the royal doors in Budești-Josani, CălineștiCăeni, Breb, Ieud-Deal, Săliștea de Sus-Buleni, Săliștea de SusNistorești, Oncești, Hoteni, Mănăstirea Giulești, Hărnicești, and so on. In other cases, the royal doors were reused from former replaced churches, as in Budești-Susani, Călinești-Susani, Desești and Strâmtura. In some other churches, they mark some important renovations, as in Rona de Jos, Sârbi-Susani, Vișeu de Mijloc and Poienile Izei. 41 Constas 2006, p. 174-175. 42 Acathistiiariu cu multe alease rugăciuni pentru evlaviia fieștecăruia creștin, Blaj, 1763, p. 292-361. 43 The pair of old royal icons from Șieu comes most probably from a workshop north of the Carpathians. Ezekiel is pictured on the side columns among twelve prophets. 44 Dionisie din Furna 2000, p. 145. 45 Cavarnos 2005, p. 18-21. 46 Similar representations are easily recognizable on the iconostasis from Călinești-Căeni, Ieud-Deal, Sârbi-Susani, Poienile Izei and Bârsana-Jbâr. 47 Uspensky 1994, p. 178. 48 Menaion, November, the troparion of the eotokos at the end of the book, tone 3, Wednesday evening. 49 Menaion, March 25, at Great Vespers of the Annunciation (litia), troparion in tone 4. 50 For the iconography, composition, and symbols of the Annunciation scene in European art and their Christian doctrinal sources, see José María Salvador-Gonzales’ recent studies. 51 Uspensky 1994, p. 178-179. 52 Grabar 1961. 53 Софонович 2002, p. 58-59. 54 Some representative examples can be seen in Cuhea, Ferești, Apșa de Mijloc-Susani, Sândreni/Olexandrivka, Dănileni/Danylovo, Bârsana-Jbâr, Rozavlea and in Moisei Monastery. 55 Menaion, January 30, at the Little Vesper, tone 6. 56 Menaion, June 4, at Matins, Ode 1, tone 6. The hymn was singled out by Ladouceur 2006, p. 5-57; and by Kruk 2017, p 53-68. 57 Оляніна 2019; Царські врата 2012. 58 Bible, New King James Version, Song of Solomon 4:12-14. 59 Bible, New King James Version, Song of Solomon 7:12-13. 60 Delightful flowers, flagrant leaves, and pleasant fruits were introduced in the first Baroque-inspired royal doors of the 17th century, for example in Sârbi-Susani, Hărnicești, Desești, Mănăstirea Giulești, and Rona de Jos. Even the medallions, in which the figures from the Annunciation cycle appear, often take the form of luxurious bulbs or fruits that come out of flowers and grow naturally from the shoots of the trees. Exotic flowers, leaves, and fruits became increasingly rare in the sculpture of the next century, as the composition was simplified. In exchange, the grape-laden vineyard was retained and amplified. By using vegetal motifs, the carved royal doors follow the example of the doors of Solomon’s temple, described by Ezekiel (41, 23-25): “The temple and the sanctuary had two doors. The doors had two panels apiece, two folding panels ... Cherubim and palm trees were carved on the doors of the temple ...” 61 Octoechos, tone 5, on Saturday morning at Matins, Ode 4, Canon of the departed, theotokion. 62 “Killed through eating from the tree, we have been restored to life through the Tree of Thy Cross.” Triodion, Wednesday in Cheese Week, Matins, The Three-Canticle Canons, canticle 3, first canon, tone 2. 63 Menaion, September 8, Matins, ode 6. 64 Bible, New King James Version, Revelation 22:2. The Old Testament correspondence of the description of Heaven with the Tree of Life in the middle is found in Ezekiel 47:12: “Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.” 65 In some other cases, the twelve grapes are visible in the wings of the royal doors, but their meaning may shift accordingly. Relevant examples can be admired in Remeți (c.1785), Dănileni/ Данилово (c.1779), Sârbi-Josani (1764), Budești-Josani (1762) and Berbești (1759). 66 Canons of the eotokos, tone 8, Thursday evening, ode 3. See also: Bible, Numbers 17:1-13. 67 Menaion, August 31, Matins. Further on (ode 4), one can read about the transcendental function of the girdle (cincture): “O Theotokos, thy divine cincture draweth up from earth to heaven us who are transported by love for thee and it.” Royal Doors of Maramureș beyond their appearances | 293 68 Zechariah 11:7. “Covenant” refers to the first creation, in body, and “Mercy” refers to the second creation, in spirit. The payment of the Shepherd (Christ) in Zechariah’s prophecy was 30 pieces of silver, which the Shepherd did not receive, but donated to the Great Temple. There are 30 and 31 coins placed on the pilasters from Rozavlea and Apșa de Jos-Părău, respectively. 69 Menaion, September 8, Matins, canon, tone 6: “You were a golden censer, because the Fire in your womb Dwelt, the Word from the Holy Spirit; and in the form of a man the Mother of God, Pure, appeared in you.” 70 Octoechos, Songs of the resurrection, tone 6, Thursday Matins. 71 Octoechos, Songs of the resurrection, tone 6, Wednesday vespers. 72 Octoechos, Songs of the resurrection, tone 6, Monday Matins, canon, ode 3. 73 See the richly carved doors from the Cotmeana Monastery (possibly from the end of the 14th century) preserved in the National Art Museum of Romania, some royal doors from Moldova, from the Humor Monastery (circa 1535) and the Voroneț Monastery (1581), from the Crasna Hermitage, in Oltenia (mid17th century), and those from the Partoș Monastery, in Banat (early 18th century). 74 For another interpretation of the royal doors through the symbol of the tree of life and the entire iconostasis through the image of the garden of heaven see: Оляніна 2019, p. 166-181 and p. 280-289. 75 Драган 1970, p. 44-52. 76 Triodion, Sunday in Cheese Week, canon of Resurrection, ode 1, tone 6. 77 Luke 1:28. 78 John 3:3-8, Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus. 79 Biblia, Blaj, 1795. Isaiah 53:2 and Isaiah 11:1. 80 Numbers 17:8. 81 Canons to the Most Holy eotokos (Little Octoechos), tone 8, Saturday vespers, ode 1. 82 The iconography of the tree of ancestors was inspired by that of Jesse’s tree. About the iconography of Jesse’s tree in the painting from the north of the Carpathians in the 17th-18th centuries, see: Косів 2019, p. 1379-1392. 83 One of the first such doors come from the Wallachian church of the Assumption in Lviv (dated about 1629, moved later to Velyki Hrybovytsi), from the church of St. Friday in Lviv (1644) and those in Rohatyn (1649). Царські врата 2012, ill. 47, 48 și 49. See also: Драган 1970, p. 48-49. Similar royal doors are documented in Lublin (ca. 1633) and Zamość (1643); see: Deluga 2019. 84 Jesse appears illustrated in the carving of Ukrainian royal doors towards the end of the 17th century, for example at Nova Skvaryava, dated 1697-99. The oldest royal doors from Maramureș that contain the figure of Jesse at their base are documented in Berbești, in 1759. 85 About the painter Alexander Ponehalsky, known among Romanians as the painter Alexa, see Baboș 2018-2019. 86 In Budești-Josani, Sârbi-Josani, Călinești-Căeni, CălineștiSusani and Strâmtura. 87 Minologhion, Blaj, 1751, p. 25, ode 4, troparion at the feast before the celebration of the Nativity of the Mother of God. 88 Денисенко 2010, p. 195-213. Note that while the allegory adds alternative readings to some scenes, the emblem precisely narrows them down to one correct reading. In both forms of communication, the message is hidden and must be sought beyond appearances. 89 Revelation 5:5. 90 Menaion, November 21, Matins, canon 2, ode 8. 91 The Icon of the Resurrection, where the ancestors are released from the mouths of hell. 92 In the Latin form there was a play on words and meanings between the shoot: virga (vargă, in Romanian) and virgin: virgo (vergură, in Romanian), which inspired the iconography of the subject. Reddish 2003, p. 1-15. 93 Canons of the Resurrection (Great Octoechos), tone 3, Saturday Matins, Canon to the Most Holy eotokos, ode 3. 94 e Lenten Triodion, Monday in the fourth week, Matins, tone 3, eotokion; very similar with Canons of the Resurrection (Great Octoechos), tone 3, Friday Matins, ode 3. 95 See similar version in note 94. 96 Menaion, February 2, litia, tone 8; the feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. 97 The bird symbol offers many interpretations. Further extensive mapping of each symbol, on different criteria and in different contexts, would be necessary to establish more precisely their meaning and correspondence in art and texts. 98 Matthew 7:18-20. Peter Mohyla, metropolitan of Kyiv, clarified this quote as follow: „Good works, that is Christian virtue, are a fruit that grows from faith, as from a tree”, by a binomial: tree (faith) – fruit (deed). Movilă (1642) 1981, part 3, question 2, p. 142. 99 Vivian 2020, 272. 100 Canons to the Most Holy eotokos (Little Octoechos), tone 4, Wednesday vespers, ode 4. 101 Menaion, March 24, Matins, ode 8. 102 Menaion, March 24, Matins, ode 5. 103 Canons to the Most Holy eotokos (Little Octoechos), tone 1, Saturday vespers, ode 4. 104 Isaiah 11:2. The importance of this passage was emphasized in the eighth article of faith of the Orthodox Creed, concerning the Holy Spirit, defining Byzantine theology and rite in relation to the Latin; see Movilă (1642) 1981, p. 73-81, questions lxixlxxxi. So, the bird carved on the royal doors may be more than a symbol of the Holy Spirit, it may support a Byzantine identity. 105 Menaion, January 22, Matins, canon, ode 9. 106 Moraru, Georgescu 1996, p. 13-193. As the symbol of loyalty, the phoenix bird may have appeared on the royal doors to emphasize the need to preserve the Byzantine faith. For other versions and meanings, see the texts on the phoenix bird and the eagle, whose attributes and meanings intertwine, at Velculescu, Guruianu 2001, p. 36-37, 51-52, 56, 69-71 și 80. 107 Barbu 2018, p. 43-57. 108 Ardelean 2015, p. 471-480. 109 Pop 2012, p. 338. 110 Baboș 2018-2019, p. 18. 111 Bârlea 1909, p. 36, nr. 144. 112 Baboș 2004, p. 221-297. 113 Dateable around 1754. 114 Baboș 2000, p. 130-135. The attributes of the three birds, accompanied by Christian parables, are found in the Physiologist, see: Velculescu, Guruianu 2001. 115 Bilțiu, Pop 1996, p. 94, Carol 50: “Colindul merelor căpătate de la fata de crai”. See also the carols 37-49 from the same source. 116 Bilțiu, Pop 1996, p. 88, carol 38. 117 Iuga 2008, p. 76. Another two versions at p. 319 and 324. 118 Bilțiu, Pop 1996, p. 260, carol 350. We find the reason for his upset in a larger version of this carol, with the theme: Lamenting the sins of mankind, p. 237-238, carols 304-305-306. 119 Iuga 2008, p. 136. 120 Iuga 2008, p. 133. 121 The ecclesiological significance of the Marian cult in the royal doors remains a challenge for further research and future discussion. 122 Read the exchange of lines between Kasjan Sakowicz and the Metropolitan of Kyiv, Peter Mohyla, in the 1640s. Deluga 2019, p. 28-31. 123 Baboș 2004, p. 206 and 281. Bibliographical Abbreviations: Ardelean 2015 – Livia Ardelean, “Contribuții la studiul nobililor maramureșeni”, in Omagiu academicianului Ioan-Aurel Pop la împlinirea vârstei de 60 de ani, Cluj-Napoca, Centrul de Studii Transilvane, 2015, p. 471-480. 294 | Alexandru Baboș Baboș 2000 – Alexandru Baboș, ree centuries of carpentering churches. A chronological approach to the sacred wooden architecture of Maramureș, Lund, Lund University, 2000. Baboș 2004 – Alexandru Baboș, Tracing a Sacred Building Tradition. Wooden Churches, Carpenters and Founders in Maramureş until the turn of the 18th Century, Norrköping, Lund University, 2004. Baboș 2018-2019 – Alexandru Baboș, “Mărturii istorice adunate în biserica de lemn din Oncești cu rezonanțe în arhitectura, arta și limba Ţării Maramureșului”, in Acta Musei Maramorosiensis, xiv-xv, 2018-2019, p. 133-161. Baboș 2020 – Alexandru Baboș, “Tăria cerului și podoabele ei, o introducere în arta portalurilor bisericilor de lemn din Transilvania”, in scav Journal, 2020, p. 176-222. Barbu 2018 – Violeta Barbu, “Concepția asupra ‘blagorodiei’ în Vechiul Regim”, in Studii și Materiale de Istorie Medie, XXXVI, 2018, p. 43-57. Bârlea 1909 – Ioan Bârlea, Însemnări din bisericile Maramureșului, București, Atelierele Grafice Socec & Co., 1909. Bilțiu, Pop 1996 – Pamfil Bilțiu, Gheorghe Gh. Pop, Sculați, sculați, boieri mari! Colinde din județul Maramureș, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Dacia, 1996. Braniște 1993 – Ene Braniște, Liturgica generală, , ediția a ii-a, București, Institutul Biblic și de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române, 1993. Cavarnos 2005 – Constantine Cavarnos, Ghid de iconografie bizantină, București, Editura Sophia, 2005. Constas 2006 – Nicholas P. Constas, “Symeon of Thessalonike and the Theology of the Icon Screen”, in Sharon E. J. Gerstel (ed.), resholds of the Sacred: Architectural, Art Historical, Liturgical, and eological Perspectives on Religious Screens, East and West, Dumbarton Oaks Other Titles in Byzantine Studies, 2006, p. 165-183. Deluga 2019 – Waldemar Deluga, Ukrainian Painting Between the Byzantine and Latin Traditions, Ostrava-Warsaw, 2019. Денисенко 2010 – Анастасія Денисенко, “Емблематичні, алегоричні та символічні сюжети в українських стародруках другої половини xvii-xviii століть”, Художня культура. Актуальні проблеми, Вип. 7, 2010, p. 195-213. Dionisie din Furna 2000 – Dionisie din Furna, Erminia picturii bizantine, București, Editura Sophia, 2000. Драган 1970 – Михайло Драган, Українська декоративна різьба xvi-xviii ст., Київ, Наукова думка, 1970. Florenski 1994 – Pavel Florenski, Iconostasul, București, Editura Anastasia, 1994. Grabar 1961 – André Grabar, “Deux notes sur lʼhistoire de lʼiconostase dʼaprès des monuments de Yougoslavie”, in Recueil des Travaux de lʼInstitut dʼEtudes Byzantines, nr. 7, 1961, p. 13-22. Herea 2013 – Gabriel Herea, Mesajul eshatologic al spațiului liturgic creștin. Arhitectură și icoană în Moldova secolelor xv-xvi, Suceava, Editura Karl A. Romstorfer, 2013. Ică 2011 – diac. Ioan I. Ică jr., De la Dionisie Areopagitul la Simeon al Tesalonicului – integrala comentariilor liturgice bizantine, studii și texte, Sibiu, Editura Deisis, 2011. Iuga 2008 – Dumitru Iuga, Maramureș, Țară Veche. Antologie de folclor de pe cursul superior al Tisei (1672-1908), Baia Mare, Editura Cybela, 2008. Косів 2019 – Роксолана Косів, “Ікони на полотні «Древо Єсеєве» другої половини XVII ст. зі збірки Національного музею у Львові імені Андрея Шептицького в контексті розвитку сюжету”, in Народознавчі зошити, No. 6 (150), 2019, p. 1379-1392. Kruk 2017 – Mirosław Piotr Kruk, “The Ἄνωθεν οἱ προφῆται in Dionysius’s Hermeneia, a source for the iconography of the Mother of God surrounded by prophets?”, in Museikon, 1, 2017, p. 53-68. Ladouceur 2006 – Paul Ladouceur, “Old Testament Prefigurations of the Mother of God”, in St Vladimir’s eological Quarterly, 50, 1-2 (2006), p. 5-57. Moraru, Georgescu 1996 – Floarea darurilor, Text stabilit, studiu filologic și lingvistic, glosar de Alexandra Moraru, Magdalena Georgescu, in Ion Gheție, Alexandru Mareș (eds.), Cele mai vechi cărți populare în literatura română, vol. I, București, Editura Minerva, 1996. Movilă (1642) 1981 – Petru Movilă, Mărturisirea de credință a Bisericii Ortodoxe, 1642, traducere de Alexandru Elian, București, Institutul Biblic și de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române, 1981. Оляніна 2019 – Світлана Оляніна, Український іконостас: символічна структура та іконологія, Київ, Артек 5, 2019. Pop 2012 – Ioan-Aurel Pop (coord.), Diplome maramureșene din secolele xvi-xviii, provenite din colecția lui Ioan Mihalyi de Apșa, ediția a ii-a, revizuită și adăugită, Cluj-Napoca, Centrul de Studii Transilvane, 2012. Reddish 2003 – Elisabeth Reddish, “The Fourteenth Century Tree of Jesse in the Nave of York Minster”, York Medieval Yearbook, 2, 2003, p. 1-15. Salvador-González 2020 – José María Salvador-González, “Haec Porta Domini. Exegeses of some Greek Church Fathers on Ezekielʼs porta clausa (5th-10th centuries)”, Cauriensia, vol. xv (2020), p. 615-633. Скоп-Друзюк, Скоп 2009 – Галина Скоп-Друзюк, Петро Скоп, Іконостас 16-18 століття із села Старої Скваряви. Альбом, Львів, Логос, 2009. Софонович 2002 – Феодосій Софонович, Виклад о Церкві святій, упоряд. Ю. Мицик. Київ, КМ Академія, 2002. Sołtysiak 2006 – Anna Sołtysiak, Przemiany wnętrz cerkwi greckokatolickich po Synodzie Zamojskim w 1720 roku, Warsaw, uksw, 2006. Шалина 2000 – И. А. Шалина, “Вход «Святая Святых» и византийская алтарная преграда”, in Иконостас. Происхождение – Развитие –Символика, Москва, Прогресс-Традиция, 2000. Царські врата 2012 – Царські врата українських іконостасів. Альбом, Серія «Українське народне мистецтво», Львів – Інститут колекціонерства українських мистецьких пам’яток при НТШ, 2012. Uspensky 1994 – Leonid Uspensky, Teologia icoanei în Biserica ortodoxă, București, Editura Anastasia, 1994. Velculescu, Guruianu2001 – Cătălina Velculescu, Viorel Guruianu, Fiziolog bestiar, București, Editura Cavallioti, 2001. Vivian 2020 – Tim Vivian, “Finding and Giving: Sayings and Stories of Abba Agathon from the Sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers (Apophthegmata Patrum) with a Reflection and Commentary”, in Cistercian Studies Quarterly, 55.3 (2020), p. 257-281. Linguistic supervision: Ileana Sasu (Université de Tours, Interactions culturelles et discursives ea 6297, Tours); Mihail Qaramah (Universitatea „1 Decembrie 1918”, Alba Iulia). Peer-reviewed by: Ioan Pop-Curșeu (Universitatea „Babeș-Bolyai”, Cluj-Napoca); Laura Jiga-Iliescu (Institutul de Etnografie şi Folclor „Constantin Brăiloiu” al Academiei Române, București); Sr. Atanasia Văetiși (Mănăstirea Stavropoleos, București); Fr. Sergey Trostyanskiy (Columbia University, New York); William Bellamy (Institute for the Studies of Eastern Christianities of Union Theological Seminary, New York).