32 Jelena Erdeljan

Studenica. A New Perspective?

Jelena Erdeljan

The church of the Virgin at Studenica functioned as a sign, a paradigm

throughout the Serbian Middle Ages and beyond. 1 Still, even with all the
historiography devoted to the various aspects of the architecture, painting and
treasures of this foundation of Stefan Nemanja.' a careful (re)reading of the
written sources, as much as of its visual identity, may open a new perspective on
the historical circumstances surrounding its founding and thus also on its
original purpose as well as on the interaction of such roots with the contents and
meanings which were subsequently introduced to it and which ultimately
defined it as the core of identity of the Nemanide state and church.
As we learn from the long and abundant historiography on this monastery,
the cornerstone of perceiving the identity and significance of Studenica, both in
its own day and throughout the centuries which ensued, is the fact that,
following Nemanja's death in Chilandar on Mt. Athos in 1199, it was to this
monastery that Sava transferred the body of his father in 1207, whereupon it
became the center of his cult and, thus, the pivotal point of development of
Nemanide royal ideology.' However, it seems curious, to say the least, that the

V. J. Djuric, "Tabernacle du peuple serbe," Blago manastira Studenice, V. J. Djuric, ed.

(Belgrade, 1988), pp. 20-25.
2 For seminal monographs and studies on Studenica see G. Babic, V. Korac, S. Cirkovic,
Studenica (Belgrade, 1986); M. Kasanin, M. Canak-Medic, J. Maksimovic, B. Todic, M.
Sakota, Manastir Studenica (Belgrade, 1986); M. Canak-Medic, D. Boskovic,
L 'architecture de l'epoque de Nemanja, J, Les eglises de Toplica et des vallees de l'Ibar
et de Morava (Belgrade, 1986); Studenica i vizantijska umetnost oko 1200. godine,
Medunarodni naucni skup povodom 800 godina manastira Studenica i stogodisnjice SA-
NU (Studenica et l'art byzantin autour de l'annee 1200. A l'occasion de la celebration de
800 ans du monastere de Studenica et de centierne anniversaire de l' Academie serbe des
sciences et des arts), ed. V. Korac (Belgrade, 1988); Osam vekova Studenice. Zbornik ra-
dova, episkop zicki Stefan, Lj. Durkovic-Jaksic, eds. A. Jevtic, D. Lj. Kasic, S. Mandic,
D. Trifunovic (Belgrade, 1986); Blago manastira Studenice, ed. V. J. Djuric (Belgrade,
1988).
Church of the Virgin Mary, Studenica,from: V. Korac, M. Suput. Byzanz. Architektur und
Ornamentik (Diisseldorf und Ziirich, 2000) 3 On the structure and development of the cult and the ideological premises and implica-
tions of Nemanja's grave in Studenica see the seminal studies by D. Popovic, Srpski vla-
darski grob u srednjem veku (Serbian Royal Tomb in the Middle Ages) (Belgrade, 1992),
pp. 24-47; ead., "Svetiteljsko proslavljanje Simeona Nemanje. Prilog proucavanju kulta
mostiju kod Srba" (Eng. sum.: "The Cult of St. Simeon Nemanja: A Contribution to the
Study of the Cult of Relics among the Serbs"), Pod okri/jem svetosti. Kult svetih vladara
i relikvija u srednjovekovnoj Srbiji (Under the Auspices of Sanctity. The Cult of Holy
34 Jelena Erdeljan Studenica. A New Perspective? 35

existing written sources, the Serbian medieval biographies of Nemanja systemmatically been left out of the picture. Could this church originally have
composed by Sava Nemanjic, Stefan Prvovencani and Domentijan, make no been erected for that purpose? In the course of archeological investigation, a
mention at all of Studenica actually beingfounded as a mausoleum." Particularly meticulously constructed underground funerary vault has been uncovered in the
telling in that respect is the text of the vita of St. Symeon written in 1208 by south parecclesion, raised contemporaneously with the church, which remained
Nemanja's son, Sava. Having been composed as the introductory part to the empty throughout the centuries.'
typikon of Studenica, this text focuses primarily on aspects of Nemanja's life as Instead of taking for granted that Studenica was conceived, from the start, as
ktetor and monk and it is, therefore, highly indicative that precisely this the final resting place of Nemanja, which, as we have pointed out, can not find
composition should miss out the funerary purpose (presumably) intended for the corroboration in the written sources, we should consider the possibility that in
church of the Virgin and the monastery of Studenica by its founder.' the course of historical events around the year 1200, and given the developments
On the other hand, in investigations regarding the question of Nemanja's on the Serbian political scene - the rise to power of Stefan Prvovencani, his
final resting place it appears that the church of St. Nicholas at Kursumlija in clash with his brother Vukan, Sava's role as mediator in their feud, his own con-
Toplica, one of his first foundations with highly significant political implications secration as archimandritos in Thessaloniki in 1204 as the initial and crucial step
of deep impact on his personal and, thus, also the history of his state," has in breaking away from the Archbishopric of Ohrid and the formation of an auto-
cephalous Serbian church8 - as well as those dictated by the major powers in
Rulers and Relics in Medieval Serbia) (Belgrade, 2006), pp. 27-40; ead., "0 nastanku
South Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean around the turn of the century,
kulta svetog Simeona" (Eng. sum.: "On the Establishment of the Cult of Saint Simeon"),
ibid., pp. 41-73. Following much scholarly debate, it has been determined that the trans-
Byzantium, Hungary, the Crusaders, the Venetians," Sava made a decision of
latio of Nemanja's body from Chilandar to Studenica took place in 1207; Lj. Maksi- far-reaching impact on the political and ecclesiastical history of Serbia, once
movie, "0 godini prenosa Nemanjinih mostiju u Srbiju" (Fr. sum: "Sur l'annee du trans- Nemanja had already been on Mt. Athos, possibly even as late as immediately
fer en Serbie des reliques de Stefan Nemanja"), Zbornik Radova Vizantoloskog Instituta upon his death (1199/1200), or indeed after 1204, to transfer the body of his
XXIV-XXV (Recueil des travaux de l'Institut d'etudes byzantines XXIV-XXV) further in father to Serbia, and more specifically to Studenica, and to thus define this place
the text ZRVI (1986), pp. 437-444. as the nucleus of the Nemanide dynastic cult and the seed out of which grew
4 Although this has, naturally, been noted by researchers of Studenica and Nemanja's
both the kingship of the Nemanides and the autonomy of the Serbian church.
grave in particular (D. Popovic, Srpski vladarski, p. 25), historio-graphy has it that Ne-
Seen from this perspective, to underline the true meaning and implications of
manja made the decision to be buried in Studenica if not immediately upon its founding
then at some point during the long years of its construction and certainly during his life- this act, as well as the farsightedness of the founder of the dynasty in
time (loc. cit.). This account is grounded on later, XIII century hagiographies of St. determining the centrality of Studenica as an axis of dynastic legitimacy, this
Symeon by Domentijan and Teodosije in whose vita texts we find that it was Nemanja on could be why the ideologically intoned hagiographies of St. Symeon written by
his deathbed in Chilandar who ordered his son Sava to transfer his body to Studenica; Domentijan and Teodosije in the XIII and XIV centuries, at the height of
Domenitjan, Zivot Svetoga Save i iivot Svetoga Simeona, prevod L. Mirkovic, priredila
R. Marinkovic (Belgrade, 1988), p. 287; Teodosije, Zitije svetog Save, preveo L. Historical Sources and Art-Historical Interpretation: The Case of the Church of the
Mirkovic, prevod redigovao D. Bodanovic (Belgrade, 1984), p. 57. Virgin at Toplica"), Zograf35 (2011), pp. 73-92.
5 Sv. Sava, Zivot svetoga Simeona Nemanje, Spisi svetoga save i Stevana Prvovencanog, 7 M. Canak-Medic, D. Boskovic, op. cit., pp. 17, 20.
preveo L. Mirkovic (Belgrade, 1939), pp. 109-135, on the founding of Studenica esp. pp. 8 S. Cirkovic, "Unutrasnje i spoljne krize u vreme Nemanjinih naslednika," Istorija
109-111. Cf. also other Serbian medieval hagiographies of Symeon Nemanja: Stevan srpskog naroda I, ed. S. Cirkovie (Belgrade, 1981), pp. 263-272; B. Ferjancic, "Odbrana
Prvovencani, Zivot i dela (podvizi) svetoga i blaienoga i prepodobnoga oca nasega Sim- Nemanjinog nasleda - Srbija postaje kraljevina," ibid., pp. 297-314; D. Bogdanovic,
eona, ibid., pp. 169-222, on the founding ofStudenica esp. pp. 184-187; Domentijan, op. "Preobrazaj srpske crkve," ibid., pp. 315-327; M. M. Petrovic, Studenicki tipik i
cit., on the founding of Studenica p. 255. samostalnost srpske crkve (Gornji Milanoviac, 1986). In the Vita of St. Symeon, Sava
6 I. Stevovic, "Historical and Artistic Time in the Architecture of Medieval Serbia: 12th says that his brothers, Stefan and Vukan, asked him in a letter to transfer the body of
Century," Arhitektura Vizantii i drevnei Rusi IX-XII vekov. Materialy meidunarodnogo their father to Serbia because of the unstable situation on Mt. Athos and also in order "da
seminara 17-21 nojabrja 2009 goda (Architecture of Byzantium and Kievan Rus from se blagoslov njegov javi ispunjen na nama" ("we may witness the fulfilment of his bless-
the 9th to the 12th Century. Materials of the International Seminar November 17-21, ing upon us," Eng. translation J. E.); Sv. Sava, op. cit., p. 132.
2009), ed. D. D. ElSin (St. Petersburg, 2010), pp. 148-163; id., "Istorijski izvor i is- 9 P. Stephenson, Byzantium's Balkan Frontier. A Political Study of the Northern Balkans,
torijskoumetnicko tumacenje: Bogorodicina crkva u Toplici" (Eng. sum.: Written 900-1204 (Cambridge, 2004).
36 Jelena Erdeljan Studenica. A New Perspective? 37

Nemanide power, stress that it was already Nemanja who, on his deathbed, crowning church of Serbian kings, an axis of true faith and a New Jerusalem.13
ordered Sava to transfer his bodily remains to the fatherland and lay them in The moment of transfer of the Holy Cross to Serbia (1198) could well have been
Studenica." the turning point in its history and, what's more, in establishing the ultimate
However, given the presumption that the funerary and dynastic function of (visual) identity, chosen by Sava, for Studenica. The Studenica we know as of
the Virgin's church at Studenica was, in a manner of speaking, secondary, solely 120811209 could have been finalized during that ten year period, with the
in a chronological sense, of course, the question arises: what kind of already completion of painting and ultimate expression of identity in the fresco program
existing political, ecclesiastic, visual entity Nemanja's body was transferred to. which could, theoretically, have been produced even in the relatively short
As far as we know, the construction of Studenica began around 1186. The period between the transfer of Nemanja's relics in 1207 and the year 1208/1209
church, as we learn from written sources, was only partly fmished at the moment mentioned in the fresco inscription written out on the base of the dome."
of Nemanja's abdication and departure for Mt. Athos in 1196. Its fresco But what do we know of the concept, purpose, sacral contents and program
decoration was completed in 1208/1209.11 Why indeed did it take a full twenty- of Studenica prior to 1198? And how, if indeed there was a different purpose,
two years to complete the works on the church of the Virgin? did it interact with the ultimate function of the Virgin's church as dynastic
The 1207 translatio of the body of Nemanja from Chilandar to Studenica mausoleum and a Serbian New Jerusalem? What went on in the twelve years
was certainly the final touch to creating a par excellence sacral focus of the between the founding, associated with the year 1186, and the arrival of, first,
Nemanide dynasty and the Serbian people. One crucial preceding event from Nemanja's pectoral with the relics of the True Cross (1198) and, ultimately, his
that process that we know of from sources is the advent of a particle of the Holy own bodily remains (1207)? The key point, conceptually and materially, around
Wood, incorporated into a personal pectoral, sent from Mt. Athos to Studenica which this issue revolves is Nemanja's grave. At the root of this problem lies
by Nemanja in 1198 and, in the words of Stefan Prvovencani, reposited in a actually the status of insufficient archeological investigation of the actual spot
"place already prepared for it" in the church of the Virgin." Studenica thus within the church which was Nemanja's second and fmal resting place at
effectively became a reliquary and a place of cult of the Holy Cross to which the Studenica, located in the southwestern bay of the naos. It is regarded as an
body of Nemanja was introduced as the warrant of dynastic salvation and the archetypal example of a Serbian royal funerary ensemble, consisting of a
cornerstone of its royal legitimacy which, in turn, was placed under the composite marble monument, i.e. sarcophagus and surrounding structures
protection of the Holy Wood. That act was the initial and key element of a associated with the myroblitic performance of his relics. IS
program which revolved around the True Cross. This is explicitly communicated However, because this part of the Virgin's church has not yet been
by the dominant image of the Crucifixion covering practically the entire surface archeologically investigated, the question still remains whether there is any
of the western wall of the naos and positioned in direct proximity to Nemanja's underground burial vault at all beneath the marble monument." And, if such a
funerary structure in the church of the Virgin. The program of Studenica, Structure does exist, what is its date and how does it relate chronologically to the
doubtlessly fashioned by Sava, is thus similar in structure and a true precursor to foundations and subsequent phases of construction of the church. To make
that which he accomplished nearly three decades later and realized to its full
potential in the church of the Savior at Zica, the seat of the archbishopric and the
13 On the program surrounding Nemanja's grave see D. Popovic, Srpski vladarski grob, pp.
35-41; ead., "Svetiteljsko proslavljanje Simeona Nemanje;" ead., "Sacrae reliquiae
Spasove crkve u Zici" (Eng. sum.: "The Sacrae reliquiae of the Church of the Saviour at
Zica"), Pod okriljem svetosti, pp. 207-232.
10 Domentijan, op. cit., 287; Teodosije, op. cit., p. 57. 14 For the fresco inscription mentioning the year 1208/1209 see M. Canak-Medic, D.
lIOn the chronology of construction of the church of the Virgin see M. Canak-Medic, D. Boskovic, op. cit., p. 80.
Boskovic, op. cit., pp. 79-80. 15 D. Popovic, Srpski vladarski grob, pp. 30-31.
12 S. Marjanovic-Dusanic, "Vladarski znaci Stefana Nemanje" (Eng. sum.: "The ruler's 16 Eadem, pp. 29-30, points out that this problem is still open, but concludes that, given the
insignia of Stefan Nernanja"), Medjunarodni naucni skup Stefan Nemanja - Sveti Simeon confirmed and investigated existence of underground burial vaults in subsequent exam-
Mirotocivi, Istorija i predanje (Colloque scientifique international Stefan Nemanja - ples of Nemanide royal tombs from Gradac, Sopocani and the Holy Archangels by Priz-
Saint Simeon Myroblite), ed. Jovanka Kalic (Belgrade, 2000), pp. 77-87, on the transla- ren, which were fashioned after the model of Studenica, such a subterranean chamber
tion of the relic and the pectoral to Serbia esp. p. 81, with sources. must also have been constructed in Studenica.
38 Jelena Erdeljan Studenica. A New Perspective? 39

things more difficult, scholars note the absence of explicit mention in written this is a question of relations of (a) Serbian clan ruler(s) with the Archbishopric
sources of the construction of Studenica as a funerary church, but still claim that of Ohrid as the highest instance of Byzantine ecclesiastic jurisdiction in the
its initial cornerstone of identity and purpose of erection was the burial of central Balkans, established following the destruction of the so-called Macedo-
Nemanja and, furthermore, that this decision was made during his lifetime. 17 nian empire of Samuilo in 1018 by emperor Basil 11.At that time, the bishopric
Should there be an absence of such an underground structure, or should it see at Ras became one of the most significant bishopric sees within the newly
happen that its construction is not contemporaneous with the church, this would established Archbishopric of Ohrid, the jurisdiction of which spread over all the
open up the question of the sustainability of such premises. It may, in fact, lands that had once been under the rule of Samuilo and his heirs. In this way,
suggest that the concept of Studenica as the ultimate resting place of Stefan Byzantium (re)gained an instrument of high leverage of power deep inside the
Nemanja was a secondary identity of Studenica, one produced by Sava in Balkan hinterland, in an area that was soon to become the new center of the
circumstances either immediately prior to Nemanja's passing away or following Serbian state which was ecclesiastically dependent, subjugated to the bishops of
that event and on the eve of the translation of his relics from Mt. Athos to Ras who lived along the Serbian jupans and were in constant contact with them.
Serbia. It was that particular aspect of Byzantine presence and influence that
What is certainly a fact beyond any doubt concerning the chronology of additionally forged strong ties between the jupans of Ras and Constantinople,
Studenica is that its very origins are associated with the watershed years of the reminding them of their common confession along with the acknowledgment of
height of Nemanja's royal power on the one hand, and his taking the monastic highest power of the Byzantine emperor, which was an inextricable part of
vow on the other. In order, however, to gain as clear a picture of the reasons and inclusion in the same confession and of belonging to the Byzantine church
purpose behind its founding as possible, we must widen the scope of inspection organization.
to observe the broader framework of which Nemanja was an integral part, In founding the Archbishopric of Ohrid, actually by reorganizing Samuilo's
namely the political and ecclesiastic fabric of the Byzantine Empire and the patriarchate, emperor Basil 11already clearly defined that the role it was to play
Archbishopric of Ohrid in the second half of the XII century." It is, we believe, in subjugating and, in a way, controlling the Slavic and Serbian tribes was
his position within this broader structure, which was instrumentally correlated embodied in the specific connection between the archbishop of Ohrid and the
with the original puropose and visual identity of Studenica that communicated emperor of Byzantium. The investiture of the Archbishop of Ohrid was, namely,
perfectly with the purpose it received after 1207 or, rather, as of 120811209. performed by the Byzantine emperor himself and was thus not subjected to the
Therefore the transformation, or - even more precisely - the appropriation or jurisdiction of the patriarch of Constantinople in the usual manner of prelates of
(re)contextualization of the original idea of Studenica within the process of other archbishoprics, nor was he a part of the hierarchy of the Constantino-
turning it into Sava's first New Jerusalem in the fatherland and a center of politan church. Along with their shepardly duties among the flock entrusted to
dynastic cult was a smooth, seamless endeavor, a natural consequence. their spiritual care and guidance, archbishops of Ohrid always played a
In our opinion, the origins of Studenica are most closely associated with the prominent political role in the milieu of their activity as direct representatives of
question of relations between Nemanja and the Bishopric of Ras.19 Ultimately, the Basileus among the Slavic tribes." Therefore, a benevolent relationship, a

17 Eadem, p. 25. states that they were opposed to the interests of the bishop of Ras and the Archbishopric
18 J. Kalic, "Crkvene prilike u srpskim zemljama do stvaranja arhiepiskopije 1219. godine" of Ohrid. But he also notes that there is no evidence in the sources which would testify
(Fr. sum.: "L'organisation de I'Eglise dans les pays serbes avant la fondation de clearly to the status and nature of Nemanja's relations with those institutions. She points
l'archeveche serbe en 1219"), Medjunarodni naucni skup Sava Nemanjic - Sveti Sava. out that Studenica was raised on purpose at a distance from the center of the Bishopric of
/storija i predanje (Colloque scientifique Sava Nernanjic - Saint Sava. Histoire et tradi- Ras, as some sort of counter axis. However, in view of the text and XII century written
tion), ed. V. Duric (Belgrade, 1979), pp. 27-53; ead., "Srpska drzava i Ohridska arhiepis- sources published recently by the same author (1. Kalic, "Srpska drzava i Ohridska
kopija u XII veku" (Fr. sum.: "L'Etat serbe et l'archeveche d'Ochrid au XlIe siecle"), arhiepiskopija u XII veku," passim) these issues, which we shall discuss further on in the
ZRV/44/1 (2007), pp. 197-208. text, can now be obseved from an entirely different angle and against a much broader
19 J. Kalic, "L'epoque de Studenica dans l'histoire serbe," Studenica i vizantijska umetnost horizon.
oko /200. godine, pp. 25-34, esp. pp. 30-32. In this text 1. Kalic writes about Nemanja's 20 V. Stankovic, Manojlo Komnin. Vizantijski car (/143-1180) (Belgrade, 2008), pp. 264-
activities after the year 1180 as well as those related to the building of Studenica and 265.
40 Jelena Erdeljan Studenica. A New Perspective? 41

favorable stance on the part of the bishop of Ras, i.e. a representative and uncle of emperor Manuel 1.23 A close study of XII century sources, namely the
member of the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, was Russian Lavrentijevski chronograph, offers proof that Archbishop John was a
highly instrumental in promoting the fortune and political impact of any local part of the imperial entourage accompanying Manuel I on his way to
ruler or strongman and exerted decisive influence in resolving local internal negotiations with the Hungarians held in Belgrade in 1163 regarding the
power struggles, among others, also within the clans of Serbian ruling families. marriage arrangement between the emperor's daughter Maria and Bela, brother
As important as it was for the Serbs, this specific relationship was equally of king Stephen Ill. According to Kinnamos, and confirmed by Serbian sources,
significant for the Byzantines, for it was an instrument of inclusion of the Slavic the emperor and his suite, on their way to Belgrade, stopped at NiS24, where he
Balkan population in the institutions, framework and far-reaching policies and met with Stefan Nemanja, of whose "extraordinary prudence and humility" he
political goals of the Empire. had already heard, and bestowed upon him some sort of imperial office and a
This aspect of the story gained particular prominence during the XII century part of the imperial lands in the region of Dubocica?5 Crucial evidence of his
with the need to reassert the presence and the power of the Empire in the central virtue was obviously supplied by the Archbishop of Ohrid, John Adrian
Balkans following the rise of the Normans, Venice and Hungary on the Kornnenos, who was, moreover, personally present at the meeting in Nis as part
Dalmatian coast and along the Danube frontier and their gradual encroachment of the royal embassy, and who must have been already well aware ofNemanja's
on Byzantine spheres of influence as well as their offering of alternative sources activities and qualities, as he was the officiating archiereos of the archdiocese
of patronage for local rulers, which resulted in a loss of dominance over within which Nemanja received his second baptism in the cathedral church of
territories and cities (and inclusion of one-time allies such as the Diocletian SS. Peter and Paul at Ras from the hand of Bishop Leontios." This baptism
clans of Serbian jupans) previously controlled by Byzantium." Under such could indeed be interpreted as more than just an act of personal devotion but ra-
circumstances, the Bishopric of Ras was equally significant for the Byzantines ther as a sign of fealty to the Byzantine church and the influential Archbishopric
as a means of drawing the Serbian rulers and population into their fold, of Ohrid, which resulted in the endorsement of Nemanja's position as opposed
including them in the ecclesiastical and confessional sphere of the Orthodox to that of his brothers and, ultimately, his domination over Serbian lands as
church and drawing them away from the growing influence of the Catholic grand jupanus. With such support, under the auspices of the bishop of Nis, an
bishoprics in Duklja and Zeta, as it was for certain branches of the Serbian exponent of ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, Nemanja
ruling family (as exemplified by the clash between Desa and Uros) who found accomplished his ktetorial building activities in Toplica which, as we know from
their new stronghold under the protection of the emperor and bishops of Ras in Serbian sources, resulted in animosities and open war between him and his
an area removed from the original nucleus of their patrimonial lands, an area brothers, obviously because theses foundations served as demonstration of his
that was soon to become the center of the young Nemanide state." chosen, elevated status in the eyes of the Byzantine ecclesiastic and, ultimately,
In the case of Nemanja, the basic governing principles underlying the above imperial establishment. The erection of the monastery of St. George at Ras
described interconnected and interest-based relations between Serbian rulers, (Durdevi Stupovi) was, finally, not only a symbol of Nemanja's triumph and a
Byzantine emperors and high-ranking representatives of the Archbishopric of votive offering to the holy patron with whose aid he was freed from imprison-
Ohrid are attested by contemporary XII century sources and, what's more,
appear to have been the crucial element in constructing his royal status and
identity and thus, logically, also his ktetorship. Moreover, the key person in this 23 Eadem, p. 201. For the source see G. Prinzing, "Wer war der "bulgarische Bischof Adri-
matter was none other than the archbishop of Ohrid himself, John (Adrian) an" der Laurentinus-Chronik sub anno I I 64?," Jahrbiicher for Geschichte Osteuropas 36
Kornnenos (in office from 1140 to 1164) - a member of the innermost circle of (1988), pp. 552-557.
the imperial household, nephew of emperor Alexios I and son of his influential 24 J. Kalic, "Srpska drzava i Ohridska arhiepiskopija u XII veku," p. 201, with sources.
brother, protosebastos Isaac Kornnenos, thus first cousin of emperor John II and 25 Prvovencani, op. cit., p. 173; J. Kalic, "Srpska drzava i Ohridska arhiepiskopija u XII
veku," p. 204.
26 This second baptism could have taken place close to the years 1158-1159, mentioned by
21 P. Stephenson, op. cit., esp. Chapter 8: Advancing the Frontier, pp. 239-274. Prvovencani in a chapter of the Vita prior to the story of taking control over the region of
22 V. Stankovic, op. cit., pp. 264-265.; J. Kalic, "Srpska drzava i Ohridska arhiepiskopija u Rasina and Reke; Prvovencani, op. cit., p. 172; J. Kalic, "Srpska drzava i Ohridska
XII veku," passim. arhiepiskopija u XII veku," p. 200.
42 Jelena Erdeljan Studenica. A New Perspective? 43

ment into which he had been cast by his brothers but ultimately also a signum of Constantine and Heraclius.3o This identity was around the turn of the XIII
his steadfastness in remaining the Empire's key man in the region." century easily employed as the basis of self-representation and construction of
The founding of Studenica could very well also be deeply dependent on identity of Nemanide dynastic legitimity and continuity and as the nucleus from
events resulting from the specific and mutually significant relation between which sprang the autocephalous Serbian church, which became the new natural
Nemanja and institutions representing Byzantine power in the Balkans, first and and, what's more, legitimate defender of true faith, taking over that position,
foremost the Archbishopric of Ohrid. It is interesting to note that, chrono- even literally, from the Archbishopric of Ohrid. Long after the establishing of
logically, according to the sources, i.e. the Vita of St. Symeon by Stefan the autocephalous church, Sava remained constant in maintaing this line of
Prvovencani, the founding and building of Studenica issues after the council domination of Orthodoxy and a champion of true faith - ultimately presented in
held at Ras against Bogumil heretics, called by Nemanja and held in the his Serbian version of the Synodicon of Orthodoxy proclaimed at Zica in 1221.31
presence of Bishop Eusthatios of Ras, whom the sources refer to as "his own What's more, it appears, just as it must originally have been intended to, that
archiereos"." It is highly significant to note that surpressing the Bogumil heresy the glistening white marble with gray-blue veining of the facades of the church
was among the top priorities in the diocese of Ohrid already during the office of of the Virgin at Studenica, with its ancient and ever present learned symbolism
John Adrian Komnenos.i" By calling together this council and by the fierce of the waters of the primaeval Okeanos frozen by primordial cold whereby light,
slaying of the enemies of Orthodoxy and Byzantine taxis which ensued, the active principle of the Logos, was frozen into its very fabric,32 embodied
Nemanja would, thus, be' once again confirmed as a soldier of true faith, a "holy perfectly the message of the triumph of orthodox belief in the incarnation and
warrior", a new St. George slaying the dragon of heresy, displaying the very the triumph of the Cross. Within the new set of circumstances and new
virtues for which he was recommended by John Adrian Kornnenos to the meanings invested in Studenica following the watershed year of 1204, the
emperor Manuel I. Therefore, it appears that Studenica could indeed have been translation of Nemanja's body in 1207 and the establishing of his cult therein as
founded by Nemanja, in correlation with the interests of the bishops of Ras with the pivot of Serbian identity of state and church, this perennial symbolism of the
whom he had noticeably good relations, as an axial point in establishing the tri- refined, sophisticated material, activated in synergy with the sacral contents of
umph of orthodoxy against the Manichean heresy of the Bogumils on the Studenica, could, in the eyes of the ktetors, Sava above all, procure an image
territory of the Bishopric of Ras. which was to suggest that this Serbian New Jerusalem echoes the ultimate
Studenica began its life and received its initial identity under one set of universal Constantinopolitan example of a New Jerusalem, the church of the
circumstances and was finalized under an entirely different political and Virgin of Pharos,33 precisley for the purpose of displaying the appropriation of
ecclesiastic situation. Still, its intrinsic symbolism of the triumph of orthodoxy dogmatic and ideological ideas contained therein."
functioned unmistakably in conveying its message in both sets of circumstances
and was, what's more, easily and naturally transposed from one period of its 30 On Nemanja as a new Constantine see S. Marjanovic-Dusanic, Vladarska ideologija Ne-
history to the next. The initial idea and act of raising a church dedicated to the manjica. Diplomaticka studija (Belgrade, 1997), esp. pp. 287-302.
Virgin, thus materializing iconic proof of the dogma of incarnation, was 31 D. Bogdanovic, "Preobrazaj srpske crkve," lstorija srpskog naroda I, pp. 315-327.
32 On the symbolic meaning of marble see F. Barry, "Walking on Water: Cosmic Floors in
subsequently only amplified by the planting therein (1198 or possibly earlier) of
Antiquity and the Middle Ages," Art Bulletin, Vol. LXXXIX, No. 4, Dec. 2007, pp. 627-
the Holy Wood, thus defining Nemanja's lands, or the territory under his 656, esp. p. 635.
control, and at the same time the Bishopric of Ras, as a true Paradise with the 33 On the New Jerusalem symbolism of the imperial church of the Virgin of the Pharos
lifegiving tree as its axis, a New Jerusalem, while likening the ktetor to the from the Great Palace of Constantinople see A. M. Lidov, "Cerkov Bogomateri
archetypal imperial personages associated with inventio and exaltatio Crucis, Farosskoi. Imperatorskii hram-relikvarii kak konstantinopolskii Grob Gospoden," Vi-
zantiiskii mir: iskusstvo Konstantinopola i nacionalnie tradicii. K 2000-letio hristianstva
27 On Nemanja's building activity as reflection of his status in the Byzantine sphere in the (Moskva, 2005), pp. 79-108.
Balkans see I. Stevovic, "Istorijski izvor i istorijskoumetnicko tumacenje: Bogorodicina 34 Some of the questions raised by this (re)examination of Studenica are further discussed
crkva u Toplici," passim; J. Kalic, "Srpska drzava i Ohridska arhiepiskopija u XII veku," in J. Erdeljan, "Studenica. An identity in marble," Zograf 35 (2011), pp. 93-100; ead.,
passim. "Studenica. All Things Constantinopolitan," Symmeikta. Collection of Papers in Honor
28 Prvovencani, op. cit., p.I72. of the 40th Anniversary of the Institute for Art History, Faculty of Philosophy, University
29 J. Kalic, "Srpska drzava i Ohridska arhiepiskopija u XII veku," p. 206. of Belgrade, I. Stevovic, ed., Belgrade 2012,93-101.