Ekaterina I. Morozova
(Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia).

Epistyles with the Scenes of Feasts in Byzantine Altar Screen Decoration of the 12th century.

The matter of this article concerns one of the numerous types of Byzantine altar screen decoration — the epistyles with the scenes of Feasts. The cycle of images appeared for the first time in the 11th century and called “Dodecaorton” includes usually twelve subjects disposed according to the chronological order. As a rule, in the centre of the epistyle is incorporated the Deesis — a representation of Christ enthroned, Mother of God, and John the Baptist. Sense of the Feast tier is caused by the symbolic interpretation of the sanctuary, the altar barrier and its architrave, and by the understanding of Christ’s life as a Sacrifice for the humanity. In spite of its traditional character, in the 12th century already this iconographic program enlarges with the aid of two complementary cycles of images: scenes from Virgin’s life and scenes of Christ’s Passion. This observation permits us to call into question the accepted conception of the evolution of the Feast tier.