Реликварий св. Димитрия из региона Велико Тырново

Abstract

A gold plated silver reliquary of St. Demetrius has been found recently in the region of Veliko Tarnovo. It is a rectangular box with measurements 4.8 x 4.2 x 1.00 cm. On the both sides are St. Demetrius and St. Procopius. They are circled with devoted inscriptions in Greek. They begin and end with a cross. The inscription around St. Demetrius says: +ΦΡΟΥΡΟΝ CΟΥ ΜΥ/ΡΟΝ ΠΗCΤΗΝ ЄΧΟΝ ΚЄ ΠΟΘΟΝ CΥΜЄΟΝ ΑΘΟς+ ("I keep your unction, I have the faith and the will of Simeon, Athos"). That's how the name of the guarantee of the relic is known - Simeon from Athos. At this stage of examinations we have a vague result considering his person; probably he has been a high-standing person from the ecclesiastical hierarchy, associated with someone from the Mount Athos. On the other side, round the image of St. Procopius is written: +ΔΟΜΗC Α(Υ)ΤΟCΥ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΗЄ ("I am your shelter, Demetrius") and +ΜЄΓΗCΤЄCΥΝ ΠΡΟΚΟΠΗΟ ("Most glorious Procopius"). The inscriptions repeat other formulae, known from other precious reliquary of St. Demetrius from XII and XIII-XIV cc. The composition of the present relic reminds largely to a two-sided icon of the saints George and Theodore Stratelates from the village of Dolishte, the region of Varna. The last one dates back to second half of XIII c. or the first decades of XIV c. The examined reliquary with the images of St. Demetrius and St. Procopius has been made with more technological and artistic skills and it is very likely to be used as a model for making the small icon of the village of Dolishte. The iconographical and stylistic patterns for the images of the saints soldiers on the reliquary, found in the region of Elena, we can find amongst the ivory triptych of Constantinople, the steatite icons and the metallic matrixes and models as some Byzantine arts, influenced by the Late Romance art. Definitely the newfound reliquary is from Thessaloniki and it could be gone back to the first half of XII c. or whit in the beginning of XIII c.