Héctor mibauldeblogs.com
The prettiest of the monastery
The Church of the Nativity stands in the courtyard of the monastery of Rila. Construction began in the year 1835, 2 years after the monastery was destroyed by fire. The works were supervised by the builder Pavel, from Krimin, who worked on Mount Athos Greca. Its outside shows a structure with domes and arches with colored stripes that are reminiscent of the Mosque of Cordoba. The murals of the arcade that surrounds it represent sinners in hell. Everything is lavishly decorated and you can see these paintings engrossed for a long time. The walls are decorated with characters and episodes from the Bible.
Zahari Zograph was the author of these murals. Inside are the iconostasis, a masterpiece made between the years 1839 and 1842 by a team of carvers. It is 10 meters wide and is covered with gold and floral decoration and symbolic images of people and animals, as well as biblical scenes. It is bathed in light that give the 3 domes of the church arranged for that purpose to highlight it and leaves the rest in the shadows. There is also a silver urn containing the left hand of St. John of Rila. The tomb of Tsar Boris is also inside. He was killed by the Nazis in the year 1944 to save Bulgarian Jews.
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