The church of Panagia Protothroni
Τhe
Episcopal Church of Panagia Protothroni is located in the village of Halki
in Tragaia, in the interior of Naxos. The
church is dedicated to the Annunciation, and was probably an early Christian basilica ,
of which only the synthronon and the episcopal throne in the semi-circular
sanctuary conch survive. In mid-Byzantine times the building was converted into
a transitional cross-in-square church. A domed narthex was later
added, flanked by the chapel
of Agios Akindynos to the north and a
vaulted rectangular room to the south.
According to
an
architrave inscription probably from the templon , the church was renovated
in 1052. The inscription also mentions the names of Bishop Leo, “Nikitas, Protospatharios
and Turmarch of Naxia" and Count Stephen Kamilaris. Other 16th
and 17th century inscriptions refer to subsequent repairs. The
church interior is decorated in five successive layers dating to the early
Christian period; the 9th century (non-figurative decoration ); and the 10th, 11th,
and 13th centuries. Some of these were detached and then repositioned once the earliest
layer had been removed, so frescoes from different periods are now visible.
The
first layer of frescoes dates to the 7th century - apostles adorn the bottom of
the conch, while the side of the window has a depiction of St. Isidore.
The second layer painted over the Apostles in
the conch consisted of non-figurative decoration, with crosses in the arcades,
and dates to the Iconoclast period in the 9th century.
The
two superimposed layers uncovered in the dome have been dated to 1052 and 1056
respectively, as they have been linked to the architrave inscription and a
further inscription in the north chapel, commemorating the Assumption of the
Servant of God Anna in 1056. All the same, it is also believed that the first layer
detached from the dome, along with other wall paintings in the south antenna,
date to a slightly earlier period, in the 10th and 11th century. The depictions
of Saints George, Nicholas, Dimitrios and Theodore incorporated in the eastern
section of the second layer date to 1052.
According
to another view, the depiction of the Annunciation on the south wall of the
sanctuary is later, dating to the 11th or 12th-13th
century. In the late 13th century the lower part of the sanctuary conch was
re-decorated with co-officiating bishops, only one of whom has survived in
detached form. The Supplication depicted in the apse was painted later.
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