Church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel: Serbian Orthodox Church in Veliko Gradište
Site at a Glance
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Serbia
- Primary era
- Modern
- Eras represented
- Modern
- Civilizations
- Ottoman, Serbian
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Church
On this page5 sections
History
The Church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel is a Serbian Orthodox church in the center of Veliko Gradište, Serbia. Built between 1852 and 1854 on the site of an earlier religious building, it has a Neoclassical design, drawing on ancient Greek and Roman forms, with Renaissance elements that revive interest in classical antiquity and Romantic features that emphasize emotion, imagination, and historical subjects.
Dedicated to Michael and Gabriel, archangels and high-ranking messengers in Christian tradition, the church belongs to the Braničevo Eparchy, an Eastern Orthodox diocese. Serbia protects it as a cultural monument.
Remains
Architectural and artistic features
Plan and exterior
The single-nave church has an eastern altar apse, a projecting space at the altar end, and two side apses for the choir. At the western end, a narthex, or entrance area, has a gallery with the bell tower rising above it. A horizontal wall band and a moulded roof cornice divide the façades horizontally, while shallow projections resembling columns give them vertical definition. Tall, narrow pointed windows have decorative panels above them. The western entrance is framed by a triangular pediment supported by pilasters, and the façade also features painted niches and a pointed window.
Frescoes, icons, and furnishings
Jovan Isailović Mlađi and Dimitrije Posniković painted the church’s frescoes in 1856. Its 1901 iconostasis, a screen of icons separating the altar from the nave, is in a classicist style and bears 28 icons painted by Nastas Stefanović. The church also has icons, liturgical books and vessels, and pieces of church furnishings. A collection of paintings in the parish house includes classicist icons from an earlier iconostasis, painted in 1832–1834 by Mihailo Kostić-Konstantinović of Bitola and Anastas.
