Архангелският култ в иконографията от времето на Второто българско царство
The Archangelic Cult in Iconography from the time of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom

Summary/Abstract: The article studies how the visual tradition of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom reflected the reverence for the angels. In these centuries, the archangelic cult, represented in pictorial scenes in different monuments, which were directly endowed by the sovereign institution, were aimed at reinforcing the military ideology of the state. Along with this function, in the 13th century the archangels Michael and Gabriel acquired a new one – the apotropaic function, which became firmly established in the 14th century. It was also bound to their military appearance, and thus charged with it the two archangels were more often than not portrayed as guardians at the temples’ entrances to the naos. In those centuries churches and monasteries were dedicated to the celestial Taxiarch and his Heavenly Host. This was partly due to the spread of monasticism and ascetic practices connected to the older tradition and originating from the so-called “angelic life”. The churches and monasteries depict scenes from the archangel cycle, as well as solemn figures of archangels in royal attire. The iconographic programs of the temples introduced new scenes. These innovations included “Christ – the Angel of the Great Council”, an archangelic cycle and rare iconographic variants such as the depictions of the archangels making up the archangel tetrad. The representation of these characters reveals a revival of images known from the older tradition and influenced by the East.

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