Още за преустройствата, етапите на изписване и опазването на църквата в манастира „Св. Йоан Рилски” край Курило
More on the reconstructions, stages of painting and protection of the Church at the Monastery of Saint John of Rila near Kurilo

Summary/Abstract: The murals from the church at the Monastery of Saint John of Rila near Kurilo have been the object of a number of publications but the problems concerning their protection have remained outside the researchers’ attention. The article attempts to trace out the reconstructions and the works related to the protection of the church, which, together with the studies during the most recent conservation interventions, provide new data about the history of the monument. The first pieces of evidence were published by Vasil Kanchov in 1902 and they deal with the revealing of the murals and the ktetor’s inscription on the western wall and in the naos. The National Archaeological Museum in Sofia has an important contribution to the protection of the church: it led the strengthening of the building in 1940. In 1960s and 1970s the care of the monument was associated with the activity of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage. The conservation projects prepared in that period also aimed at revealing the murals of 1596 but as a matter of a conjunction of circumstances they were not realized. The projects for the building’s conservation were not realized as well. The conservation of the murals was resumed in 2012. Currently, the 1596 layer in the naos of the church is almost entirely uncovered. During the last stage of the conservation the Kostadin Valyov’s murals were also revealed on the northern part of the altar with an inscription of 1829. This discovery has important significance not only for the history of the monument but for the creative work of the painter of Samokov as well. It turns out that the discovered fragments are his earliest precisely dated wall paintings. The last conservation interventions provide new evidence about the history of the monument but also pose different ethical problems for the specialists: one of them is the protection of the already removed murals of the painter Theodor dating from the mid-19th century. At this stage of research, the question concerning Kostadin Valyov’s murals remains unsolved. They cover the 16th-century layer from the northern part of the altar and the western facade of the old church. To a great extent, these problems are related to the absence of an overall program on the church’s protection. However, there is no doubt that the studies of this important monument must continue, as well as the efforts for its preservation.

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