Св. Христифор и св. Ѓорѓи – победници над смртта
St. Christopher and St. George – victors over death

Summary/Abstract: During the Early Christian period, life at Vinicko Kale was intensive, if we take into account the discovery of the Terracotta Reliefs – one of a kind in the world. Till now, thirty motifs have been found that date from the end of the 5th and the 6th century. Themes are taken from the Bible, the Old Testimony scenes are presented, psalms are illustrated, psalm Chris¬tian depictions and characters of the Christian saints are represented. In the collection of the world famous Terracotta reliefs discovered on Vinicko Kale, every motif is a rare and unique item. That is the case with the reliefs dedicated to St. Christopher and St. George, winners over death. These two saints belong to the category of the most respected saints and to the order of the greatest martyrs for the Christian faith from the 3rd and the beginning of the 4th century. The uniqueness of this motif refers to the depictions of St. Christopher with the dog’s head which is the earliest one in the Republic of North Macedo¬nia and of St. George with a beard ( his usual iconographic characteristics being young, beardless and with thick curly hair ) as the earliest examples of such iconography. It is interesting that the cult of St. George has sur¬vived till today, not only in Macedonia but wider, in the orthodox Chris¬tian countries, whilst the cult of St. Christopher has been vanishing here in Macedonia so we cannot claim that this saint was especially respected and that there was a great developed cult connected to him. There is more than one legend connected to the life of the saint. De¬pending on whether the legends originated within the influence of the Western or Eastern Church, his biography, has, more or less, different contents. The depictions of St. Christopher with the dog’s head can be met in the medieval frescos in various countries, and here in Macedonia there are frescos and icons painted by our zographers at the end of the 19th century.

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