Interaction of images in sacred space : a case study: the Church of St Barbara in Khe, Upper Svaneti

Based on apt case study of painted images decorating the Church of St Barbara in the village of Khe (K'ala community, Upper Svaneti) dated to the thirteenth and fourteenth century, the paper demonstrates the complex interrelations between diverse types of images in a sacred space. The nave's frontal, hieratic figures of archangels and saints, the apse's "fresco-icons" of the Church Fathers, the chancel barrier's painted wood epistyle with the Deesis and its painted decoration represent a whole range of Christian images' symbolic meanings and illustrate their varied roles in creating a meaningful setting for the liturgy. The painted decorations' stylistic and iconographic features, attributed to a local workshop, can be interpreted as representing the "translation" of established formulas in Byzantine culture in accordance with local artistic and cultural tradition. The paper focuses on the meaning of the fresco-icons of the Church Fathers placed in the sanctuary apse, which bring new semantic content to the images.