The church of Agios Stephanos

basilica: type of large church, divided internally into three or more naves. The central nave was usually covered by a raised roof with windows that illuminated the space.
narthex: oblong reception area extending along the western side of a basilica. Originally the east portico of the atrium, it was later incorporated into the church, and served as a waiting area for catechumens, who were not allowed to attend the Divine Liturgy.
aisles or naves: corridors formed inside a church between the colonnades of basilicas. Their number varies from three to nine, with the central one wider and taller.
synthronon: semicircular stone or marble tiered structure of benches within the apse of early Christian churches, serving as a seat for the clergy. The episcopal throne was placed at the center.
chapel: small sized church, either independent, belonging to a religious foundation, or part of a larger church. In Byzantium chapels were often used for burials.
gallery or tribune: upper story of a church above the side naves and the narthex.
single-lobed or single-light window: window with a single opening that forms an arc at the top.
dogtooth, dentil, saw-tooth or course: ceramic decorative elements that can be oblong or meet along the crowning of the roof, like frames surrounding windows. Can be single or double.
pediment: the uppermost triangular architectural structure on the long sides of an ancient temple, used in the facades of churches in Byzantine times. Pediments often have arched windows and surmount ciboria, fountains, porticos and porches.
frieze: architectural term used to describe the area of the church above the architrave. Friezes on ancient temples bore depictions of people, animals, or entire scenes from myths.

The church of Agioi Anargyroi: The church of Agioi Anargyroi (the Unmercenary Saints) stands on the steep hillside on the north side of the city of Kastoria. It is a three-aisled basilica with narthex, which initially had a triple vaulted roof dating to the 10th -11th century. On the inside the naves are separated by walls punctuated by asymmetric arched openings. The central nave is wider and higher than the other two, ending in a semicircular conch to the east. The conches of the side naves are the same shape but smaller. The church is illuminated by a few double light windows in the upper wall of the central nave - two on each of the long sides, and one in each of the short sides (east and west). The masonry consists of irregular stones alternating with red tiles arranged in patterns (diamonds, suns, trees and dogtooth courses). These are combined with mortar to create an aesthetically pleasing effect.Agioi Anargyroi is the only church in Kastoria to have sculpture decoration, featuring carved rosettes, crosses, animals and stars in circles. Inside the church there are also sections of the marble templon assembled during restoration work.The interior is decorated with successive layers of exquisite wall paintings. The scenes in the first layer, dating to around 1000 AD, are mainly visible on parts of the narthex, where earlier interventions brought to light depictions of Saints Basil and Nicholas, Saints Constantine and Helena, and the figure of the deceased Constantine. These representations are characterized by intensely outlined faces, linear characteristics, a limited number of colours for rendering figures and a lack of volume.The second layer wall paintings date to the second half of the 12th century. According to inscriptions in various parts of the church and the dedicatory representation in the north nave, they were sponsored by Theodore Lemniotes and his wife Anna Radene, who renovated the church and dedicated it to Agioi Anargyroi (the Unmercenary Saints), calling on them to intercede for their personal health. Information from the founders’ mural and another scene in the south nave reveal that they took monastic vows - Theodore Lemniotes took the name brother Theophilus Lemnos.The iconographic programme in the second layer features scenes from Dodecaorton and the Passion of Christ in the nave, the Eucharist in the sanctuary, and the lives and martyrdoms of saints in the side naves. Marked differences in style suggest that two artists with differing concepts of art worked in the nave. In the first case the saints are rendered in a hieratic stance, stern of expression, with oval faces, large round eyes and arched eyebrows. The garments are rich, painted in a variety of colours, with folds that follow the movements of the body. This painter’s depictions are representative of “dynamic Comnenian style” and recall the art in Agios Georgios at Kourbinovo. In contrast, the slightly earlier figures attributed to the second artist are rigid and expressionless, with linear faces and clothing folds. The main figures appear disproportionately larger than the minor ones, and the scenes are almost entirely devoid of any surrounding detail (buildings or landscape). A third artist painted the surfaces of the narthex in the monumental tradition of late Comnenian painting. The exterior murals on the west facade date to the same period. They depict the Supplication, the Apostles, the Unmercenary Saints and St. Nicholas.
The church of the Archangel: The church of the Archangel lies in the south part of Kastoria, in the cathedral parish, a short distance from Omonia Square. Reused architectural members such as columns, mullion bases and imposts indicate that the church was probably built on the site of an Early Christian basilica.From an architectural point of view the church is a 9th -10th century basilica with narthex. On the inside, two colonnades divide it into three naves; the central one ends in a semicircular conch, while the side naves end in smaller conches built into the thickness of the wall. The raised nave has a barrel vaulted roof. The north nave was later expanded and doubled in width, but still retains part of the eastern wall and the conch. An oblong narthex was added to the west of the church, covered by three vaults that divide the roof into three sections corresponding to the tripartite division of the nave.On the interior there are two successive layers of decoration. All that survives of the first are a few poorly preserved fragments. Christ is visible in the apse of the north nave and Matthew the Evangelist in that of the south nave, added to which is a decorative band in a section around the sanctuary apse. Over the entrance to the narthex in the east wall, parts of a broader depiction of Advent show an imposingly large figure of an enthroned Christ opposite Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the three forefathers. Saints are depicted in the arches, while the space over the south nave entrance has a half-length depiction of Christ shown blessing. Although these fragmentary representations do not help us to draw conclusions about this layer’s iconographic programme, in stylistic terms they point to the first layer of wall paintings in Agios Stephanos and the early frescoes of Cappadocian churches. The second layer dates to 1359 -1360. Surfaces in the central nave are devoted to scenes from the Dodecaorton and the Passion, alongside full-length depictions of saints. The second layer paintings follow the anti-classical tradition of contemporary churches in Kastoria and Ohrid, tending towards a flat, linear rendition of forms and expressiveness in movements. The outer west wall frescos feature full-length depictions of Panagia Hodegetria (Our Lady of the Way) and Archangels Gabriel and Michael. At the foot of the Archangel Michael there are smaller scale depictions of King Michael Asen of the Bulgarians (1246-1256/7) and probably his wife Anna - not his mother Irene Comnena, as argued until recently. The frescoes on the outer south wall depict local officials and inscriptions dating to the 15th century, which provide important information on the area’s people, clothes and art.