Прилог познавању кутија "мошти" у српској верској култури деветнаестог века

Abstract

Артифициране кутије, израђиване током деветнаестог века, присутне су у великом броју српских цркава. Оне су повезане са праксом чувања светитељских моштију у храмовима, из чега проистиче форма кивота и њихова симболичка декорација. Извођене су од сребра кујунџијски или од дрвета па потом осликаване и позлаћиване. Њихова функција повезана је и са приложничком праксом. У том смислу развило се неколико типова ових кутија, први у коме се чувају честице светитељских моштију, други сложенији који у недостатку моштију садржи крст као њихову пуну сакралну супституцију, и трећи само са сликаним представама, који се користи као приложничка кутија.

A contribution to the study of reliquary cases in Serbian Religious culture of the nineteenth century: Artisanal reliquary cases manufactured during the nineteenth century exist in numerous Serbian churches in the wider area of Southern Serbia from the city of Vranje and also southward and westward from it in areas of Preševo, Bujanovac and Trgovište. The existence of these cases was also recorded in the area of the eparchy of Niš and monasteries such as Studenica, St Prohor of Pčinja, Dečani and Hilandar. The form of these cases stems from the reliquaries and their symbolism related with the practice of displaying the holy relics of saints in Orthodox churches. They were made out of silver by silversmiths and decorated by appropriate techniques, or out of wood by artisans who painted and parcel-gilt them with gold. Their function is also related with the practice of votive offering. Taking into consideration religious contexts in which these artisanal reliquaries were used the following division can be identified: cases that actually contain holy remains, the ones that contain a cross as their complete sacral substitute and cases that repeat the same form but are intended for the practice of charity. The role of artisanal cases called ''relics'' (мошти) in the religious culture of the nineteenth century is multifaceted. In serving cults of saints in monasteries they were an embodiment of their spiritual presence. Reliquaries made out of silver and precious metals corresponded to the status of relics of saints in the Orthodox Church and also the program of their pictorial decoration. The act of veneration to the relics was related with the practice of votive offering, and the practice of charity, as material memory of praying. Different sorts of material giving influenced the economy of monasteries and churches. Artisan reliquary cases functioned as ritual objects outside of the space of monasteries. In the complex sacral aspect they were objects through which venerating and votive offering were directly conducted and by their help sacraments could be performed by monks such as confession, anointing of the sick, holy unction, blessing the water, benedictions and prayers. Therefore, due to the particles of relics, these had the function of mobile altars for the serving monks, allowing them to practice their service during their travels, which were related to the money-raising for the monastery. Popular piety and cults of relics influenced the fact that these kinds of boxes as objects of great power were carried during litanies having different purposes and meanings for believers. In city and village churches, the existence of reliquaries with the holy remains was less frequent; therefore the Benediction cross from the church or the cross in another form became the bearer of the sanctity in the reliquary sense, with a clear reference to the True Cross as a relic of the first order. Gradually, the content of reliquaries was shaped only by the elements of the pictorial decoration, depiction of saints and the cross embodying their actual presence. The ways of votive offering gained a new social form due to the changes in the church organization in the eparchial and institutional sense in the end of the nineteenth and in the next century. The cases called ''relics'' that were created in the beginning of the twentieth century were slowly transformed into charity boxes which were then placed beside saint’s icons.