Ikonostas Saborne crkve u Sremskim Karlovcima

Abstract

Nastanak Hrama Svetog Nikole u Sremskim Karlovcima, kao katedralne crkve Karlovačke mitropolije, bio je tendenciozan i jednako pragmatičan, uslovljen zahtevom za korisnošću. Temelji su osvećeni 7. maja 1758. godine, a zidanje velelepne građevine koja 'predstavlja puni trijumf barokne arhitekture kod Srba' završeno je 1764. U izradi enterijera katedralnog hrama, čiji su se idejni tvorci mitropoliti Pavle Nenadović i Mojsej Putnik u osmišljavanju kompozicione celine koja je trebalo da bude primer ostalim crkvama Karlovačke mitropolije oslanjali na savete visokih intelektualnih i umetničkih krugova, učestvovali su najpoznatiji slikari i drvorezbari te epohe. Za slikarske radove na ikonostasu koji po svojim umetničkim kvalitetima spada među najbolja ostvarenja druge polovine XVIII stoleća na teritoriji Vojvodine mitropolit Mojsej Putnik je, uz saglasnost Sinoda, izabrao Teodora Kračuna i Jakova Orfelina, 'Carsko-kraljevske bečke akademije živopisce'. Oltarska pregrada, sa centralnom ikonom Silazak Svetoga duha, što, na osnovu dosadašnjih istraživanja, predstavlja jedinstveni primer u srpskoj likovnoj kulturi svojim dimenzijama, drvorezbarijom i monumentalnim ikonama odgovarala je ideji mitropolitove reprezentacije koja se ogledala u svim javnim manifestacijama crkvenog poglavara, njegovog nastojanja da se s jedne strane istakne ideja versko- političkog integriteta i kontinuiteta srpskog naroda u Podunavlju, a s druge potvrdi slika o 'političkoj veličajnosti' pravoslavne jerarhije.

Archbishop Pavle Nenadović played a crucial role in the decision to start building a cathedral, the Synod Church of St. Nikola, in the centre of the diocese, Sremski Karlovci. This experienced and skillful archbishop surely grasped the complexity of the situation. The specific position of the Serbian people in the Habsburg Monarchy, lack of their own state, army and political goals that could be accomplished independently, reduction of life and national defence to cultural means, church and education, led to the understanding of the importance of their own cultural history. The pieces created under the auspices of the metropolitan were public in character and their meaning was equated with the official religious and political stand of the church. Ideological messages were considered in the context of the political reality of the time. The construction of the cathedral of St. Nikola in Sremski Karlovci, as the cathedral of the diocese, was tendentious and equally pragmatic, conditioned by usefulness. The foundations were dedicated on 7 May 1758 and the construction of the grand structure was finished in 1764. The building 'represents thecomplete triumph of baroque architecture among Serbs' in the region of the former Karlovci diocese, with two belfries and a dome. Its construction employed both domestic and foreign craftsmen, from supervisors to German craftsmen who made intricate tin ornaments, and was financially supported by church dignitaries, the people, the monasteries in Fruška Gora and the metropolitan himself. The most famous painters and woodcarvers of the time participated in the construction of the interior of the cathedral, whereby the ideas originated from metropolitan Nenadović and Mojsej Putnik. The compositional whole was supposed to be an example of other churches of the Karlovci diocese so they relies on the advice from high intellectual and artistic circles. To do the painting on the iconostasis, which in its artistic qualities is one of the best achievements of the second half of the 18th century in the territory of Vojvodina, supported by the Synod metropolitan Mojsej Putnik chose Teodor Kračun and Jakov Orfelin, 'The Imperial and Royal Vienna Academy painters', who signed the contract on 11 May 1780. The altar compartment, with the central icon of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, is a unique example in the Serbian visual arts culture, as research so far has suggested. Its dimension, woodcarving and monumental icons corresponded to the ideas of the metropolitan’s residence which had been noticed in all public events of the church dignitary. These were, on the one hand, his attempts to emphasize the idea of the religious and political integrity and the continuity of the Serbian people in the Danube region, and on the other, to confirm the image of the 'political grandeur' of the Orthodox authority in an absolutistic society such as the Habsburg Monarchy, to confirm the independence of the church and the authority of the metropolitan as the supreme ruler. The stage theatrical baroque machinery was put in service of religious and political propaganda.