Church of St Demetrius
Description
The Church of St Demetrius near the town of Boboshevo is a small one-nave church which was part of the medieval monastery. The monastery was established in the 10th century and its initial position was above the village of Skrino. The monastery was destroyed after the Bulgarian-Ottoman Wars and the fall of the Second Empire. It was rebuilt during the reign of the Ottoman sultan Bayazid II (1481-1512) but not in its original position but to the south-east near Boboshevo. Throughout the following centuries the monastery was an important literary centre for the Bulgarian people. After the Liberation the monastery declined and became uninhabited, its control was first taken by the Municipality of Boboshevo and later by the local priests. Around 1930 the monastery included dwellings, kitchen, bakery, granary and other buildings. At that time the monastery owned 694 decares of land in the eastern slopes of the Ruen mountain which included forests, lawns, fields, orchards and vineyards. Only the church has been preserved today and has undergone a comprehensive restoration.
The whole interior of the church with exception of the narthex is covered with frescoes which is traditional for that type of church. Several artistic traditions have been applied; the figures are dynamic, the characters are emotional and the faces - vivid. The shades are dark, saturated and harmonized. On the vault there are three medallions - one the central one is painted Christ with four angels. On its sides in the two smaller medallions are the images of the prophets - Moses, Aaron, Ezekiel and others. Under them are depicted two layers of scenes: upper layer which includes the big holidays - the Birth, Baptism, Crucifixion and others; and a lower layer with the Passion of Christ. On the northern and southern walls of the church under the Passion there is another frieze of medallions depicting the warrior saints, the three men in the Babylon furnace and others. In the bottom parts of the walls are depicted full-length portraits of saints. On the western wall is depicted the Assumption of Mary and under that scene on the two sides of the door are the images of the sainted rulers Constantine and Helen and Archangel Michael.