The Church of the Savior Transfiguration on Ilyina Street is a non-functioning Orthodox church in Veliky Novgorod on the Trade Side, built in 1374 and famous for being the only church to have preserved frescoes by Theophanes the Greek. The painting was done in 1378. It is the only church in the world to have preserved frescoes by the Byzantine master who painted about 40 churches. The church’s wall paintings are unique and unforgettable for the expressiveness of the characteristics of various figures. The bold, free style of painting gives the church a grand resonance. The church is included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list.

From the Illustrated Chronicle Compilation: “In the same year, a stone church of the Holy Savior was built on Ilyina Street in Veliky Novgorod.” The First Novgorod Chronicle contains a record of the church’s creation: “In the year 6882 [1374]. They erected a stone church of the Holy Savior on Ilyina Street; and Archbishop Alexei of Novgorod consecrated it, together with the abbots, priests, and the kliros of Saint Sophia.”

The church was built by the residents of Ilyinskaya Street—the main street in the Slavensky End of Novgorod (the trade side on the opposite bank of the Volkhov from the Detinets). It was preceded by a wooden church built by Bishop Nikita, known since the 11th century for the portable icon of the Mother of God “The Sign,” through which, according to legend, Novgorod was miraculously saved in 1169 from the Suzdal besiegers. A special chapel was arranged for this revered Novgorod shrine, which burned down in 1340. After that, a special Church of the Sign was built for the icon, where it was kept from 1356 (since 1688—in the Church of the Sign Cathedral; currently, the icon is in the Saint Sophia Cathedral).

The Transfiguration Church, being a characteristic building of its time, stands out for its majestic monumentality and exquisite splendor. It belongs to the common type in 14th-century Novgorod architecture of a four-pillar square-plan church with one altar apse and one dome. The facades have a trefoil termination. Currently, the roof is octahedral, giving the facade terminations a gable (triangular) shape. The church has a pronounced verticality, and the roof shape gives it dynamism.

The exterior decoration is distinguished by rare richness. The facades, as was customary, are divided by pilasters into three bays. Above the bays are bordered by double “creeping” arches, complicating the pattern of the trefoil termination. Narrow vertical windows are grouped together. Above them are frames—eyebrows. In some places, the windows are complemented by niches. The window openings and niches have both semicircular and pointed arches. The apse is decorated with vertical moldings with two rows of arches (both the moldings and arches have the shape of semicircular rolls) framing the windows. As a decorative motif, a running ornament and a border decorate the dome drum and the upper contours of the bays. In addition, the facades are adorned with numerous crosses: relief-laid or carved stone crosses. The laid crosses have a stepped base—Golgotha (Golgotha crosses), asymmetrically placed on the facade planes. The carved crosses were insets, i.e., connected with commemorating the deceased. The abundance of crosses may be related to the commemoration of Novgorodians who died in 1372 during the defeat of Torzhok by the Tver prince Mikhail Alexandrovich.

The church interior has a pronounced cruciform shape. The Transfiguration Church, like other cross-in-square churches of Novgorod of that time, has special enclosed chambers (kamory) located at the corners of the building at the choir level. A staircase inside the western wall leads to the choir. The choir is a wooden platform between two rooms in the western corners of the church—the chapels of the Holy Trinity and Saints Cosmas and Damian. The third chamber is located in the southeast corner above the diaconicon; it may have served as a repository for sacred vessels. Access to it was via a wooden ladder through a hatch in the inter-floor ceiling. In the church altar, the ancient base of the stone altar table and the stone upper place have been preserved.

Originally, a vestibule with a small bell tower adjoined the church from the west. A trace of its cylindrical vault remains on the facade. In the 19th century, a large heated [space] was built in its place.

The church’s painting is mentioned in the Third Novgorod Chronicle: “In the year 6886 [1378]. <…> That same year, the church of our Lord Jesus Christ on Ilyina Street was painted by the order of the noble and God-loving boyar Vasily Danilovich, together with the residents of Ilyina Street, and the painter was the Greek master Theophanes, during the reign of Grand Prince Dmitry Ivanovich and Archbishop Alexei of Great Novgorod and Pskov.”

The noble Novgorod boyar Vasily Danilovich, belonging to the Mashkov family, invited one of the greatest masters of his time to paint the church. By then, Theophanes the Greek was a well-known Constantinople painter. The following information about him is preserved in a letter by Epiphanius the Wise to Abbot Kirill of Tver: “When I was in Moscow, there lived there a most renowned sage, a very skilled philosopher, Theophanes the Greek, an experienced icon painter and an outstanding painter among iconographers, who personally painted more than forty different stone churches in various cities: in Constantinople, Chalcedon, Galata, Kaffa, Veliky Novgorod, and Nizhny Novgorod. But in Moscow, he painted three churches: the Annunciation of the Holy Mother of God, Saint Michael, and another one.” The letter was written around 1415, after Theophanes’ death. The painting of the Church of the Savior Transfiguration was his first work in Rus’, preceding the paintings in Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod.

Theophanes the Greek (born circa 1340—died circa 1410) was a great Byzantine master of monumental fresco painting, icon painter, and miniaturist. He was born in Byzantium. He worked in Constantinople, Chalcedon, the Genoese colonies of Galata and Kaffa (now Feodosia). He arrived in Rus’ together with Metropolitan Cyprian. In 1370, Theophanes the Greek settled in Novgorod and in 1378 began work on the frescoes of the Church of the Savior Transfiguration on Ilyina Street. 

After working in other Russian cities, in the early 1390s the painter moved to Moscow. Here, according to researchers, he headed the grand princely icon-painting workshop, painting several churches and icons.

The church’s frescoes have not survived completely. Most of them were lost, but what remains are the only surviving monumental works of Theophanes the Greek in the world. Even the small surviving fragments allow an assessment of both the overall concept of the ensemble and Theophanes’ unique style, which Epiphanius called “unknown and extraordinary painting.”

In the dome’s zenith, in a medallion, is depicted Christ Pantocrator. Around the medallion is an inscription with words from the Psalter: “Lord, from heaven look down upon the earth, hear the sighing of the imprisoned, and release the sons of the slain, that the name of the Lord may be proclaimed in Zion.” Christ is surrounded by angelic hosts: four archangels depicted full-length, and four cherubim and seraphim. The archangels are dressed in lorate vestments. They hold measuring rods and mirrors. The seraphim and cherubim are depicted with six wings. This iconographic scheme is traditional for Novgorod. It goes back to the frescoes of Saint Sophia Cathedral and, with minor differences, is found in all Novgorod churches of that time, such as the Church of the Assumption on Volotov Field, the Church of Theodore Stratelates on Ruchy, the Church of the Savior on Kovalevo, and others.

Below the angels in the drum are depicted the forefathers: Adam, Abel, Noah, Seth, Melchizedek—the king of Salem, priest of the Most High, Enoch, as well as the prophet Elijah and John the Baptist. Here the frescoes of the Savior Church differ from most other churches, where prophets were usually depicted in the drum.

Only very small fragments of frescoes remain in the main space of the church (although it is possible that not all surviving fragments have been discovered).

In the altar apse, fragments of the Eucharist remain (apostles approaching the center of the composition where Christ was), below them a row of hierarchs, and on the sides of the apse on the pilaster edges, very minor fragments—remnants of the Passion cycle. At the bottom, decorative towels and a fragment of the figure of Christ on the throne, depicted in the upper place, have survived.

The Passion cycle is also preserved in the altar painting of the Church of Theodore Stratelates on Ruchy, whose frescoes were probably created under the influence of Theophanes’ painting.

Almost nothing remains of the frescoes under the dome’s cross. Traditionally, the Twelve Great Feasts were depicted here. On the southeast pillar to the right of the altar, the figure of the Mother of God from the Annunciation has survived. In the lunette of the southern wall are fragments of the Nativity of Christ, and on the adjoining vault—fragments of the Baptism and Presentation. The remains of other compositions do not allow precise identification. Below them on the walls were huge figures of martyrs and warriors. In the lowest register, on the walls under the choir, images of holy women and martyrs have survived. In the diaconicon—figures of some hierarchs. Some images of holy women are of lesser artistic skill, indicating the participation of Theophanes’ pupils in the painting.

An interesting detail was the flying angels with trumpets depicted in the upper parts of the pillars. Apparently, there were four of them (the figure above the Mother of God from the Annunciation is well preserved). They could symbolize the four corners of the earth or be heralds of the Hour of Judgment.

The frescoes in the Trinity chapel on the choir in the northwest corner of the church are well preserved. The chapel served as a private prayer room, most likely belonging to the church’s patron, boyar Vasily Danilovich. Such small chapels, convenient for solitary prayer, were often made in Novgorod churches of this time. On the eastern altar wall of the chapel, above on an asymmetrical surface cut by a semicylindrical vault, is depicted the appearance of the Trinity to Abraham. Below it is the figure of one of the hierarchs, depicted during a service with unrolled scrolls.

The Trinity is presented frontally. The angels sit symmetrically at the table. The middle one is noticeably emphasized by scale and majestic pose. Below were depicted Abraham and Sarah offering food to the Guests. Only the figure of Sarah has survived. On the chapel walls is a series of venerable ascetics and pillar saints—saints who achieved communion with God through strict asceticism. That is why they—entirely devoted to prayer—stand near the image of God.

Above the entrance door to the chapel is the image of the Mother of God “The Sign,” placed in a radiance of two crossed rhombuses. Next to her stands Archangel Gabriel with a measuring rod and mirror in his hands. Besides the fact that the icon “The Sign” was a revered Novgorod shrine, this image of the Mother of God together with the figure of the standing archangel recalls the Annunciation—the moment of the Incarnation of the Son of God Jesus Christ in the world. Here, as in the Trinity, the appearance of God is shown, but not in a symbolic vision, but God incarnate and become man.

This is connected with the images of ascetics who wished through prayer to achieve theosis—a real communion with God and transformation by His Divine Light. Theophanes the Greek created his own very unusual style of painting. It belongs to a special expressive direction of the Byzantine painting style of the 14th century, vividly manifested in Novgorod (the churches of the Assumption on Volotov Field and Theodore Stratelates on Ruchy). Theophanes was not its creator (the Volotov frescoes—1363—precede him), but using its techniques, he created the strongest images in Orthodox art.

The expressive style of the second half of the 14th century, whose origin is associated with Constantinople, is characterized by a free, unrestrained drawing manner, its special mobility, sometimes sketchiness. Artists, skillfully mastering drawing techniques dating back to antiquity, rejected classical harmony and calm, preferring maximum expressiveness of compositions, poses, gestures, and images. Compared to the Volotov frescoes, Theophanes the Greek preferred more static and very large figures. His images possess titanic power. But he also rejected complex form elaboration, emphasizing quick but expressive drawing. This includes not only dark contours but also active light highlights—“movements.” The light created by abundantly applied white lead plays a crucial role in Theophanes’ painting.

Light modeling of form in Byzantine iconography always had an inner meaning. It was a symbol of Divine Light penetrating man and the whole world. For 14th-century art, in connection with debates about the Tabor Light and the spread of Hesychasm, the theme of light, understood symbolically, became one of the main ones. Covering the garments of saints with shining stripes of white lead, emphasizing faces and hands with precise white brushstrokes, Theophanes undoubtedly shows the Hesychast vision of the world, depicting it transformed and deified. The entire church painting as a whole, the effect of which can now only be imagined remotely, did not show the development of the Gospel story but a picture of the transformation of the whole world by Divine power, to the contemplation of which the visitor to the church was called. Crowning the entire dome painting is the central image of the ensemble—the depiction of Christ Pantocrator, holding the world in His right hand.

In the painting of the Trinity chapel, Theophanes creates a series of images of saints fully immersed in themselves (what the Byzantines called the “inner man”). The result of this immersion, silence (i.e., hesychia), is communion with God and enlightenment of the whole person by the uncreated Light emanating from God. This is the main figurative content of the Trinity chapel painting, testifying to the strong influence of Hesychast theology and spiritual practice on church art.

The painting is done in restrained color shades. Some parts are almost monochrome. The question of the preservation of the original colors of the painting in this church (as well as in the Church of Theodore Stratelates on Ruchy) is controversial in scholarship. The prevailing opinion is that the original polychromy was lost due to the effects of fires that ravaged ancient Russian cities. For example, fragments of the painting uncovered in the lower, excavated parts of the altar differ by brighter and more diverse colors. The opposite opinion, that the current color of the frescoes is close to the original, is held by restorer Sarabyanov. Although the frescoes suffered some color loss, their laconic color scheme is the author’s intention. A similar technique is found in some other monuments of Byzantine art, especially of the expressive style.

In 1831, on the western facade of the church above the main entrance, a fresco of the Mother of God Hodegetria was revealed under fallen plaster. Its veneration, marked by the construction of a chapel in honor of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God (the Smolensk icon belongs to the Hodegetria iconographic type and historically bears that name), was caused by the end of a cholera epidemic, which soon ceased after the image was uncovered. The fresco is preserved on the facade to this day.

On the southern facade, in its eastern bay, is the image of the Mother of God “The Sign.” It may have been created around 1700, when the neighboring Church of the Sign Cathedral was painted. Possibly, the painting was done on the site of the oldest fresco.

After the fires that struck the city, damaged frescoes were usually washed with alkali. Throughout the 17th–18th centuries, frescoes were partially lost and then whitewashed (as in many other ancient churches). Trial cleanings of the frescoes, carried out by unknown antiquarians, were done in 1910–1912. Systematic uncovering and restoration of the painting began in 1918. The church building and frescoes were severely damaged during the Great Patriotic War. The vault of the Trinity chapel was hit by a shell, and the western vault under the dome’s cross was destroyed. A German observation post was installed in the dome drum. This caused damage to the painting around the windows and darkening in some places of the ground (due to the stove installation). In the postwar years, the painting was strengthened and cleaned of soot under the direction of Nikolai Sychyov. Architectural restoration of the church was carried out, restoring the ancient forms with preservation of the gable octahedral roof of the 16th–17th centuries. Excavations in the altar were conducted by Mikhail Karger. In the 1960s, Moscow restorers led by Batkhel established that not all surviving fragments of the painting had been uncovered from under the 19th-century putty and whitewash. New discoveries of the great Byzantine master’s painting are possible.

The church miraculously survived the Great Patriotic War. A bomb exploded nearby, causing many cracks on the walls and frescoes. But the greatest damage to Theophanes’ masterpieces was caused by people. 

“In the 17th century, repairs and plastering were done, and priceless frescoes were chiseled off with a chisel. This was done in all Novgorod churches—the city was poor,” explains Tamara Anisimova, head of the Center for the Restoration of Monumental Painting. The fact is that if the diocese lacked money for “renewing” the paintings, the darkened frescoes were simply chipped off, and the walls covered with fresh plaster.

These frescoes were considered lost until the 1970s. However, Soviet historian and archaeologist Mikhail Karger, beginning excavations in the altar of the Savior on Ilyina, discovered under a thick layer of sand (which was dumped in the 17th century to level the floor) an ancient 14th-century floor. It turned out that pieces of frescoes chipped off the walls were used as backfill. These fragments of wall painting are now kept in the restoration center of the Novgorod Museum. Another possible source of discoveries is the chipped fragments of wall painting stored in the Novgorod Museum. In five huge cabinets are 2,300 panels with pieces of painted plaster.

“An unimaginable number—almost 260,000 fragments. And all this is Theophanes the Greek!” emphasizes Tamara Anisimova, head of the Center for the Restoration of Monumental Painting.

Many people like to assemble puzzles, but it is hard to imagine a puzzle of 260,000 fragments. Who is capable of assembling all this into a single composition?

Scientists claim it is quite feasible. The fragments of the destroyed frescoes can be glued and returned to the church walls. “That is what we are doing. And we already have matched fragments,” Anisimova shows a plate of glued shards of Theophanes’ fresco. But most of the paintings are still buried in the floor backfill in the central part of the church, since excavations were only carried out in the altar.

According to the keeper of the Savior on Ilyina, Natalia Razina, it would take about five years to assemble the fragments of Theophanes the Greek’s frescoes. There are new technologies that greatly speed up the work of restorers—particularly computer programs. All found fragments are scanned, and the computer assembles the image from them. The technician only needs to glue them together. “The fragments themselves are of good quality, with even edges, making them easy to scan,” adds the expert.