VRBEN
VRBEN, Municipality of Mavrovo and Rostuša
St. Nicholas, village of Vrben
41° 43′ 15.5″ N; 20° 43′ 37.3″ E
4-807-015/60 E-ND
The Church of St. Nicholas in the village of Vrben is a three-nave structure featuring a semicircular apse articulated by shallow, interconnected arched niches. A narthex has been added to the western side. Built of rubble stone and roofed with a sheet-metal gable roof, the structure is topped by an octagonal bell tower on the western side that is partially integrated into the main building. It was constructed in 1849, according to an inscription carved into a stone slab above the western entrance:(SJE POMxNJKX DA/ ZNOuT SxPJSTEN/ O MARKO FJLO RODOM/ X DOJ^OVX VO LETO1849). The church portal is constructed from four massive stone blocks and features an arched upper section.
The interior follows a three-nave layout; the central nave is elevated and covered by a barrel vault supported by three pairs of interconnected circular columns, rising above the side naves, which have flat ceilings. In the central nave, a half-length depiction of Jesus Christ Pantocrator (iS HS VSEDER\@ITEL\) is painted within an oval medallion surrounded by a rainbow of light; He is shown blessing with His right hand and holding a closed Gospel book in His left. The following text is inscribed in the ring surrounding Him: (¦ VIDITE VIDITE aKw AZ\ ESM\ ..ST\ BOG\ RAZV] MENE AZ\ SwTwRIH\ ZEMLu I ^ELOY NEBESNXiM\ I AZ\ RYKu DY[AM\ NA[XiM\ BO AZ\ ESM\ PERVI I POSL]ENI ALFA I wMEGA) .
Above each column in the central nave — positioned above the capitals within circular medallions — are half-length depictions of the holy apostles: Bartholomew (S!TXiI A!SPL\ VERtOLOMEI), Andrew (the First-Called) (S!TXiI A!SPL\ ANDREx PERVOZVANIix), Simon (S!TXiI A!SPL\ SJMEON\), James (S!TXiI A!SPL\ xKwF\), Philip (S!TXiI A!SPL\ FILIP\), as well as St. John the Baptist (?) and another unidentified saint; both of the latter two were subsequently retouched.
On the western wall of the narthex, above the entrance to the nave, the holy apostles Peter and Paul are depicted flanking a three-domed church. The Apostle Peter (!S AP!SL\ PETER\) is depicted holding the keys to Heaven in his right hand and an open scroll in his left, bearing the inscription "( PETER\/ A!SL\/ iSyS\ HR!S V\.)" The Apostle Paul (S AP!SL\ PAnEL\) holds a basket of Gospels in his right hand and a long sword in his left. On the gallery—which opens via a *mashrabiya* screen towards the narthex—the *Pokrov* (Protection of the Mother of God) is depicted within the semicircular segment of the vault. The Mother of God (B!RY B!@II) is shown wearing an open crown and with outstretched wings, flanked by angels and seraphim; she stands upon clouds, holding open scrolls in her outstretched hands inscribed with the words: "(^T]I[Y HERYViM\ I SLAVI]N{Yu BEZTAVNENJx SERAFIM\ BEZSTL]NJx/ B!GA SLOVA RO@D{Yu SY {Yu BOGORWDICY Tx VELI^AEM\.)"
The wall paintings are the work of an unknown local iconographer from the late 19th or early 20th century.
The iconostasis is three-tiered and surmounted by a large cross (registered icons 7927–7999; 9001–9006). Among the various iconographers who worked on the church's icons, Hadži Anagnost (1835), Dičo Zograf, and Josif Radevič are known to us.
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