L’église de Saint-Jean le Théologien de Léros (Dodécanèse) et la dédicace de l’évêque Nikolaos

Abstract

St. John the Theologian at Lakki, Leros, is a three-aisled domed basilica with traces of several building phases and repairs. The restoration of the church has revealed important elements of its history. The foundations of the original timber- roofed basilica with a narthex were laid on the soft bedrock of the area. The colonnades dividing the aisles incorporated dissimilar columns and capitals, reworked for aesthetic reasons at one of the later stages of intervention; their original provenance is unclear. The church had a synthronon and arched windows. The masonry was irregular, with a light coating of plaster interrupted in places to expose courses of brick on both sides of the wall and the arches of the openings; such was the original decoration of the monument. The plaster was divided into zones decorated with incisions. Its large size, in conjunction with the terracotta decoration, indicates that is was probably an episcopal church, a possibility also supported by the inscription on the marble lintel originally placed over the central west door. This inscription dates from the earliest phase of the building and mentions the year 1082 and the name of a bishop Nicholas as founder. During the first decades of the 13th century, perhaps after an earthquake, the church acquired a cross-vaulted roof with a dome. The facade was remodelled according to the dominant trend of the period. The apse to the left of the sanctuary (prothesis) was rebuilt without the brick courses, and the outside of the building was decorated with chevron patterns. The windows were blocked and the interior was covered with murals, taking advantage of the increased surface made available for painting. Judging from the north aisle—dedicated to the Blessed Christodoulos, the founder of the Patmos Monastery—the painting programme was of special character. The style of the murals, dating from the first half of the 13th century, recalls monuments of Rhodes, such as St. Michael at Thari and St. Phanourios in the medieval town, which possibly reflect the art of the Byzantine empire of Nicaea. The third important modification of the church, dating from the post-Byzantine period, involved the walling of both colonnades, the blocking of three out of the four windows of the dome and the construction of a wall dividing the sanctuary from the nave. At this time the murals were badly damaged, since a pale plaster coating covered much of the interior.