Page 65 - Kosovo Metohija Heritage

for the writer Teodosije to come from the parent broth- erhood to celebrate the Koriša hermit in his Life of the Saint and in a special liturgical service. This was an act required to introduce new personages into the order of sainthood.
The new structure in Koriša was of a simple oblong shape but its eastern side along the steep rocky incline had to be given very tall supporting pillars connected by arch- es. This was an isolated instance in early Serbian archi- tecture. it is possible that this unique structure was in- spired by the experiences of the athonite builders who frequently buttressed their edifices above a rocky coast in a similar manner. it may well be that this was the idea of Grigorije who perhaps brought the skilled craftsmen from athos to Koriša for this purpose. Further westward, monastic cells were added which expanded the hermit- age but their appearance and all the forms of the church and other structures at the eastern end cannot now be envisaged from the ruins.
The chapel near the cell was also painted with frescos. The scenes that have been left of the life of Christ and the Mother of God (Lazarus’ Resurrection, the annunciation of anne, the Nativity and the Presentation of the Mother of God) reflect the characteristics of the first half of the 14th century.
in spreading the cult of Peter the Hermit, Brother Gri- gorije built a church dedicated to him in the village of Koriša itself. He had it decorated with wall-paintings and supplied it with all necessities including a library. Some- what later, in 1343, while making ready to start building the large monastery of the Holy archangels which he or- dained as his tomb—also near Prizren—King Stefan Du- šan appointed jakov as its first hegoumenos jakov was a highly educated and capable person who later become the Metropolitan of Serres. in order to help him carrying out his considerable duties and supervising the construc- tion work, the King granted him St. Peter’s church in the village as his seat and gave the aged Grigorije the old shrine of Peter of Koriša as his personal property.
The later lives of the monks in this hermitage follow- ing the lofty example if its founder left no significant trac- es, though a number of shrines were established prior to the fall of the Prizren region to Ottoman rule in 1455. They are known to us today mainly as ruins, as is the cell itself which survived the next two or three centuries. We know from a document written in 1572 that the monks transferred the bones of St. Peter to the Crna Reka Mon- astery which was hidden from sight and therefore less like- ly to suffer Ottoman violence.
The Sacred Land: Art of Kosovo,
The Monacelli Press 1997, pp. 16–90.
Hermitage of Saint Peter of Koriša, reconstruction
The Church of Saint Peter of Koriša
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