From Russia with Love: The Journey of a 19th Century Silver Evangelion

Mara Verykokou

This post explores the complex trajectories of religious artefacts in motion, focusing on a Russian evangelion with an enamel and strass decorated cover that bears two dedicatory inscriptions: one by the donor, dated March 15, 1867, «Deisis of the servant of God Dimitrios. Evgenia, Joakim and the siblings. March 15th 1867- Δέησις τοῦ δούλου τοῦ Θεοῦ Δημητρίου. Εὐγενίας, Ἰωακεὶμ καὶ τῶν ἀδελφῶν. 1867 Μαρτίου 15», and another by the master metallurgist, «The present holy gospel was crafted by Konstantinos Ropalidou Kallipolitis – Τὸ παρὸν ἱερὸν Εὐαγγέλιο εἰργάσθη παρὰ τοῦ Κωνσταντίνου Ροπαλίδου Καλλιπολίτη». On the other side, next to the inscription with the name of the master metallurgist, there are three unidentified stamps, “14”, “KL” and a coat of arms. The evangelion reached Greece through the Greek Orthodox Community of Kallipolis (Gallipoli, modern Gelibolu, Turkey), a port town in Çanakkale Province of the Marmara Region, located at the entrance of the Dardanelles. Brought into focus during the RICONTRANS project (Visual Culture, Piety and Propaganda: Transfer and Reception of Russian Religious Art in the Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean, 16th–early 20th century), this object (Inventory no. 34159 in the Benaki Museum) highlights the intersections between Russian religious art and Greek Orthodox communities under Ottoman rule.

The object was first included at an exhibition in 1992, at the Megaron Athens Concert Hall, under the title“Russia 1850 – 1910: Images of an Era, Space and Morals – Ρωσία 1850-1910: Εικόνες μιας Εποχής, Χώρος και Ήθη“. Subsequently it was featured in the 2017 exhibition “Religious Art from Russia to Greece, 16th century to 19th century” at the Benaki Museum, curated by Yuliana Boycheva and Anastasia Drandaki.

Two intertwined journeys will be traced: that of displaced Greek communities from Asia Minor, Pontos, and Eastern Thrace, and that of the evangelion itself—an heirloom that eventually found a home in the Benaki Museum’s post-Byzantine ecclesiastical collection. Broader questions are raised: How did Greek Orthodox communities in Asia Minor acquire Russian religious art? Why would they acquire Russian art? Was it considered superior or was it a matter of changing tastes? And how were these heirlooms transferred to Greece during the turbulent years of 1923–1924?

The evangelion measures 38 × 27 cm. Its iconography is striking: the central medallion on one side depicts the Resurrection, surrounded by the four Evangelists in enamel, while the reverse features a cast silver-gilt scene of the Descent from the Cross. On the spine, the Archangel Michael appears holding a cross. The cover was most likely produced in Moscow, while the printed Greek text came from Venice (Boycheva & Drandaki 2017, p. 69-70) . (Fig. 1)

 

The specific object is an example of luxury ecclesiastical art. The use of painted enamel in a medallion decorated with strass is typical of the decoration in high- end Russian ecclesiastical objects and textiles from the 17th century onwards. The practice of acquiring a silver-gilt gospel cover from a Russian workshop was also quite common during the 18th and the 19th centuries (Boycheva & Drandaki 2017, p. 69-70). The number of similarly decorated  Russian gospel covers, as we will see later, and ecclesiastical objects and icons in collections in Greece, proves that Russian art was destined for the upper class and was preferred due to the artistic skills of Russian workshops (Tschesnokova in Boycheva & Drandaki 2017, p. 15-21).

The evangelion in question attracted attention less for its craftsmanship than for the circumstances of its arrival at the Benaki Museum. It was brought from the Greek community of Kallipolis (modern Gelibolu). Kallipolis was a Greek Orthodox bishopric during the entire Ottoman period, known from the early 20th century onwards as the Bishopric of Kallipolis and Madytos (Μητρόπολις Καλλιπόλεως και Μαδύτου) (Louizos 1956, p. 13). The city had four churches, the metropolitan cathedral of St. George, and the parish churches of St. Nicholas, St. Demetrius and the Dormition of the Virgin (Panagia). St. Nicholas was known for a wonderful iconostasis:  Ὁ Ἅγιος Νικόλαος, μὲ ἕνα θαυμάσιον τέμπλον ἐκ ξύλου καρυᾶς ἔργον μεγάλης τέχνης, ἔχον παραστάσεις καὶ σκηνὰς εἰς μὲν τὴν ἀριστερὰν πλευρὰν ἐκ τῆς Παλαιᾶς Διαθήκης, εἰς δὲ τὴν δεξιὰν ἐκ τῆς Νέας Διαθήκης, ἐκατέρωθέν καὶ ὑπεράνω τῆς ὡραίας πύλης τοὺς Δώδεκα Ἀποστόλους μετὰ τῆς εἰκόνός τοῦ Κυρίου. [St. Nicholas, with a marvelous iconostasis made of walnut wood, a work of great artistry, bearing depictions and scenes—on the left side from the Old Testament, on the right from the New Testament, and, on either side and above the Beautiful Gate, the Twelve Apostles together with the image of the Lord] (Louizos 1956, p. 17).

In 1914 Kallipolis had 14,000 inhabitants (7,500 Muslims, 3,500 Greek Orthodox, 2,000 Jews, and 1,000 Armenians) (Louizos 1956, p. 12). After the population exchange of 1923 between Greece and Turkey, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Kallipolitans settled in refugee settlements named “Nea Kallipolis” in Salonica, Giannitsa and Piraeus (Nikolopoulos 1965, p. 263) The evangelion entered the Benaki Museum between 1930 and 1931 together with hundreds of ecclesiastical heirlooms from Asia Minor that accompanied refugees during the population exchange.

This evangelion is not a unique case. Other Russian ecclesiastical artefacts followed similar paths—acquired by Greek Orthodox communities in Asia Minor and, after 1922, absorbed into Greek museums. In 1928, it was decided by the Refugees Fund that objects of artistic or archaeological value brought from Asia Minor would be distributed among large museums in Athens. Initially stored in large crates at the Academy of Athens, they were eventually divided between three institutions: the Byzantine and Christian Museum, the Benaki Museum, and the then Museum of Greek Folk Art (now Museum of Modern Greek Culture).

For instance, the Byzantine and Christian Museum preserves a noteworthy 19th century Russian evangelion (Κ. Πρ. 226, new inv. no. ΒΧΜ 17875), dedicated by Grand Duchess Elena Pavlova (née Princess Charlotte of Württemberg, 1807-1873), the wife of Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich, the youngest son of Paul I of Russia)  to the Archangel Monastery of Caesarea in 1849, which later entered its collection. This gospel was displayed in the 1982 exhibition, at the Byzantine and Christian Museum of Athens, dedicated to the relics of Asia Minor refugees (Ειδική Έκθεσις Κειμηλίων Προσφύγων, 1982). On one side it has the scene of the Resurrection with the four Evangelists on the four corners and, on the other, the engraved scenes of the Crucifixion, the Descent from the Cross and the Entombment (Fig. 2). Inside there is an inscription in Russian by the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna who dedicates the gospel to the Archangel Monastery of Caesarea, on December 25, 1849. The inscription reads:  «The Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna dedicates this gospel to the Archangels Monastery in Caesaria, December 25th 1849– Η Μεγάλη Δούκισσα Ελένη Παύλοβνα αφιερώνει το Ευαγγέλιον εις την Μονήν Αρχαγγέλων Καισαρείας, 25 Δεκεμβρίου 1849.»  (Ειδική Έκθεση Κειμηλίων Προσφύγων 1982, p. 52).

The RICONTRANS project has revealed yet more Russian-style gospels across Greece, in collections ranging from the Ecclesiastical Museum of Hydra and the Byzantine Museum of Mytilene, to the Holy Metropolis of Serres and Nigrita, the Evangelistria of Tinos, the Monastery of Mega Spilaio in Kalavryta, the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian in Patmos, as well as in the Patriarchal Sacristy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople.

Objects travelled from Russia to Greece in multiple ways: as imperial gifts, as private commissions by clergy or laymen, or as commodities circulating through trade networks across the Balkans. This post, however, examines a different trajectory—the journey of displaced people and the artefacts they carried from Asia Minor, Pontos and Eastern Thrace to Greece. At the same time, it considers how Russian works of art entered Greek museum collections.

The journey of this evangelion—from the workshops of Moscow and Venice, to the Greek community of Kallipolis, to Athens with the Asia Minor refugees, and finally into the Benaki Museum—illustrates how sacred objects can transcend their original liturgical use. They become heirlooms, carriers of memory, and eventually museum artefacts, embedded in scholarship and exhibitions. In telling its biography, not only the intertwined histories of objects and people are recovered but a larger truth is also confronted: that the displacement of communities leaves behind not silence, but a material testimony of faith, resilience, and cultural continuity.

References

Yuliana Boycheva and Anastasia Drandaki (eds.), Θρησκευτική τέχνη από τη Ρωσία στην Ελλάδα. 16ος– 19ος αιώνας [Religious Art. From Russia to Greece, 16th to 19th century], Benaki Museum and Institute for Mediterranean Studies, FORTH, Athens 2017.

Konstantinos Louizos, « Ιστορία Καλλιπόλεως Ανατολικής Θράκης » [History of Kallipolus of Eastern Thrace], Thrakika 25, 1956.

Panayotis Nikolopoulos, « Καλλίπολις » [Kallipolis], ΘΗΕ 7, 1965.

Ειδική Έκθεσις Κειμηλίων Προσφύγων, Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού και Επιστημών- Βυζαντινό και Χριστιανικό Μουσείο, [Special Exhibition of Refugee Relics, Ministry of Culture and Sciences – Byzantine and Christian Museum], Athens 1982.

Internet Sources

https://www.megaron.gr/event/rosia-1850-1910-eikones-mias-epochis-xoros-kai-hthi

https://isl.ics.forth.gr/synthesis_ricontrans

https://imhydra.gr/ekklisiastika-mouseia

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