A contribution to the study of Russian themes In the wall paintings of the outer narthex of Gračanica Monastery

This paper examines Russian iconographic themes in the wall paintings of the outer narthex of the Monastery of Gračanica, with particular emphasis on the representations of the Protection of the Mother of God (Pokrov) and the hymn "In Thee Rejoices." Proceeding from the place and function of the narthex and exonarthex in Serbian medieval architecture, the study highlights the specific features of the Gračanica decorative program, shaped by architectural solutions, the liturgical function of the space, and the cathedral character of the church dedicated to the Mother of God. The analysis of two sixteenth-century painting layers, created during the tenure of Metropolitan Nikanor and Patriarch Makarije Sokolović, is considered in connection with the activity of the Peć painting workshop and within the broader context of the restoration of the Patriarchate of Peć. Particular attention is devoted to the western section of the exonarthex, where themes of Russian origin are illustrated: the Protection of the Mother of God and the hymn "In Thee Rejoices," most likely adopted from Russian icons that reached Serbia as gifts from the Muscovite court during the reign of Tsar Ivan IV ("Ivan the Terrible"). The study analyzes the iconographic structure of these compositions, their theological foundations, and their relationship to liturgical and hymnographic traditions, as well as their integration into the existing decorative program of the narthex. Special emphasis is placed on the fact that the developed Muscovite type of the Pokrov is depicted in Gračanica, which excludes the possibility of its fourteenth-century origin and confirms direct Russian influences from the sixteenth century. The research demonstrates that the inclusion of these themes was not incidental, but rather formed part of a carefully conceived programmatic whole which, under Ottoman rule, underscored the idea of the Mother of God's patronage and spiritual protection over the people. In this way, the wall paintings of the Gračanica exonarthex constitute compelling testimony to the strong cultural and spiritual ties between the Serbian and Russian Churches, as well as an expression of renewed historical and theological continuity during the period of the restoration of the Patriarchate of Peć.