Church of the Virgin Hodegetria, Mušutište

Church of Virgin Hodegetria before destruction.

The Church of Virgin Hodegetria (Serbian: Црква Богородице Одигитриjе, Albanian: Kisha e Virgjëreshës së Shenjtë në Hodegetri) was a 14th-century Serbian Orthodox church in Kosovo^[a] that was destroyed by Kosovar Albanian forces during the destruction of the Serbian part of Mušutište, after the end of the Kosovo war in 1999.^[1]

The church was built as a foundation by the court governor (kaznac) Jovan Dragoslav, in 1315, in Mušutište, near Suva Reka. The inscription at the entrance of the church was considered one of the oldest and most accomplished Serbian epigraphic texts of its kind. It was an inscribed-cross church with a semi-dome and a semi-round apse. The wall was built of alternating rows of bricks and stone cubes. The frescoes of the Mušutište School, related to the style of the Palaeologus era, were painted between 1316 and 1320 and were famed for their plasticity and the saints' typology were known as the best examples of Serbian art. In the altar area there was a unique portrait of the South-Slav educator, St Clement of Ohrid. In the north-western corner of the naos there were figures of holy women, the warrior saints Theodore Tyro and Theodore Stratelates, angels, and St Panteleimon. Two throne icons of Christ and The Holy Virgin dated back to the year 1603.

The church was inscribed in the list of the Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1990.

See also

• Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance
• Serbs in Kosovo

Notes

References

Sources

• Историјски часопис 44 (1997): Historical Review 44. Istorijski institut. 1 January 1998. pp. 370–. GGKEY:9A9KJ15QHZU. 
• "Црква Св. Богородице Одигитрије". Задужбина великог казнаца Јована Драгослава и његове породице налазила се изнад села Мушутишта, десетак километара југоисточно од Суве Реке. Саграђена је 1315. о чему је сведочио дугачак клесани натпис на надвратнику западног портала. Ктитор је један од првих српских велможа који је имао могућности да подигне тако велику цркву. Зидана је наизменичним редовима камена и опеке, док je полукружна олтарска апсида носила сложенију декорацију у комбинацији опеке и малтера. Основа је у облику уписаног крста са куполом која је почивала на четири слободна ступца. Сликарство је било сасвим фрагментарно сачувано: само четири архијереја насликаних у олтарском простору (укључујући једну од најстаријих представа св. Климента Охридског) и неколико појединачних фигура у северозападном углу наоса (свете жене, ратници Теодори Тирон и Стратилат, анђели и св. Пантелејмон) говорили су о великом умећу и образовању сликара. Фреске у Мушутишту, мада немају непосредних паралела, сврставане су међу најлепша остварења епохе краља Милутина. Иако њихов настанак није поменут у ктиторском натпису, претпоставља се да су изведене непосредно по завршетку градње, а најкасније до 1320. У цркви су чуване две престоне иконе из 1603. Храм је доживео обнову у другој половини XIX века. Конзерваторски радови нису извођени, а црква је срушена у лето 1999. 
• Задужбине Косова, споменице и значења српског народа, Призрен-Београд. Ljubljana: Дело. 1987. „Поче се и сазида се божански и свечасни храм Пречисте Владичице Наше Богородице Одигитрије из темеља, у дане превисокога краља Уроша, трудом и старањем великог казнаца Драгослава, са Јеленом супругом својом и Станишом, сином својим, и Аном, кћерју својом, године 7823, индикта 5.“ 

Coordinates: 42°16′55″N 20°53′38″E / 42.28194°N 20.89389°E / 42.28194; 20.89389

Cultural Heritage of Serbia
Archaeological sites	Exceptional Importance Great Importance Protected
Cultural Monuments	Exceptional Importance Great Importance Protected
Historic Landmarks	Exceptional Importance Great Importance Protected
Spatial Cultural-Historical Units	Exceptional Importance Great Importance Protected

Serbian Orthodox churches
Serbia	Church of Saint Sava St. Michael's Cathedral St. George, Banovo Brdo Ružica St. Mark's Church St. Basil of Ostrog St. Achillius, Arilje Peter's Church, Ras Cave Church, Lukovo Štava Church Odžaklija Kađenica Lazarica Church Church of St. George, Lukovo Church of Holy Ascension, Krupanj Saint George's Cathedral (Novi Sad) the Assumption, Zrenjanin Our Lady of Ljeviš* Church of the Virgin Hodegetria* Church of St. Elijah, Podujevo* Church of St. Nicholas, Prizren* Mala Gospojina Church* Christ the Saviour Cathedral, Pristina*
Montenegro	Cathedral of Podgorica Vlah Church
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Sarajevo Old Orthodox Church in Sarajevo Church of the Holy Transfiguration, Sarajevo Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Banja Luka Church of St. George, Sopotnica Church of St. Nikola, Dobrelja Old Church of St. Nicholas, Javorani
Croatia	Church of the Holy Venerable Mother Parascheva Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord, Trpinja Church of St. Nicholas, Vukovar Church of Pentecost, Vinkovci Church of St. George, Kneževo Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, Negoslavci Church of Pentecost, Markušica Church of St. George, Bobota Church of St. Stephen, Borovo Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, Srijemske Laze Church of St. Peter and Paul, Bolman Church of St. Stefan Štiljanović, Karanac Church of St. Nicholas, Mirkovci Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, Gaboš Church of St. Nicholas, Jagodnjak Church of St. Demetrius, Dalj Serbian Orthodox Cathedral, Zagreb Church of St. George, Grubišno Polje Church of St. Nicholas, Karlovac Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, Drežnica Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, Štikada Church of St. George, Varaždin Church of the Holy Annunciation, Dubrovnik Orthodox Church in Knin Church of St. Peter and Paul, Tepljuh St. Spyridon Church, Peroj Church of St. Nicholas, Rijeka Church of St. Nicholas, Vrlika Orthodox church of Holy Salvation, Cetina
United Kingdom	Church of St Sava, Notting Hill, London Church of the Holy Prince Lazar, Birmingham Serbian Orthodox Church, Halifax St. Nicholas, West Wycombe
United States	Sts. Constantine and Helen Serbian Orthodox Church, USA Trinity Chapel Complex, USA Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church (Jackson, California), USA Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church (Merrillville, Indiana), USA St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), USA
Other countries	St. Archangel Michael Serbian Orthodox Church (Toronto), Canada Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church, Slovenia Serbian Church in Arad, Romania St. Sava Church, Paris, France Saint Spyridon Church, Trieste, Italy Annunciation Church, Szentendre, Hungary Transfiguration Church, Szentendre, Hungary Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, Stockholm, Sweden
Notes	* indicate churches in Kosovo, which is the subject of a territorial dispute between Serbia and Kosovo.