THE TEMPLE OF ST. GABRIEL THE ARCHANGEL – Obilićevo

THE TEMPLE OF ST. GABRIEL THE ARCHANGEL – Obilićevo

The village Josefsdorf was found on March, 31st 1753. by the last south street of Kanjiža (today it is Novi Kneževac). The citizens were Serbian border soldiers from Kanjiža, Martonoš, Reska, Segedin, Čanada and Nađlaka. The village got its name by the oldest son of Empress Maria Theresia, later her co-reign and future Emperor Josif II. The Serbian border soldiers after they finish their work in army and when they came to Banat, they were named the ground police and were very respected and lived the life full of privilege. The first church, Jozepovčans (as the Serbs called them) started to built in 1756. According to the description of the general visit from Temišvar eparchy on the leadership of Arsenije Radivojević in 1758., it can be seen that the first church was made by earth bricks with two doors and two windows covered with reed and separate wooden belfry. It was dedicated to St. Archangel Mihajlo and it belonged to Novi Bečej rectory. The first priest was Dimitrije Popović. At the end of XVIII century the old church, because it became too small as the number of believers was growing, so the Jozepovčans decided to built new and bigger one in the church yard. The new church was built while the priest was Jovan Mioković in 1791. The second church was made of oak wood with the tower of bricks, and the roof was covered by shingle. It was dedicated to St. Archangel Mihajlo. In the first decades of XIX century was often renovated. When the priest Petar Petrović came, in 1831., on the head of the rectory, it was decided to built the new, big church of the solid material. The money was gathered by the benefactors, church land was sold and the material for the building was bought. The house with the big garden was also bought for the priest. The revolution in 1848., for short stopped the building, because the church safe with 2500 silver dinars was moved to Šišatovac and later returned. During the revolution the church had smaller damages. Benefactor charity was announced in 1851. and the base for the third church was put on April, 16th 1851. The church was finished in 1853. In the church were put 300.000 bricks and 25.000 tiles. Jozepovčans built their church on the model of Bašaid church. Because of the lack of the money in the church safe, the painting of iconostasis waited for almost two decades. On August, 29th 1871. the contract was signed with Nikola Mitrović to “decorate four church vaults with historical paintings and iconostasis for 4000 forints.” Again because of the lack of the money Nikola Mitrović was paied on installments and he finished only the socle and two lower iconostasis zones until September 1875. Again the decades passed by until the money was gathered so when the priest was Joakim Suvajdžić on June, 4th 1912. made a contract with Anastas Bocarić to do the upper zones of iconostasis, to paint twelve new icons and to repair seven old for 2000 crowns. Its today look the church got in 1928., when Aleksandar Jenovac did the vault painting. As the architecture is concerned, the church in Obilićevo was built, as many churches in Banat in the middle of XIX century, in non-cleaned baroque – classical style. The church is in the base one nave building oriented from east to west. Dimensions of the church are: length 32m, wide 12,5m and the height of the tower of 41m. The church was vaulted by half – circled vaults and covered by two – drain roofs. The west portal: in front the west façade is the entrance terrace. On the right and left of the door there are two pillars on each side. Beside them, on facade are two and two on each side pilasters. Above the architrave is the frieze decorated with four curved lines which are put above the centre of the capitol of every pillar. The kettledrum is decorated with the only one central motif the God`s Eye and is made in the shallow relief. On the left and right side of the pilasters is one arch niche with profiled archivolts. The upper parts of niches are decorated by the motif of palmeta ornament made in a shallow relief. In the south niche is the icon of St. Archangel Gavrilo. The side, north and south wall of the church are identical. The side doors are flanked with two half- pillars each. The walls are vertically divided with two arch like put niches each. In the niches are windows which also end in arch. Horizontally the facade is divided by frieze with curves. Above the frieze is profiled roof wreath. The church has 12 arched windows of stained glass with 35 facets each. The decoration is the Cross of yellow glass with 11 facets. Seven windows above the archivolts are decorated by styled vegetable ornaments of olive leaves made in a shallow relief. On the east is apse vaulted with celotts and horizontally divided with cordon wreath. On the west above the parvis is the belfry and four arch windows flanked with two pilasters, which end in volutes. Above them are four watches. Under the cupola is profiled wreath. The cupola of the tower is decorated by crossed olive branches. On the upper part of cupola are four arch windows, and on the top are apple and the cross. The interior of the church is architectonically simple. Half circled ribbed like vault has five arches: the west one divides by arch framed parvis where the choir is, and on the east is leaned apse. On the left side in altar is sacrificial altar pulled into the wall, and on the right the deaconship also pulled into the wall. The main decoration in the temple is the altar partition. According to architecture structure the iconostasis is in baroque – classical style. The curving is the work of experienced craft – workshops and was made in two time periods. The socle, first and second zone in one period, while the upper zone was made later. The iconostasis is vertically separated by a row of pillars made in classical style. On horizontal it is smashed by cordon wreaths and divided into three zones. The pillars above the base have palmets, and composite capitols are decorated by acanthus leaves and volutes. On the central and side gates there is net curved structure filled with floral ornaments made of styled oak leaves and roses which go out of vases and circle it. The carvings around the icons and medallions are decorated by baroque vegetative ornaments: grain spikes, rose wreaths, grapevine and grapes, oak leaves with acorns and olive branches. Side, upper parts of the iconostasis are connected with rose wreaths.

Karađorđeva 47, Obilićevo
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