UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE

THE TREE OF LIFE FRESCO AT 

ŽEHRA

My picture made it to the COVER of Enviromagazin Volume 3, December 1998

The most valuable fresco of The Church of the Holy Spirit is the Tree of Life. It was discovered under layer of frescoes, painted at a later date, during the restoration process. The tree of life is a tree from Eden that grows through the history and turns into a form of the cross of the New Testament. This cross separates the history of life to Old and New Testament. The Old Testament is on the right side symbolized by a woman sitting on a donkey. The figure is called Synagogue representative of the Old Testament. She is carrying with her the signs of the end, holding a broken flag in her hand, being stabbed to her head with a sword and blindfolded. In her other hand she is holding a symbol of sacrifice for the sins in the Old testament, the head of a donkey. The donkey she is sitting on has cut neck and front knees. On the other side of the cross is the New Testament. It is symbolized by a queen's statute sitting on a four legged animal. She is called ecclesiastica-The Church. She is also holding a flag in her hand, but it isn't broken and is decorated on the top by a cross. She wears queens crown on her head. In her other hand she holds the symbol of sacrifice in the New Testament: chalice with holy water. The animal she is sitting on has four different heads and four different legs. Head of human, eagle, bull and a lion with matching legs. This animal is symbolizing the four evangelists: Matus, Marek, Lukas and Jan. The Christ on the cross is leaning towards the New Testament. On the top of the cross isn't the usual sign INRI but the is a word ADAM. It symbolizes the first Adam in Eden was disobedient of the Heavenly Father, the second Adam, Jesus Christ, obedient. On the left side of the sign Adam is a blessing hand of God blessing the New Testament. In the top left corner is a small house's gate, being opened by a hand with a key. It symbolizes the death and the resurrection of the Jesus. Jesus scarifies himself and opens the gate to heaven. In the bottom right corner is an arm with a hammer knocking on the gate of hell where the souls of justice from the Old Testament are waiting. They are waiting to be redeemed. In the bottom left corner is the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden by an angel with a sword. Further in the left are two trees and a bell tower of the original church at Žehra. At the bottom of the cross is Adam's scull and next to it is Adam and Eve taking the apple from the snake in Eden.

GO TO THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ŽEHRA

GO TO UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN SLOVAKIA

GO TO CATHOLIC CHURCHES

HAND EMBROIDERED VESTMENTS FROM SLOVAKIA 

Published in the Slovak Heritage Live newsletter Volume 3, No. 4, Winter 1995
Copyright © Vladimir Linder 1995 
3804 Yale Street, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5C 1P6

The above article may not be copied, reproduced, republished, or redistributed by any means including electronic, without the express written permission of Vladimir Linder. All rights reserved.