St Stephanos Church is one of two
churches in the Keslik Monastery, located in Cappadocia (central Turkey). This
monastery is not that well known, it is not one of the most famous monasteries
in the area; however, it does maintain an Orthodox Cappadocian beauty and
mystery, evident in all the Churches and monasteries in Cappadocia.
In St Stephanos Church one may
see the dominance of the cross, a theme prevalent in most churches in this
area. The colours used are not widely used today in the Orthodox Churches (such
as the colour yellow, instead of gold, which is used today), showing a unique
iconographic tradition and understanding of a different place and a different
era.
Another feature, which is alien
to many Orthodox countries and not practiced in our current epoch, is the
existence of graves within the church itself. This is practiced in the West.
However, the east did not widely practice this. In Cappadocia, however, it is
the case, prevailing in most monastic communities. This shows that the local
Church was the centre of a person’s life and death.
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