The Church of St. John in the village of Orljane

The Church of St. John, located in Orljane village, on the hill Komniga, bears another witness of strong Byzantine influence exerted upon the inhabitants of these areas during the reestablishment of power. A modest one-nave basilica is built of professionally well laid bricks, arranged in the Byzantine style. The outer lateral walls are decorated by shallow pilasters, while the apsidal ones are connected by arches made of radially arranged bricks. The simple flat surface of the western facade, with hardly noticeable corner pilasters, contains the entrance door, above which there is a double-layered niche. The interior is divided into three unequal traves by two pairs of pilasters. The pilasters are supporting the lateral leaned arches that bear the semi-cylindrical vault. This is the simplest form of a temple and it most resembles the contemporary churches from the Adriatic Coast, uncovering to us unexpected artistic courses.

The Church of St. John in the village of Orljane

Interior wall surfaces were frescoed, yet not simultaneously with the erection of the church, but much later, most probably in the 14th century, due to altered interrelations of Serbia and Byzantium. Three round medallions that have remained on the triumphal arch with the portraits of saints in the garments of archpriests, surrounded with floral ornaments and designed by old-Serbian writing, bear unambiguous witness to this. Expert drawings and skillfully combined colors point out an artist of a considerable culture in the field of fine arts.

The Church of St. John in the village of Orljane