Church of the Panagia and Christ the Savior, Roustika (Rethymnon), Crete

The twin basilica churches dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin and the Transfiguration of Christ are located in the center of the village of Roustika in the Rethymnon province. Dated by inscription to 1390-91, only the northern church, the one dedicated to the Panagia retains its paintings in good condition. Each of the two churches has a pointed barrel vault interior and a saddle roof exterior. Two later archways, one in the nave and one in the sanctuary, connect the two churches from the inside. Incorporated at an unknown date, these two internal archways damaged several of the surrounding paintings. Each church is divided into three bays by the addition of two transverse arches. The sanctuary of the Church of the Panagia, divided today by a modern wooden iconostasis, is decorated with a badly damaged image of the Virgin Platytera with an image of the Holy Trinity in the form of the Throne of Mercy in the triumphal arch. Below the Holy Trinity are the Virgin and the Archangel Gabriel forming the Annunciation. The apse is decorated with six co-officiating bishops including St. Nicholas, St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil, St. John Eleëmon (the Almsgiver), and St. Gregory of Nazianzus. The figures along the southern wall are damaged but St. Eleutherius, St. Sophronius of Jerusalem, and the bust of St. Eytychius of Constantinople are preserved along the northern wall. The barrel vault of the sanctuary includes scenes from the Life of Christ including the Ascension, the Anastasis, the Incredulity of Thomas, and the Empty Sepulcher (along the northern half), and Christ appearing to the Apostles, the Raising of Lazarus, and the Entry into Jerusalem (on the southern half). Below these scenes are additional scenes from the Life of the Virgin including the Prayer of St. Anne, the Annunciation to Joachim, and the Meeting of Joachim and Anne. The archways which divide the church into three bays are painted with the Prophets David, Solomon, Jonah and Isaiah on the eastern arch, and St. Barbara, St. Catherine, St. Marina, St. Anastasia, St. Irene, and St. Paraskevi on the western arch. The middle bay of the church holds 24 small scenes divided into a grid pattern on both the northern and southern parts of the vault. These scenes relate to the 24 stanzas of the Akathistos, a hymn dedicated to the Virgin. Each scene is related to the life of the Virgin and the early life of Christ. Below these scenes on the northern wall is the church's dedicatory inscription above a window. The inscription notes that the church was built and decorated through the efforts of Georgios V(la)tas and his wife in the Byzantine year 6899 (1390-91). On either side of the window are the heavily damaged images of St. Photini and St. Leontius. The only standing saints remaining below the southern wall are St. Onouphrius and another unidentified saint. The vault of the western bay includes additional scenes from the Life of Christ including the Betrayal of Judas, the Helkomenos, the Crucifixion, and the Deposition from the Cross. Below these scenes are images from the Last Judgment including an image of Paradise, on the southern wall, and scenes of the Sea and the Land giving up their Dead on the northern wall. The gallery of saints in the western bay includes, on the southern wall, the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, and on the northern wall three military saints on horseback: St. George, St. Theodore Stratelates, and St. Demetrios. The western wall, although heavily damaged, is decorated with some remaining figures from the Apostles Tribunal, a scene from the Last Judgment. To the left of the entrance is the figure of St. Constantine (St. Helena's image has since been destroyed), and on the right are scenes from Hell including some figures of the Damned.