Early

The exact date of founding is unknown; it is mentioned in the 9th century as the seat of the eparchy of Serbia (see Eparchy of Ras). Excavations on the site have unearthed Greek sculptures and Black-figure pottery dating to 7th and 6th century BC, as well as a 5th-century BC princely grave (with regalia, robes, gold-silver jewelry, masks, beads and Attic pottery), underneath the floor of the church in 1957–58.^[2][3] The findings are presently at the National Museum of Serbia, in Belgrade. Roman, Byzantine and medieval Slavic tombs surround the church.^[3]

The present church has been built on several earlier churches of which remains have been well preserved. The foundation of the church, the massive columns, ground-plan and the octagonal tower which conceals an inner cupola are examples of the circular mausoleal architectural type used after Emperor Constantine (306–312).^[1]

Archaeological findings point that the church has been rebuilt several times in history, beginning in the 4th century, with notable additions made in the 7th century. The architectural style resembles that of early churches in Pomorje, Armenia, Georgia, and Italy, dated to between the 7th and 9th centuries. Whether there was a Byzantine sanctuary on the site of the church is a matter of scholarly dispute and that "traces of Early Byzantine architecture or traces from that epoch in general, were not recorded around Petrova crkva".^[4]

Middle Ages

The Church and old graveyard.

The Church

The Eparchy of Ras was founded near the political center at Ras, today near city of Novi Pazar on the Ibar river.^[5] Ras itself originates from Latin Arsa via metathesis.^[6][7]

The foundation of the episcopy which centre was this church can be dated to the first half of the 10th century.^[8] The imperial charter of Basil II from 1020 to the Archbishopric of Ohrid, in which the rights and jurisdictions were established, mentions that the Episcopy of Ras belonged to the Bulgarian autocephal church during the time of Peter I (927–969) and Samuel of Bulgaria (977–1014).^[9][10] The episcopy was of a small size.^[8] It is considered that it was possibly founded by the Bulgarian emperor,^[11][12] or it is the latest date when could have been integrated to the Bulgarian Church.^[13] If previously existed, it probably was part of the Bulgarian metropolis of Morava, but certainly not of Durrës.^[14] If it was on the Serbian territory, seems that the Church in Serbia or part of the territory of Serbia became linked and influenced by the Bulgarian Church between 870 and 924.^[15][16][17] Anyway, the church would have been protected by Bulgarian controlled forts.^[18]

By the mid-12th century, after constant conflicts between the Bulgarians, Byzantines and Serbs, the area of Ras was finally conquered and controlled by the Serbs, who greatly renovated it hence becoming centre of defence and residency for the Serbian Principality.^[19] Sometime before 1163, Stefan Nemanja, then only a Župan, was baptized in the church. In 1166, Stefan Nemanja acquired the throne of Serbia with the title of Grand Župan. He was married in the church (to Ana); their two sons, Rastko (later known as Saint Sava; l. 1175–1235), and Stefan Nemanjić, were baptized in the church. Stefan Nemanja held the council that outlawed the Bogumils at the church.^[1]

Rastko left Serbia in 1192 for Mount Athos, where he took monastic vows and was given the name Sava.^[20][21] Stefan Nemanja abdicated in 1195, crowning Stefan Nemanjić (r. 1196–1228) at the Church of Peter, then joined his son Sava on Mount Athos. The father and son soon asked the Holy Community for the establishment of the Serbian religious base at the abandoned Hilandar, which they renovated, marking the beginning of cultural prospering (in arts; literature, and religion).

The ancient cell of Helandaris was donated by Emperor Alexios III Angelos (1195-1203) "to the Serbs as an eternal gift..." and Stefan Nemanja establishes and endows the monastery in 1198 (before 13 February 1199).^[22]

Nemanja died at Hilandar in 1199, while Sava continued his work in establishing the Serbian church.^[20] Henceforth, the Church of Peter ends its service as the seat of the Serbian church. Sava crowned his brother Stefan as "King of Serbia" in 1217. Upon returning to Mount Athos, Sava is consecrated as the first Archbishop of the Serbian church, given autocephaly by Patriarch Manuel I of Constantinople, in 1219, the same year he published the first constitution in Serbia – St. Sava's Nomocanon (Zakonopravilo in Serbian).^[23][24] After the Nemanjić era, not much is mentioned about the church. The church frescoes date to the 10th, 12th and 13th centuries, while some frescoes were repainted in the mid-13th century.^[3]

Panorama picture of the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.

Early modern

After the Ottoman conquest in 1455, the church was not abandoned and is referenced throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1690, the Church is abandoned and the region is largely depopulated amid Ottoman atrocities in Kosovo, amid the Great Turkish War in which Serb rebels fought on the side of the Holy League. Patriarch Arsenije III Čarnojević leads tens of thousands of Serb families to the Christian north.

Metropolitan Arsenije IV Jovanović Šakabenta restored the church in 1728. During the 18th century, the church had the rank of Metropolitanate, and after 1784, the Eparchy of Raška is organized into the Eparchy of Prizren. In the 1830s, the church is built on and restored. Shortly thereafter, the Ottomans took over the church and use it as an ammunition magazine. Since the First Balkan War (1912), it has been a functioning church.

Contemporary

Conservatory work was done in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The Stari Ras-complex, including the church and Sopoćani, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, the church itself was included due to its uniqueness as one of the oldest churches in the region. It is designated a Cultural Heritage Site of Serbia (the national heritage list), of the Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance type.

The church's walls were defaced with graffiti on 6 April 2008. The police have not officially concluded who perpetrated the act or why.^[25]

Sources

• Bulić, Dejan (2013). "The Fortifications of the Late Antiquity and the Early Byzantine Period on the Later Territory of the South-Slavic Principalities, and their re-occupation". The World of the Slavs: Studies of the East, West and South Slavs: Civitas, Oppidas, Villas and Archeological Evidence (7th to 11th Centuries AD). Istorijski institut SANU. pp. 137–234. ISBN 9788677431044.
• Ćirković, Sima (2004). The Serbs. Malden: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 9781405142915.
• Mrkobrad, D. "Ras-Postenje, researches of the space north from the central gate on the northeastern wall", Glasnik Srpskog arheološkog društva, no. 13, 1997.
• Александар Дероко, „Монументална и декоративна архитектура у средњовековној Србији“ Београд 1985.
• Јован Деретић, „Културна историја Срба“, Крагујевац 2001; ISBN 86-7247-009-5
• Више аутора, "Нови Пазар и околина", Београд, 1969.
• Шишић, Фердо, ed. (1928). Летопис Попа Дукљанина (Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja). Београд-Загреб: Српска краљевска академија.
• Кунчер, Драгана (2009). Gesta Regum Sclavorum. Vol. 1. Београд-Никшић: Историјски институт, Манастир Острог.
• Живковић, Тибор (2009). Gesta Regum Sclavorum. Vol. 2. Београд-Никшић: Историјски институт, Манастир Острог.
• Kalić, Jovanka (2017). "The First Coronation Churches of Medieval Serbia". Balcanica (48): 7–18. doi:10.2298/BALC1748007K.
• Komatina, Ivana (2016). Црква и држава у српским земљама од XI до XIII века [Church and State in the Serbian Lands from the XIth to the XIIIth Century]. Београд: Institute of History. ISBN 9788677431136.
• Komatina, Predrag (2015). "The Church in Serbia at the Time of Cyrilo-Methodian Mission in Moravia". Cyril and Methodius: Byzantium and the World of the Slavs. Thessaloniki: Dimos. pp. 711–718.
• Popović, Marko (1999). Tvrđava Ras [The Fortress of Ras] (in Serbian). Belgrade: Archaeological Institute. ISBN 9788680093147.
• Špehar, Perica N. (2010). "By Their Fruit you will recognize them - Christianization of Serbia in Middle Ages". Tak więc po owocach poznacie ich. Poznań: Stowarzyszenie naukowe archeologów Polskich. pp. 203–220.
• Špehar, Perica N. (2019). "Reocupation of the Late Antique Fortifications on the central Balkans during the Early Middle Ages". Fortifications, Defence Systems, Structures, and Features in the Past. Zagreb: Institute of Archaeology.
• Vlasto, Alexis P. (1970). The entry of the Slavs into Christendom. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521074599.
• Živković, Tibor (2013a). "On the Baptism of the Serbs and Croats in the Time of Basil I (867–886)" (PDF). Studia Slavica et Balcanica Petropolitana (1): 33–53.