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I was just wondering if anyone in this forum had any information on Belata Crkva in Ovcharani (Meliti). I visited the site last year during my visit in Aegean Macedonia. It is an important religious archeological site located in the village, many Macedonians from Aegean Macedonia know about it from the older generations who used to speak about it.
This is what I learned according to the locals in Ovcharani:
At one time it was a very important and holy church. This was a Macedonian church (Ohrid Archbishopric ?). For years nobody had known where it was located because it was destroyed by the Ottomans in the 1500s. Although nobody knew where it was located, they did know that it was located somewhere in Ovcharani and it was known by the village elders from legends passed down from earlier generations. Even my grandmother had once spoke about it.
FINALLY, in the early 1990s, a women in Ovcharani reported to have a dream where she was visited by the Virgin Mary who told her exactly where the church was located. She told the village authorities, they believed her and went to dig at that location. Well, praise the Lord, they found it. The village then called the authorities from the Greek Ministry of Culture and archeologists from Solun came and closed off the area. They excavated the church's foundations.
Now according to the Macedonian locals in Ovcharani, there were MANY icons and inscriptions found containing Slavonic script. The archeologists also discovered a mass grave of children, apparently massacred by the Ottomans upon their arrival in the 1400s. But every single archeological item was taken away to locations in Solun and Kozani. The village could not keep anything, and the request to build a museum was denied. Again, this is what the locals told me, and if anyone doesn't believe me, the next time you are in Aegean Macedonia I urge you to visit this site and ask the locals yourselves.
Also of interest, Belata Crkva is mentioned in Macedonian folk songs including "Egejska Maka":
Si prosheta, mila mamo, Lerinskite sela. Si zastanal vo Ovcharani, kaj Crkvata Bela, kaj Crvata Bela. Tamu si vidu Makedonci....
When I visited the complex, there was no one inside, usually there is a priest who will provide a tour. The complex is basically a church building built in the 1990s directly on top of the foundations of the original church. So when you step inside, there is no floor, but you can access the original foundations. Also the locals were right about the confiscated icons, because when you go inside, hanging on the walls are hundreds of new, plastic religious Greek icons. There are no ancient objects on display that were found at the site. The church was built before the 1400s. It is even mentioned in the Greek municipal website as "Μπέλα Τσρκφα" - "Bela Tsrkfa" (http://www.dimosmelitis.gr/index.php...d=17&Itemid=21).
I took pictures, here they are (2009):
Outside view of the new Church building:
Inside was incredible:
Like I mentioned, notice all of the new icons. Where are the icons that they found? Why aren't any of the findings on display?
Many Aegean Macedonians have come to visit the site and light a candle, because of the religious but also historical cultural significance that this place has, since many recall their grandparents talking about the famous Bela Crkva that had once existed.
This is what I learned according to the locals in Ovcharani:
At one time it was a very important and holy church. This was a Macedonian church (Ohrid Archbishopric ?). For years nobody had known where it was located because it was destroyed by the Ottomans in the 1500s. Although nobody knew where it was located, they did know that it was located somewhere in Ovcharani and it was known by the village elders from legends passed down from earlier generations. Even my grandmother had once spoke about it.
FINALLY, in the early 1990s, a women in Ovcharani reported to have a dream where she was visited by the Virgin Mary who told her exactly where the church was located. She told the village authorities, they believed her and went to dig at that location. Well, praise the Lord, they found it. The village then called the authorities from the Greek Ministry of Culture and archeologists from Solun came and closed off the area. They excavated the church's foundations.
Now according to the Macedonian locals in Ovcharani, there were MANY icons and inscriptions found containing Slavonic script. The archeologists also discovered a mass grave of children, apparently massacred by the Ottomans upon their arrival in the 1400s. But every single archeological item was taken away to locations in Solun and Kozani. The village could not keep anything, and the request to build a museum was denied. Again, this is what the locals told me, and if anyone doesn't believe me, the next time you are in Aegean Macedonia I urge you to visit this site and ask the locals yourselves.
Also of interest, Belata Crkva is mentioned in Macedonian folk songs including "Egejska Maka":
Si prosheta, mila mamo, Lerinskite sela. Si zastanal vo Ovcharani, kaj Crkvata Bela, kaj Crvata Bela. Tamu si vidu Makedonci....
When I visited the complex, there was no one inside, usually there is a priest who will provide a tour. The complex is basically a church building built in the 1990s directly on top of the foundations of the original church. So when you step inside, there is no floor, but you can access the original foundations. Also the locals were right about the confiscated icons, because when you go inside, hanging on the walls are hundreds of new, plastic religious Greek icons. There are no ancient objects on display that were found at the site. The church was built before the 1400s. It is even mentioned in the Greek municipal website as "Μπέλα Τσρκφα" - "Bela Tsrkfa" (http://www.dimosmelitis.gr/index.php...d=17&Itemid=21).
I took pictures, here they are (2009):
Outside view of the new Church building:
Inside was incredible:
Like I mentioned, notice all of the new icons. Where are the icons that they found? Why aren't any of the findings on display?
Many Aegean Macedonians have come to visit the site and light a candle, because of the religious but also historical cultural significance that this place has, since many recall their grandparents talking about the famous Bela Crkva that had once existed.
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