Church of the Holy Archangel Gabriel
Location: Valevac
Year of construction: foundation consecrated 1933.
The Church of St. Archangel Gabriel is located on the hill of Gorica, in the village of Valevac. It was built in 1933. In the church, there is an antimins consecrated in 1936 by Bishop Emilian of Timok.
In the churchyard, there is a covenant cross dedicated to the Holy 40 Martyrs of Sebaste (the Newlyweds), Holy Trinity, and Saint Archangel Michael, and it is protected by a construction made of blocks. In the churchyard, there is also a cross dedicated to St. Elijah.
Gallery
Architecture
The church is a simple longitudinal building. It was built of red brick and was not plastered. The roof is two-pitched, except for the bell tower, where it is four-pitched. There is a semicircular apse to the east, and above the entrance on the west side, a belfry rises from a massive square base.
Above the entrance door there is a blind niche with an icon of the patron saint of the temple made on sheet metal, which can be assumed to be the work of Priest Sima Žikić. Above it is a simple circular opening with lead sections behind which is a clock.
The only decorative elements on the facade are recessed blind niches and arches around the window openings – monoforas. In the lower zone, there are window openings – biforas, with the only colored element in the form of white pillars. The upper zones of the church are without openings and decorations, except for the cordon wreath that follows the arched openings of the biforas in the lower zone.
The interior of the church consists of three parts: the altar, the nave and the narthex, which has a staircase on the north side leading to the bell tower and the gallery, and on the right a baptistery.
The icons for the iconostasis in the church in Valevac are the work of a priest from Knjaževac, icon painter and painter Sima Žikić (1878-1964), who wrote his initials “S.Ž.” on the iconostasis. Based on the information left by priest Žikić, we learn that the icons were made in 1932. The iconostasis is divided into three zones.
Throne icons belong to the lowest zone, below which are parapet panels decorated with floral motifs, rendered in plastic and gilded with paint. In the row of throne icons, there are icons of Saint Archangel Gabriel, Saint Archdeacon Stephen on the north door, Saint Mother of God, Annunciation at the Royal doors, Jesus Christ, St. Archangel Michael on the south door and St. John the Baptist. In the second zone, there are scenes: Adoration of the Magi, Baptism of Christ, Last Supper, Resurrection and Transfiguration.
At the top of the iconostasis, in the highest third zone, there is the Crucifixion of Christ with accompanying icons of the Holy Mother of God and Saint John, which is placed above the icon of the Holy Trinity. North of the Crucifixion are icons of Saint Elijah and Saint Nicholas, and to the south Saint Demetrius and St. George.
The inside of the temple is plastered and painted in such a way as to create the impression of a horizontal division into three zones. The lowest zone of the window is marbled in grey tones, then the lower zones are painted in pinkish tones that create the impression of rectangular marble slabs. The vault of the church is painted blue and decorated with golden six-pointed stars. At the top of the conch apse is a representation of Saint Mother of God Hodegetria with Christ in her arms who blesses with her right hand and holds a sphere with her left.
On the vault in front of the altar, on the north and south sides, there are painted representations of the Evangelists with their symbols Saint Luke and Saint Mark, while on the vault, on the west side of the nave are Saint John and Saint Matthew.
The interior of the church is further divided by wide decorative strips with floral or cruciform motifs.
