The staurotheke of the church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Ras, Serbia. A contribution to research

Abstract

The subject of this paper is the staurotheke which is now kept in the treasury of the Dominican monastery in Dubrovnik, Croatia. It originally belonged to the church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Ras, Serbia, to which it had been donated jointly by the Serbian King Stefan Uros II Milutin and Bishop Gregory II of Raska (Rascia). The staurotheke in the shape of a double-armed cross is engraved with illuminating donor inscriptions on the front and back of the handle anda poetical epigram on the sides of the cross. Based on the palaeographical features of the inscriptions and the style of gold work, it has been established that the staurotheke was thoroughly renovated in the mid-sixteenth century but that the content of the inscriptions was faithfully copied from the original. The meaning and function of the staurotheke are discussed in the broader context of the cult of the True Cross in medieval Serbia.