Iconostasis of the Cathedral of Hajdúdorog
Largest Greek Catholic icon screen in Hungary / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The iconostasis of the Cathedral of Hajdúdorog is the largest Greek Catholic icon screen in Hungary. It is 11 m (36 ft.) tall and 7 m (23 ft.) wide, holding 54 icons on five tiers. Creating such a monumental work of art requires a number of different craftsmen. Miklós Jankovits was hired by the Greek Catholic parish of Hajdúdorog in 1799 to carve the wooden framework, including the doors and the icon frames of the iconostasis. Mátyás Hittner and János Szűts could only start the painting and gilding works in 1808. The last icon was completed in 1816.
The icons were painted clearly in Western style, quite unusual in Eastern rite churches. Instead of the traditional Byzantine iconographic depiction, the painters used the deep, rich colors, the intense light and dark shadows, and the eventful and realistic portrayal of late Baroque painting. The exact reason for turning towards the Western style is still disputed. However, Greek Catholicism by nature is closer to the Latin Rite, especially in 19th-century Hungary, where most of the population was Latin Catholic. Thus Western art and probably the Catholic rulers of the country, the Habsburgs, influenced the painters and the parish too.
While the structure of the iconostasis is based on Slavic tradition, it also displays a number of differences. Given Hungary's Latin Catholic majority, the artists who decorated Eastern rite churches usually either copied the style of a church in an Orthodox country or came from an Orthodox country themselves. Jankovits had Greek ancestors, but his icon screens were considered the only works with a style typical of Hungary. He combined several different styles. Rich, gilded ornaments, Zopf shapes of rose heads, tulips and Acanthus leaves characterize his work. Jankovits usually carved figures of animals on the top of the Royal Doors, clearly marking his style. In Hajdúdorog he added two ravens.
Another important difference is that the icons do not start from the floor level. Altarpieces, that were not part of the original structure, stand between the holy doors instead. And the lifelike portraits typical of Western style are seldom found on Eastern icon screens.
The iconostasis frames were slightly altered before the icons were completed. A local craftsman probably added the altarpieces between the doors. The icon screen underwent four renovations. The first affected only the so-called "Sovereign tier" in 1868. A few years later, in the 1870s the entire work was renovated by György Révész and his team. In the years preceding the 1938 34th Eucharistic Congress in Budapest, the Catholic Church undertook renovation work in churches throughout the country. In 1937 the iconostasis of Hajdúdorog was re-painted in a rather low artistic quality. Györgyi Károlyi and Csongor Bedő completed the latest renovation in 2002, restoring the original colors and compositions as far as they possibly could.