TOKALI KİLİSESİNİN GÖZDEN GEÇİRİLMESİ: YENİ KİLİSEDE

İSA’NIN VAİZLİK DÖNGÜSÜ ÜZERİNE YENİ DÜŞÜNCELER

TOKALI KILISE REVISITED: NEW CONSIDERATIONS ON
CHRIST’S MINISTRY CYCLE IN THE NEW CHURCH

Catherine JOLIVET-LEVY*

ÖZET
Tokalı Kilisesinin yeni bir yaşam alanına dönüştürülmesi hususun-
da yapılması gereken ilk şey ikonların ve efsanelerin seçimidir. İn-
sanın ötesinde mucizevi birisi, Tanrı tarafından gönderilen çift başlı
Jerus’un, inanç için 10. yüzyılda Hristiyan olmayanlarla mücadelele-
rine bakılması, onlardan çıkarımlar elde edilmesi gerekmektedir. Bu
doğa dışı akım, mezhep olayları, zamanın doğasına, Tanrı için bir
inkar sapkınlığı içinde ele almaya kadar gidiyor. Ayrıca, Tokalı Kili-
sesinin dekor özellikleri Aziz Basil döngüsünde kompozisyon olarak
onaylamamızı gerektiriyor.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Tokalı kilisesi,Dekor, Nevsehir.

ABSTRACT
The first thing that should be done for turning the Tokalı Church
into a new living space is the selection of icons and legends. It is
necessary to take into consideration double-headed Jerus’, who is
a supernatural one beyond man and who is sent by God, struggles
for faith against non-Christians in the 10th century. This unnatural
trend goes down to approach the sect incidents within time, nature
and even denial of God. Furthermore, the design characteristics of
the Tokalı Church require us to accept it as a composition with in
St. Basil’s Cycle.
Key Words: The Tokalı Church, Decoration, Nevsehir.

* Ecoles Pratique des Hautes Etudes (Sorbonne)-Paris, e-mail: catjolivet@yahoo.fr

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It is not necessary to introduce here Tokalı kilise, which is not only one
of the best known and remarkable monuments in Cappadocia1 but also
one that ranks among the finest in the entire Byzantine world. Everyone
knows the sophistication of the structure, the quality and the ambitious
nature of the paintings, which left a lasting and tangible mark, symbo-
lizing the power and prestige of the patrons who commissioned them
(Fig. 1). In accordance with Guillaume de Jerphanion, Nicole Thierry, Ann
Wharton Epstein and others2, I agree with a dating of the New Church’s
paintings around the middle of the tenth century, despite the tentative
attribution to the 13th century by German scholars (Marcell Restle, Han-
na Wiemer-Enis, Rainer Warland)3.
Within the allotted time, I shall limit myself to some observations on the
cycle of Christ’s public life depicted in the New Church. The iconograp-
hic programme of the nave is largely devoted to a Christological cycle,
which, compared to the traditional “Archaic” programme, introduces
several innovations (Fig. 2). The development of the Ministry cycle, nar-
rated in a continuous frieze along the north, east and south walls of
the nave, represents one such innovation, as all the scholars, starting
with Jerphanion, have already noted; during this period, this sequen-
ce is usually much more restricted, in Cappadocia4 as in the Byzantine
churches of other regions; the Public life cycle is in fact missing in the
mid-byzantine churches of Constantinople known to us through textual
sources (except the Raising of Lazarus which is part of the Dodekaorton
cycle). Instead, scenes of this cycle, and in particular miracles, are de-

1 For beautiful photographs of the paintings, see C. Jolivet-Lévy / A. Ertug, Sacred Art of Cappado-
cia. Byzantine Murals from the Sixth to 13th Centuries, Istanbul 2006.
2 G. de Jerphanion, Une nouvelle province de l’art byzantin. Les églises rupestres de Cappadoce,
Paris 1925-1942, t. I, fasc. 2 (chap. IX), N. Thierry, La peinture de Cappadoce au Xe siècle. Rec-
herches sur les commanditaires de la Nouvelle Église de Tokalı et d’autres monuments, Constan-
tine VII Porphyrogenitus and His Age, Athènes 1989, p. 217-233, A. Wharton Epstein, Tokalı
kilise. Tenth-Century Metropolitan Art in Byzantine Cappadocia [Dumbarton Oaks Studies XXII],
Washington 1986.
3 M. Restle, Byzantine Wall Painting in Asia Minor, Greenwich 1967, I, p. 35-37, p. 111-116 (n° X);
II, fig. 98-123, H. Wiemer-Enis, Die Wandmalerei einer kappadokischen Höhlenkirche: Die Neue
Tokalı in Göreme [Europäische Hochschulschriften: Reihe 28, Kunstgeschichte, 175], Francfort
1993, Ead., Zur Datierung der Malerei der Neuen Tokalı in Göreme, Byzantinische Zeitschrift 91,
1998, p. 92-102, R. Warland, Das Templon der Neuen Tokalı Kilise in Göreme, Kappadokien,
Lithostrôton. Studien zur Byzantinischen Kunst und Geschichte. Festschrift für Marcell Restle, éd.
B. Borkopp / T. Steppan, Stuttgart 2000, p. 325-332.
4 An exception is Pancarlık kilise (St Theodoros), whose Christ’s Ministry cycle shows some similari-
ties with Tokalı kilise.

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picted - and sometimes they are very numerous - in manuscripts, as for

instance in the Homilies of Gregory of Nazianzus, Parisinus graecus 510
(879-882), where both Sirarpie der Nersessian and Leslie Brubaker have
associated this sequence with the defence of Orthodoxy and condemna-
tion of heretics5.
Up to now, the only reason put forward for the detailed cycle of Tokalı
kilise, is the requirement to fit an unusually vast space, and to adapt the
paintings to the sprandel spaces of the eastern arcade. Indeed, the detai-
led Christological cycle is undoubtedly related to the ambitious enterprise
of the New Church, attested by the scale of the transverse nave, the
refinement of its architectural decoration, the complexity of the iconog-
raphic programme, its high aesthetic quality and also the materials used
(gold and silver leaf on the halos of Christ and the Virgin, blue pigment
made of lapis lazuli).
But the privileged location of this cycle, in the eastern part of the church,
close to the bema (sanctuary), the most sacred space, thereby enjoying
a good visibility for the believers, invites speculation as to other expla-
nations. To propose a new hypothesis, I have considered, in light of the
exegesis of the Church Fathers, the choice of the episodes depicted, the
iconography of the individual scenes, the captions inscribed into the pic-
tures, and the integration of the cycle within the whole decoration of
the church. It is clear that this iconographic programme was designed by
someone, probably a member of the Clergy, who was very well versed in
the theological content of the episodes.
The cycle of the Public life in Tokalı kilise counts sixteen scenes - among
them nine miracles - depicted in an order which is neither chronological
nor liturgical. It starts on the north wall of the nave (Fig. 3) with a small
rather traditional sequence dedicated to the Baptism of Christ, including
the previous episodes devoted to John the Baptist: the angel appearing
to John in the desert, and his meeting with Jesus. Following the Baptism,
we have the Temptation of Christ and the Calling of the apostles (first
Matthew, then Peter, Andrew, James and John). At the end of the wall,
the Marriage at Cana marks the beginning of the cycle of miracles, which

5 S. der Nersessian, The Illustrations of the Homilies of Gregory of Nazianzus Paris. gr. 510 : A Study
of the Connections between Text and Images, Dumbarton Oaks Papers 16, 1962, p. 195-228; L.
Brubaker, Vision and meaning in ninth-century Byzantium : image as exegesis in the homilies of
Gregory Nazianzus, Cambridge 1999, p. 86-90, 262-273.

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are depicted in the spandrel spaces of the eastern arcade (Fig. 4). The first
two, for the most part eroded away, narrate the Healing of the two blind
men of Jericho and the Healing of the leper. Then we see the miraculous
healings of the man with the withered arm, on the south wall (Fig. 5), the
man suffering from dropsy (left corner), the officer’s son, the daughter of
Jairus and the paralytic. The cycle of Miracles ends with the Raising of La-
zarus. In the center of the eastern wall, between the Healing of the leper
and the Healing of the man with the withered arm, the Widow’s mite is
set, which is not a miracle.
The cycle of Baptism (Fig. 6) includes, as in the former cycles of Cappado-
cia, the angel appearing to John in the desert, and the meeting of John
with Jesus coming to the Jordan river to be baptized. The first picture
has no title but rather a quote from Luke’s gospel (3. 2): “The word of
God came to John son of Zechariah”. The second image - John greeting
Christ, who asks him to baptize him - includes their dialogue, which
resulted in the recognition and proclamation of Jesus’ divinity by John:
“Baptize me according to the flesh”, “I need to be baptized by you, and
you do come to me”. John’s words are borrowed from the evangelical
text (Matthew 3, 13), but it is not the case for Jesus’s words (“Baptize
me according to the flesh”), which have been inspired by the liturgical
readings for the feast of Epiphany which celebrates Christ’s baptism at
the beginning of January. This may be an indication, confirmed by nume-
rous other examples, of the role of clerics for the choice of the captions
inscribed into the pictures6.
As a manifestation of the divine nature of Christ, a theophany, the sce-
ne of the Baptism (Mt. 3. 13-17; Jn. 1. 29-34) is larger than the other
scenes around it. The usual title (“the baptism of Christ”) is replaced by
the words of God from Matthew 3. 17, proclaiming Jesus’ divine nature:
“This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” The alignment of
Christ, the dove of the Holy Spirit and the hand of God, expresses the
Trinitarian signification of the theophany, which is underlined by the ritu-
als (triple declaration of faith, triple abjuration, triple immersion). Christ

6 They were memorized or possibly recorded in some kind of “model-book” ; see I. Hutter, The
Magdalen College “Musterbuch”. A Painter’s Guide from Cyprus at Oxford, in Medieval Cyprus,
éd. N. Patterson Sevcenko et Ch. Moss, Princeton 1999, p. 117-129, and more generally R. W.
Scheller, Exemplum. Model-Book Drawings and the Practice of Artistic Transmission in the Middle
Ages (ca. 900 - ca. 1470), Amsterdam, 1995.

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blesses the water, which once sanctified, cleanses humanity of its sins, as
is made clear in the liturgy.
After the Baptism comes the third Temptation of Christ (Mt. 4. 8-10), a
very seldom depicted episode at this time. On the left, before the “very
high mountain” referred to in the text, a small grey devil, with wings
and upright hair, is painted in profile. The words of the protagonists pro-
vide the captions for the scene. The partially naked creature addresses
Christ with the following words from Matthew 4. 9: “All these things I
will give you, if only you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus turns
away with vehemence and replies, according to Matthew 4. 10: “Away
from me, Satan!” The Church Fathers saw Christ’s struggle with Satan
as analogous to the struggle of the Church against heresy. In the illu-
minated manuscript of Gregory of Nazianzus, Paris. gr. 510, the three
temptations are pictured on folio 165, to accompany a sermon wherein
Gregory posited his definitions of orthodox doctrine in opposition to the
great heresy of his own day, Arianism. The third temptation shows Christ
standing frontally, while Satan strides and gestures towards a gold casket
representing the glory of all kingdoms of the world: though the positions
of Satan and Christ are reversed, the composition resembles the wall-
painting in New Tokalı kilise. This scene which shows Christ refusing “the
kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them”, is joined, regardless the
chronology of events, to the Calling of Matthew, the tax-collector, who
decided to abandon everything to follow Christ7: they form a thematic
pair. In the manuscript gr. 510, folio 87 v., the Calling of Matthew il-
lustrates (with other scenes) the 18th sermon of Gregory delivered on
the death of his father: the image is used to allude to his conversion to
Christianity, but also to his behaviour: a rich man (as the publican of the
Gospel), Gregory’s father made a good usage of its wealth by practising
philanthropy.
The Calling of Matthew, narrated in Matthew 9. 9, is followed by Christ
calling the four apostles, Peter, Andrew, James and John, at the sea of
Galilee, an event which took place before, according to the account of

7 Let’s note that the caption, «about Matthew the tax-collector», is the title of the liturgical reading
on November 16th; sometimes inscribed in miniatures of manuscripts (as in the illustrated Four
Gospels Harley 1810 in the British Library), this kind of title does not occur usually in wall-painting.
Its frequent use in the scenes of the Public life, in the New Church, suggests an influence of litur-
gical readings, and perhaps of an illustrated manuscript or model-book.

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Matthew 4. 18-22 (Fig. 7). Both episodes, distant from each other in the
gospels and unrelated, have been connected here, as in exegesis and
homilies of Church Fathers, and as in the manuscript of the Homilies of
Gregory of Nazianzus, owing to their common meaning on the theme of
conversion. Christ’s calling concerns everybody, be they rich or poor. Ser-
ving as a prelude to the cycle of Miracles, these scenes already manifest
recognition (by the future apostles) of the wisdom and power of Christ.
Christ calling the apostles at the lake illustrates the account of the two
first synoptic gospels Matthew 4.18-22 and Mark 1. 14-20, but the texts
inscribed in the picture are from Luke 5. 10 and 5. 8: “Behold,” Christ an-
nounces to the fishermen, “from now on you will be fishers of men” (Lk.
5. 10), and the words of Peter: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man”
(Lk. 5. 8). These captions thus underline the fact that the calling of Christ
is directed to everybody, including the most modest and the sinners; furt-
hermore the event took place in Galilee, a region of blended population
and considered by the Jews to be full of pagans.
Then start the miracles. Christ’s miraculous works are an important part
of the Ministry cycle at Tokalı kilise, just as they are an important part of
Christ’s life (Fig. 8). Christian authors view them as works of love and
mercy performed to show compassion for sinful and suffering humanity,
and as a promise of salvation for all the believers: poor and rich, women
and men are the beneficiaries of Christ’s actions in the gospel narratives.
But first of all, these miracles are viewed as acts of power and omnipoten-
ce, as signs revealing the divine power of the human Jesus. They attest to
his divinity and to the dual natures of Jesus as God and Man: as a human
he carries out miracles showing his divinity. For this reason, they are often
mentioned by the Christian authors to allude to the struggle of the Ort-
hodox Church against heresies, and the Sabbath miracles are associated
with invectives against the Jews.
The Wedding at Cana (Fig. 9) and the miraculous turning of water into
wine (Fig. 10), depicted at the north-eastern corner, is related only by
John (2. 1-11). It is the first miracle to be performed by Christ, the first
sign revealing his divine power, and here the first miracle depicted. Its lo-
cation at the junction of the north and east walls conveys its pivotal role
in the Ministry of Christ. The rather unusual iconography highlights the
signification of the scene: instead of the bride and groom, usually depic-

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ted (as, for instance, in the Old Tokalı church), we actually see, besides
Christ and the Virgin, the four apostles from the preceding scene, sitting
around a semi-circular table. The presence of the apostles points out the
signification of the miracle expressed at the end of John’s account: “The-
re Jesus showed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him”. In this
first sign operated by Jesus, the Church Fathers saw a strong symbolic
dimension. The transformation of water into wine, which is depicted
around the corner of the nave (Christ blesses the water jars, changing
the water into wine), was interpreted at length. It is first viewed as the
announcement of the passage from old to new covenant: at Cana, the
water used for the purification of the Jews and the fulfillment of the re-
quirements of the law, becomes the new wine of the wedding banquet,
symbol of the final union between God and humanity. The miracle an-
nounces the mystery of Easter, through the symbolism of wine, poured
in abundance, as will the blood on the cross, and Mary is present at the
wedding feast as at Calvary. The wedding at Cana has also a strong euc-
haristic symbolism, expressed in the New Church by the iconography: the
chalice depicted at the centre of the table, the shape of this table which
resembles the table of the Last Supper, the presence of the apostles. It is
in accordance with the location of the scene in the north-eastern corner
of the nave, close to the north apse. The turning of water into wine is a
clear allusion to the changing of wine into blood of Christ, in the Eucha-
ristic sacrament.
The Healing of two blind men (Mt 20. 29-34), carried out at the entrance
to Jericho, on the path that will lead Jesus to Jerusalem where he will die,
takes place at the end of Jesus’ ministry: it is the last personal healing, just
before the entry into Jerusalem (Fig. 11). The title inscribed in the image -
“about the healing of two blind men” - is borrowed from the title of the
gospel passage read on the 7th Sunday of Matthew. The miracle attests
not only to the divine power of Christ, called by the messianic title “son
of David”, but also to the power of the faith who saved the blind. Their
cure is seen as the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 29.18: “And in
that day (...) the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of
darkness», as the revelation of the knowledge of God to all those who
for one way or another are blind. Blindness refers to spiritual blindness
and healing shows that the true light is Christ. The illustration of the Ho-
milies of Gregory of Nazianzus, in the manuscript Paris. gr. 510, confirms

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the significance that can be attributed to this miracle. At folio 310v are
grouped a series of episodes not mentioned in the text they are meant
to illustrate: the Healing of the man with the withered arm, the Healing
of two men born blind, and, on the following register, the Healing of the
bent woman and the Parable of the withered fig tree. The text of Gregory
is the first letter written to Kledonius in order to condemn the heresy of
Apollinarius8. The three miracles depicted on folio 310v function as visible
proof of the dual nature of Christ. Jews are also included in the con-
demnation of the heresy of Apollinarius: at the end of his letter, Gregory
compares the heresy of Apollinarius to a “second Judaism” and Photius
also sees in Apollinarius an imitator of “the madness of the Jews and their
false teaching.” The same ideas could have inspired to the designer of the
iconographic programme of Tokalı kilise the choice of this miracle.
The Healing of the leper (Fig. 12) opens in Matthew 8. 1-4 a narrative
section of miracles that introduces the next section on the Mission of
the Apostles. The image has no title, but the inscription of the dialogue
between the leper and Christ, as reported by the Synoptics: “Lord, if you
choose, you can make me clean. I do choose. Be made clean!” Purified,
the leper gets the forgiveness of sins, and the scene symbolizes the divine
power of spiritual and moral healing. But the healing of the leper was
also interpreted from a perspective anti-heretic: Romanos, in the sixth
century, observes that it proves the error of the Arians by revealing the
divinity of Christ; Photius, in the ninth century, deals with the healing
of the leper in a speech against heresies and uses the miracle to curse
the Jews. The illustrator of the manuscript Paris. gr. 510 introduces this
miracle (with others), on folio 170, to demonstrate the divinity of Christ
and the victory over heresies, and to attack the Jews. None of the mi-
racles represented on this folio9 is mentioned in the sermon of Gregory,
which is his 27th homily “Against Eunomians” (or Anomoeans), an Arian
heretical sect that was fought also by Basil of Caesarea. The scenes have
been chosen for their anti-heretic meaning, and they function as a pic-
torial exegesis of the polemical text of Gregory of Nazianzus. A similar
signification can be attributed to the Healing of the leper in Tokalı kilise;

8 Apollinarius was a bishop of Laodicea (Syria) in the fourth century; as an opponent of Arianism, he
emphasizes the divinity of Jesus, denying the existence of a human soul in Christ’s human nature.
9 The Healings of the leper, of the man with dropsy, of the demoniacs, of the centurion’s servant,
and of Peter’s mother-in-law; Christ walks on water.

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the scene is located close to the central apse, where the Crucifixion and
Resurrection scenes are depicted, as well as the portrait of St. Basil. The
episode of the Widow’s mite10 (Fig. 13) and the Healing of the leper, two
mirrored compositions placed on either side of the apse (Fig. 14), display
also the desire to maintain a balance between the sexes, an arrangement
traditionally observed in the cycles of miracles: the forgiveness of sins and
salvation, purpose of the action of Christ on earth, is provided impartially
to both male and female. The leper cleansed as the poor widow will share
in the salvation promised by Christ and made possible by his death on the
cross, shown in the central apse. But the widow’s offering can also receive
an interpretation anti-heretical: it illustrates, in the Parisian manuscript,
folio 316, the second letter of Gregory to Kledonius, against the heresy
of Apollinarius, considered a “second Judaism.”
The next two scenes form a thematic pair: the cure of the man with the
withered arm11 (Fig. 15) and that of the man with dropsy12, two miracles
performed on Sabbath, a day when, according to the Pharisees, it was
forbidden to heal. Placed along side each other because of their common
meaning, they participate in the general condemnation of the attitude of
the Pharisees with regard to Sabbath13. In the miniature of the Parisinus
graecus 510, the Healing of the man with the withered arm is one of the
events selected to illustrate the first letter to Kledonius, already referred
to, although the event is not mentioned in the sermon. As for the Healing
of the man suffering from dropsy, it is often used in anti-Jewish polemic,
and in the Paris. gr. 510 it is included in the miniature folio 170 to provide
a visual exegesis to Gregory’s sermon “Against Eunomians”, emphasizing
the divinity of Christ and challenging the Jews.
The next pair of miracles shows the Healing the officer’s son and the
Healing of the daughter of Jairus14; their association indicates that the de-

10 The captions are inspired from Mk 12. 41-44: «the two lepta of the widow «, and the Jesus’
words «amen amen I tell you, this poor widow has put more than all the others».
11 Mt. 12. 9-13 (Monday of the 5th week of Matthew), Lk 6. 6-6-10 (Saturday of the 4th week of
Luke), Mk 3. 1-5 (1st Saturday of Lent).
12 Lk 14. 1-6 (Saturday of the 3rd week of Luke).
13 The titles of the the two compositions are taken from the liturgical gospel : “about the man with
the withered hand” and “about the healing of the dropsy”.
14 Healing of the officer’s son : Jn 4. 46-54, reading on Monday of the 3rd week after Easter; Raising
of Jairus’s daughter: Mt 9.18-26 (Saturday of the 6th week of Matthew), Lk 8. 40-56 (7th Sunday
of Luke) et Mk 5. 21-43 (Friday of the 14th week of Mark).

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signer intended to maintain the balance of male and female (Fig. 5). Both
miracles involve not poor people (as the widow or the man with dropsy),
but children (boy and girl) of important persons - an officer, a nobleman
with royal connections, and the synagogue ruler - and they take place, as
does the next miracle (Healing of the paralytic), in the same place (Caper-
naum). The texts inscribed in the former scene are “about the officer”,
and “Go, your son lives”. The narrative of the gospel presents this healing
as the gift of life, a sign and anticipation of eternal life, and emphasizes
the conversion of the nobleman and his family. As for the synagogue
ruler, Jairus, he is part of the elite of society, but he also represents the
Jewish people.
The Healing of the Paralytic15 is another miracle which was performed in
Capernaum, and it is also liturgically associated with the story of Jairus’
daughter: their narratives are read respectively on Sunday and Saturday
of the sixth week of Matthew. As it is often the case, the image shows
the end of the story, when the cured paralytic leaves, his mat on his back.
The miracle reveals the power of God to an audience of Pharisees and
scholars of the law. It is also a lesson about faith and forgiveness (“your
sins are forgiven”, says Christ), that Jesus sought to teach. Commenta-
tors have often given an anti-Jewish interpretation to this miracle - and
the scene has been selected in the gr. 510 to illustrate on folio 316 the
second letter of Gregory to Kledonius against the heresy of Apollinarius.
Finally, the cycle ends with the Raising of Lazarus, whose feast is on Sa-
turday just before Palm Sunday (Entry into Jerusalem): it has deliberately
been placed in the centre of the register to emphasize its importance, but
it is useless to discuss it here. Then the cycle of the Passion starts with the
Entry into Jerusalem (Fig. 5).
This tentative explanation of the cycle of Christ’s public life in Tokalı kili-
se as an anti-heretic imagery is supported by the emphasis in the south
part of the church on subjects related to the mission of the apostles: the
Pentecost, the Mission of the Apostles and Saint Peter ordaining the first
deacons (Fig. 16). It has been argued that they have been depicted to
celebrate missionary work that was going on at that time and to exalt

15 Mt 9. 2-8 (6th Sunday of Matthew); Mk 2. 1-12 (2nd Sunday of Lent); Lk 5, 17-26 (2nd Saturday
of Luke). The title of the image is: “about the healing of the Paralytic”.

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the proselytizing politics of the emperors striving for the universality of

Christianity. The presence in the northern part of the church of an excep-
tional cycle devoted to St. Basil of Caesarea has to be explained in the
same context (Fig. 17). The dispute over the possession of the church of
Nicaea, that emperor Valens had assigned to the Arians, was narrated in
five episodes (Fig. 18). Despite three days and three nights of prayers, the
Arians fail to open the doors of the church, while the Orthodox succee-
ded in one night. As a result of this miracle, they were given the church.
This account therefore underlined the victory of Orthodoxy over heresy.
Furthermore, the church - Tokalı kilise - was probably dedicated to St.
Basil (shown in the center of the main apse and two other locations), and
St. Basil is known as one of the main opponents to Arianism, considered,
in medieval times, to be the paradigmatic heresy, the reference case for
all forms of heresy.
Of course, in the tenth century, the time of the great heresies (Nestoria-
nism, Monophysism, Monothelism) is over; but they have become the reli-
gions of populations close to Cappadocia, as Armenians and Syrians - and
the Byzantine reconquest in the East in tenth century made Syrians come
back into the Empire. Various heretic and judaizing sectarian groups, who
denied the union of both natures into the incarnated God, persisted in
Asia Minor16: iconography could confirm their supposed persistence in
Cappadocia in 10th century. But of course this reading of the paintings is
by no means exclusive, and the polysemy of images, especially in such a
sophisticated monument as Tokalı kilise, allows other readings17.

16 See G. Dagron, in Histoire du Christianisme, t. 4. Évêques, moines et empereurs (610-1054), p.

226-234.
17 For instance, we find in several episodes the theme of wealth: the Temptation of Christ, renoun-
cing all the treasures of the world that offered him the devil, the Calling of Matthew, the publican
who renounces his gainful occupation as a tax-collector to follow Christ, the episode of the poor
Widow’s mite. These subjects could have had a special resonance for the sponsors or the desig-
ners of the iconographic programme.

1 . U l u s l a r a r a s ı N e v ş e h i r Ta r i h v e K ü l t ü r S e m p o z y u m u 141