the western facade. The conch of the apse is framed by ornaments and an inscription, showing in its centre the enthroned Mary with the Christ Child on her lap, flanked by Michael and Gabriel. Below are eight church fathers walking towards the newborn Christ, who is lying on an altar for his ritual sacrifice. This image is shown here for the first time in Byzantine art and therefore contributing to the development of the variety of scenes. The theme came up because of the since the second half of the 11th century existing discussion in Constantinople about the eucharistical sacrifice and is portrayed again and again until the Middle Ages. Some door lintels and window frames have a decoration reminding of marble. A similar presentation could have been used for the altar and the throne. The iconographic program is normally used in churches with a dome. Since the building in Kurbinovo is only covered by a gable roof, the representations had to be adjusted to the room. This can be seen in the prophets, who are usually depicted in the tambour, now portrayed on the upper lateral walls, or the Theophany in the fourth register of the western wall. Painters and style The frescoes in the church are considered one of the best known Byzantine paintings of the Macedonian Renaissance. It seems that at least three painters were responsible for the iconographic program, but their identities remain unknown. However a difference in their skills can be noticed. The ablest one portrayed the icons of Christ and George as well as the scenes on the upper eastern wall. The second artist painted the lateral walls, whereas the most ungifted created the illustrations on the western wall, the lower zone of the eastern and a part of the northern wall. It is assumed that local artists have participated in the project and that the masters decorated the church of the saints Cosmas and Damian in the not far away situated settlement Kastoria in 1180. The style of the frescos is that of the last development phase of komnenian art, but small deviations of the regular strict symmetry can be registered in the church of Kurbinovo. More features of the painters become noticeable in the lengthened bodies and the blankness of the faces. Instead the restless drapery of the clothing is used to express the emotional life of the figures with exception of