This is a 3D model at various resolutions (ultra low, low, medium, high, RAW) of the Monastery of Panagia Kosmosotira - Single-headed Eagle. A large part of iconocraphy and sculptural decoration found on the katholiko of Panagia Kosmosotira are well preserved. The theme enclosed ceramic ornament is a symbol of the Komnenos dynasty. It is considered one of the oldest emblems of Byzantium and according to researchers it indicates that there was a royal tomb of the family. The eagle is located at the north-east corner of the church. The presence of the single-headed eagle has prompted some to argue that the church is home to the mausoleum and tomb of Isaac Comnenus, as stated in the Typikon of the Monastery and the tradition. In the center of the modern town of Pherai (the Byzantine Vera), in the Evros prefecture of Greece, there is the Church of Virgin as the savior of the universe (or Panagia Kosmosoteira). It was built on a small hill, near the ancient via Egnatia, facing River Evros, thus, in a very important strategic position. Today only the main church (katholikon) and some ruins of a fortified precinct remain from the original bigger complex. It was a homonymous monastery, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and founded by the Sebastokrator (crown prince) Isaakios Komnenos (born in 1093), son of the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos. This monastery became the starting point in the area of a whole settlement, named Vera. In 1151/52 AD Isaakios Komnenos launched his monastic complex and drew up its Typikon, the monastic charter, a document regulating life in the monastery. An inserted, in the wall, single-headed eagle has prompted scientists to argue that the church, and specifically its northwest corner, was home to the tomb of Isaakios Komnenos, as stated in the Typikon. The tombstone possibly of the monastery’s founder was found there and it is now kept in the Ecclesiastical Museum of Alexandroupolis. The Typikon is a text-witness, thanks to which we know the operational status of the monastery's assets and the general formation of this Komnenian monastic institution. Moreover, it contains information on the site and the region. Isaakios at this document proclaimed the Monastery as "totally free", without being subject to any authority, either royal or patriarchal, but also without defining any trustee from his generation and his heirs. According to the text the monks had to eat at the same table all together, the same food, drink the same wine, wear the same clothes and shoes without any exception not even for the abbot. A special diet could be arranged only for sick monks. The charter, along with some archaeological findings, gives us information about the founder’s tomb, too. Although Isaakios had first chosen as his final resting place the Chora monastery in Constantinople (which he extensively rebuilt), at the Typikon he mentions his change of will. However, the form and the exact location of the tomb in Kosmosoteira are not known for sure. It is supposed to have been located in the northwest corner apartment, being separated from the rest of the church by a railing. A marble slab with a funerary inscription that might be the lid of the grave is now kept at the Ecclesiastical Museum of Alexandroupolis. In architectural terms, the church is a variation of the five-domed cross-in-square type, which comes from Constantinople. It has an almost square plan, 17 by 20 meters, with thin coupled columns (to the west) and thick walls (to the east) separating the corner bays from the naos. The walls of the church are built with local stone, courses of brick in the recessed built technique and wooden chains. Some areas have been repaired in rubble masonry. All walls, lunettes, dome drums are pierced with window openings, letting natural light into the church. Small parts of the original windows have been preserved in the southeastern dome. In addition, in various areas of the external walls there is ornamental brickwork, such as fret pattern, W-shaped chevron pattern and an eagle made of brick. As for the roofing of the church, there are four small domes above the corner compartments, barrel vaults over the four arms of the cross and the main dome, about 7 m. in diameter rising up to 11 m. Moreover, there have been probably an exonarthex to the north, west and south sides of the church, maybe of light construction. This ambulatory, where special burials would be located, is also mentioned in the Typikon. Recent scientific studies showed that generally the design of the katholikon was based on Pythagorean asymmetrical numbers. The Church of the Kosmosoteira is one of the few churches that have a maximum height-width ratio of 1:1, a ratio which since antiquity has symbolized the most ideal form and the harmony of the world. The iconographic decoration is a specimen of high quality painting of the School of Constantinople, dated to the 12th century. The mural paintings in Kosmosoteira are the work of a team of painters brought there by its royal founder, most probably from the School of Constantinople, the tradition of which is followed. Nevertheless some unique features in both iconography and arrangement do exist. The church was originally fully covered with paintings. Today the major murals comprise the following representations: a) in the north and south walls of the cross arms one can see hierarchs, prophets, military saints, b) above the pairs of columns, the Annunciation and the Presentation in the Temple, while c) it is not clear how the central dome was decorated, since the Turkish plaster has not been removed; the four minor domes have Christ (southwest), Virgin Mary (northwest) and Archangels (north and southeast) in their crown. Among the mural paintings the four military saints stand out, firstly, for their size, placement and lack of inscriptions and, secondly, because of their unusual facial features that make them resemble members of the founder’s royal family and Isaakios himself. In general the large dimensions and the calm movements of the figures render them closer to the classical tradition and the human condition than other contemporary art. As for the architectural sculpture of the church, it comprises the paired columns and the marble chancel screen of the bema (iconostasis). All the parts of the columns, bases, shafts, capitals and abaci are spolia, elements from other older buildings. The capitals and abaci were covered with plaster and resurfaced, probably due to original imperfections. Only small decorated fragments of the original chancel screen have survived, which are incorporated in the modern one. On the whole, all the church’s elements correspond to the characteristic style of the Komnenian era. Apart from the Kosmosoteira church we see today, Isaakios mentions in his Typikon the following buildings in his monastery: cells for the monks, baths, storerooms, a treasury, a library, cisterns, a hostel for visitors, stables, mills, chapels, oratories, walls etc. From all these only some parts of the fortification wall and towers survive, which might be dated to the 14th century, later than the initial construction of the monastery. The monastery was highly valued as a notable monastic center, but by 1355 it was no longer functioning, probably due to the struggles with the Bulgarians and the Turks for control over the region. Its enclosure was found to be inhabited by peasants, while finally Vera fell to the Ottomans in 1373. Around then, they converted the church into the mosque of Suleyman and made some changes like a) the cover-up of the frescoes with plaster, b) the opening of two new entrances to the north and south façade, c) the opening of a window on the west side, d) the raising of the drums of the domes and the leveling of their cornice with the addition of dogtooth brickwork, e) the blocking of the eastern windows and various other reparative works. Moreover, a lower agricultural settlement was developed to the east and south of the fortress of Vera after its conquest, known as Ferecik. Parts of the aqueduct of this settlement survive today. When the Western Thrace was annexed to the Greek state (1920), the building was again converted into a Christian church. The latest works in the monument were related to its conservation. They began in the 1920s and continued in the end of the 20th century. During these necessary works for the solidity of the church a) the four large buttresses on the south and north sides were built, b) the dome and the columns were reinforced, c) the lead cladding of the roof was replaced and d) the monument was cleaned from newer and insecure mortars. Today Kosmosoteira has been proclaimed as patroness of the Thracians and its church is considered a pilgrimage center.

Metadata	Information
Source	Athena R.I.C., ILSP, Xanthi, (former Cultural and Educational Technology Institute (CETI) )
Contacts	Christodoulos Chamzas Principal Investigator Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, Xanthi, Greece Professor
Actor	Anastasia Michailidou, External Research Assistant
Actor	Athanasios Tsaouselis, External Research Assistant
Actor	Despoina Tsiafaki, Senior Researcher
Copyright Credit Line	12th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities, Ministry of Culture and Sports, Hellenic Republic
Europeana Rights	Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (BY-NC-ND)
Spatial	Ferres - Kosmosotira
Protection Type	Ancient monument
Start Date	1151-01-01
End Date	1152-01-01
Period Name	Middle Byzantine Era
Materials	pantile, brick, stone
Provenace	The 12th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities refers to all matters concerning the safeguard and protection, the conservation, the reconstruction, the study and the publication of the monument.
Heritage Asset Type	Komnenos Dynasty, single headed eagle, Orthodox Church, Churches, Byzantine, Monuments, Architecture, Katholika, Monastery, Δυναστεία Κομνηνών, Christianity, Isaak Komnenos, Monasteries, Ιερά Μονή Παναγίας Κοσμοσώτηρας Βήρας, Ισαάκ Κομνηνός, Oriental Orthodox, Middle Byzantine, Μονοκέφαλος Αετός