The St. Athanasius Church in the Village of Gorna Ribnitsa (Blagoevgrad Province) and Its Didactic Plots

The article analyzes eight didactic plots in the plinth of the church’s iconostasis that replace the Hexameron. The cycle of moral scenes covers the following motives: wrong confession and punishment of violators; the power of “magic water” and the sorceress’s healing; the story of Abraham (Hospitality of Abraham) and his sacrifice; the punishment of the miller; elements of the compositions “The Last Judgment” and “A Measure of Righteousness”. The author also comments on the change in the place of didactic topics in the iconographic programme of the church.