At the top of Mount Vodno, in the ancient village of Nerezi, you will find this fascinating monastery dating back to the 12th century. Inside is an incredible series of Byzantine-style frescoes depicting the Passion of Christ, which represent the largest existing example of medieval Macedonian art. The church of Saint Panteleimon and the monastery are dedicated to Saint Panteleimon, the patron saint of physicians.
The church has a domed cruciform core, three apses and a rectangular narthex. It is built with irregular stone blocks and bricks embedded in thick layers of mortar. The surrounding monastic complex is enclosed by walls.It is a valuable medieval Macedonian monument with the world’s most important collection of Byzantine paintings from the period of the Comnenian dynasty. The church was built in 1164 as the foundation of Alexius Angelus Comnenus, a son of Constantine Angelos and Theodora Komnene, a daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.
It is built in the Byzantine style with the use of simple coloured stone from the surrounding mountains and bricks skillfully transformed into polychromatic surfaces. The frescoes of Sveti Pantelejmon are believed to be the work of several painters, but the masterpiece of Byzantine painting, which is why you should definitely visit this church, is the work of the main fresco painter who has remained unknown.
