Ribera Sacra: Monastery of San Paio de Abeleda

Located in the vicinity of Castro Caldelas and a short distance away from those impressive canyons formed by the eternal flow of the Sil as it passes through the area, another of the interesting monasteries of the Rovoyra Sacrata orensana, is this ancient monastery of San Paio de Abeleda.

Mortally wounded, also, by time and the accurate rapport, metaphorically speaking, of the famous Desamortización de Mendizábal, San Paio is a venerable ruin, which nonetheless still has many things to tell. Even so, and judging by what is seen at first glance, the phenomenon of evolution also made a dent in the old Romanesque factory, alternating styles that over time were transforming the original idea, adapting it to fashions, taste, needs and the circumstances of successive dwellers.

However, there remains of this, however, part of his Benedictine nature-childish eccentricities and stupid waste, as Saint Bernard thought, that Cistercian crusader to whom, comparatively and metaphorically speaking, René Guénon considered as a true Galahad-that in the form of terrible monsters -some with a crocodile head-, offer, in the theme of their capitals, classic mythological influences, which were still very present in the medieval mentality, holding the wishes of the monks and the faithful with the stigmatic reminder of the horrific destiny that awaited the sinners, without forgetting, of course, the constant references to a sacred and prodigal nature, in whose references, echoes still echo of a celtismo at all costs, that probably still beat with some force in that distant X century in the that some suppose its foundation; other sources, on the contrary, place it in the twelfth century, probably when the Benedictine influence, fueled above all by the discovery of the probable remains of the apostle James, was decreasing, replaced by the ora et labora characteristic of that split He opted for austerity, called the Cistercian Order.

Nothing remains, barely, of its small and primitive cloister, although in the main portico of entrance to the church, the medieval stonemasons left the marks of their presence, that still, after the centuries, continue being a complete enigma, but in whose form and constitution, probable itineraries of these can be intuited, if they are compared with those that are located in other provinces.

The church has the typical cross-shaped plan, corresponding to the horizontal arm of the latter, to the chapels of the Epistle and the Gospel, and in the square form of its apse, it recalls the ancient pre-Romanesque structures.
Above this, although located on the northern side of the tile, there is a small structure, shaped like a small belfry, in which, in the absence of bells, two figures can be seen: one, which could correspond to the titular saint; that is, San Paio himself and the other, judging by the book and the lamb that he holds in his hands, the primordial figure of San Juan Bautista

Recall that both Juanes, the Baptist and the Evangelist would conform, within the Christian realm, what the pagan god Janus, the god of the two sides of ancient Roman traditions: determine or govern the solstices and the corresponding solstitial gates. The Evangelist, the winter solstice, with the Puerta la Jauna Inferni and the Baptist the summer solstice, marked by the Jauna Coeli and the veneration of fire in ancient cultures.

There is also another Romanesque door -probably the one that gave access to the cloister-, in whose tympanum the figure of a Christ in Maiestas is seen, crowned and with cruciferous nimbus and below, as atlantes glued to the columns that support the capitals, the figures of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, judging from the attributes: the keys and the sword. It is also known that there was a time when the Inquisition issued its judgments of faith and conduct, although the stone transept that was erected in a venerable megalithic-looking rock that can still be seen in front of the monastery, no longer exists. A few meters from it, curiously in a fairly acceptable state of conservation, the old jail still stands.

On the other hand, although the old monastery was bought in 1872 by the Casa de Alba and for some time it continued to celebrate the cult in its church, the gradual abandonment and the peculiarities of the weather were irremediably ruining it, until turning it into the practical ruin that is currently appreciated, although it is true that acquired a few years ago by private hands, but lacking sufficient resources to think of an authentic remodeling, is doing an extraordinary cultural work, which not only deserves respect, but also admiration, and to the extent of its possibilities, it fosters not only the more or less dignified preservation of what remains, but also that its memory is not diluted definitively in the ungrateful rivers of history and can be appreciated by every person who loves the Heritage, the Art and Culture.

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NOTICE: originally published in my blog, ROMÁNICA, ENIGMAS DEL ROMÁNICO ESPAÑOL, although it is unpublished in Steemit. Both the text, photographs, and video (except music, reproduced under a YouTube license) are my exclusive intellectual property. The original entry can be found at the following address: https://juancar347-romanica.blogspot.com.es/2014/04/san-paio-de-abeleda.html

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