The Church of Saint Sophia ( mk, Црква Света Софија, translit=Crkva Sveta Sofija) is a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

in Ohrid,

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

. The church is one of the most important monuments of North Macedonia, housing architecture and art from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

History

The current church was built on the foundations of a metropolitan

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

demolished in the first decade of the 6th century by the

barbarian invasions The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman ...

that brought the

early Slavs The early Slavs were a diverse group of tribal societies who lived during the Migration Period and the Early Middle Ages (approximately the 5th to the 10th centuries AD) in Central and Eastern Europe and established the foundations for the Sl ...

into the region. The next church was built during the

First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire ( cu, блъгарьско цѣсарьствиѥ, blagarysko tsesarystviye; bg, Първо българско царство) was a medieval Bulgar- Slavic and later Bulgarian state that existed in Southeastern Eur ...

, after the official

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

. Some sources date the building of the church during the rule of ''

Knyaz , or ( Old Church Slavonic: Кнѧзь) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, dependi ...

Boris I Boris I, also known as Boris-Mihail (Michael) and ''Bogoris'' ( cu, Борисъ А҃ / Борисъ-Михаилъ bg, Борис I / Борис-Михаил; died 2 May 907), was the ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire in 852–889. At ...

(852 – 889). It was basically rebuilt in the last decade of the 10th century as a patriarchal cathedral in the form of a dome basilica, after the replacement of the capital of Bulgaria in Ohrid, during the reign of Tsar Samuil, when the church was the seat of the Bulgarian Patriarchate, an

autocephalous Autocephaly (; from el, αὐτοκεφαλία, meaning "property of being self-headed") is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern O ...

Patriarchate. Later it became a seat of the

Archbishopric of Ohrid The Archbishopric of Ohrid, also known as the Bulgarian Archbishopric of Ohrid *T. Kamusella in The Politics of Language and Nationalism in Modern Central Europe, Springer, 2008, p. 276 *Aisling Lyon, Decentralisation and the Management of Ethni ...

, under the Patriarchate of Constantinople until the 18th century. It was converted into a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

during the rule of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

. The interior of the church has been preserved with

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plast ...

es from the 11th, 12th and 13th century, which represent some of the most significant achievements in Byzantine painting of the time. The main part of the church was built in the 11th century, while external additions were built by Archbishop Gregory II in the 14th century. In November 2009, the Macedonian Orthodox Church adopted a new coat of arms with the church of St. Sophia as a charge on the shield. A detail from the church is depicted on the reverse of the North Macedonian 1000 denars banknote, issued in 1996 and 2003.National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia
Macedonian currency. Banknotes in circulation
1000 Denars
(1996 issue)
1000 Denars
(2003 issue). – Retrieved on 30 March 2009.

Gallery

File:Црква Св. Софија во Охрид.jpg, Aerial view of the church File:Iglesia de Santa Sofía, Ohrid, Macedonia, 2014-04-17, DD 12.JPG, West side of the church File:Iglesia de Santa Sofía, Ohrid, Macedonia, 2014-04-17, DD 11.JPG, Narthex of St Sophia File:StSofiaOhrid.JPG, Ceiling frescoes in the Church of St. Sophia File:Sv. Sofija Ohridska.JPG,

Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the Ottoman c ...

inscription on the exterior, seen from the rear courtyard File:Vues iv41076.jpg, St Sophia and its surroundings in 1863 File:Church of Saint Sophia, Ohrid-plan.png, Plan of the Church

References

External links

Pictures of the Church
{{coord, 41, 06, 43.52, N, 20, 47, 38.81, E, region:MK_type:landmark, display=title Macedonian culture Ohrid Medieval churches of Ohrid Medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church buildings Churches in North Macedonia Sophia Sophia Archbishopric of Ohrid

History

Gallery

See also

Churches in Ohrid

References

External links