The Church of the Ascension of Jesus () is an

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

church in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

. It is situated east of

Kale Fortress The Skopje Fortress (; ; ), commonly referred to as Kale (from ''kale'', the Turkish word for 'fortress'), is a historic fortress located in the old town of Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia. It is located in Centar municipality "the mediev ...

. The church was built in the mid-16th century and is three-nave, with the middle vessel arched and flat pages covered with gains in domes. In the west is the gallery for women. On the south wall, above the present level of the floor during the repair of the church year 1963-64 was discovered a flat painting dating from the 16th-17th century. During the 19th century the church was given the final look. In 1824 the iconostasis was completed and in 1867 it was part of the throne icons. The iconostasis and icons were made by cooperatives and traders from Skopje. The Eastern Orthodox congregation under Ottomans was included in a specific community under Greek domination. With the rise of nationalism, the Slavic population of the area voted in 1874 overwhelmingly, by 91% in favour of joining the

Bulgarian Exarchate The Bulgarian Exarchate (; ) was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was restored in 1953. The Exarchate (a de facto autocephaly) ...

. This remained so until 1890 when it was taken back by the Greek priests. In 1901 the church was taken from the Serb community and became the seat of the Skopje Metropolitan, Firmilijan and his successors.N. Makuljević, ''Umetnost i nacionalna ideja u 19. veku'', Belgrade 2006, p. 321 The door for entering in the yard is heavy and made from

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

. In the yard is a white

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

containing the remains of the revolutionary

Gotse Delchev Georgi Nikolov Delchev (; ; 4 February 1872 – 4 May 1903), known as Gotse Delchev or Goce Delčev (''Гоце Делчев''),Originally spelled in older Bulgarian orthography as ''Гоце Дѣлчевъ''. - Гоце Дѣлчевъ. ...

References

External links

16th-century churches Eastern Orthodox church buildings in North Macedonia Buildings and structures in Skopje Old Bazaar, Skopje Archbishopric of Ohrid {{RMacedonia-church-stub