The Saint Sofia Church () is the oldest church in the

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n capital

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, dating to the fourth century. In the predecessor building took place the

Council of Serdica The Council of Serdica, or Synod of Serdica (also Sardica located in modern-day Sofia, Bulgaria), was a synod convened in 343 at Serdica in the civil diocese of Dacia, by Emperors Constans I, Augustus in the West, and Constantius II, Augustus in ...

held most probably in 343 and attended by 316 bishops. In the 14th century, the church gave its name to the city, previously known as

Serdika Serdika or Serdica (Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: ) is the historical Roman Empire, Roman name of Sofia, now the capital of Bulgaria. Currently, Serdika is the name of a district located in the city. It includes four neighbourhoods: "Fondovi z ...

(Сердика).

History and architecture

The Saint Sofia Church was built on the site of several earlier churches from the fourth century, and places of worship dating back to the days when it was the necropolis of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

town of

Serdica Serdika or Serdica ( Bulgarian: ) is the historical Roman name of Sofia, now the capital of Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans ...

. In the second century, it was the location of a Roman theatre. Other churches were built and destroyed during conflicts with

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

and others for the next few centuries. As a contemporary structure of the

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...

church in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, the Saint Sofia Church, with the cross design of its current basilica, two towers and one tower-cupola, is believed to have been built during the reign of Byzantine Emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

(527–565). The Saint Sofia Church (often abbreviated as St. Sophia) came under control of a

metropolitan bishop In Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), is held by the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a Metropolis (reli ...

in the

Second Bulgarian Empire The Second Bulgarian Empire (; ) was a medieval Bulgarians, Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1422. A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan of Bulgaria, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II ...

(12th to 14th centuries). Notably, the capital of the country Sofia was named after the church in the 14th century. The 12th-century frescoes were destroyed, replaced with minarets, and the church was converted to a mosque in the 16th century during

Ottoman Bulgaria The history of Ottoman Bulgaria spans nearly 500 years, beginning in the late 14th century, with the Bulgarian–Ottoman Wars, Ottoman conquest of smaller kingdoms from the disintegrating Second Bulgarian Empire. In the late 19th century, Bulgar ...

. The mosque was abandoned in the 19th century, because two earthquakes destroyed one of the minarets. Restoration of the basilica began about 1926 by

Bogdan Filov Bogdan Dimitrov Filov (; 10 April 1883 – 1 February 1945) was a Bulgarian archaeologist, art historian and politician. He was prime minister of Bulgaria during World War II. During his tenure, Bulgaria became the seventh nation to join the Axis ...

and was completed about 1935. The Saint Sofia Church is now one of the most valuable pieces of

Early Christian architecture Early Christian art and architecture (or Paleochristian art) is the art produced by Christians, or under Christian patronage, from the earliest period of Christianity to, depending on the definition, sometime between 260 and 525. In practice, ide ...

Southeastern Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe is a geographical sub-region of Europe, consisting primarily of the region of the Balkans, as well as adjacent regions and Archipelago, archipelagos. There are overlapping and conflicting definitions of t ...

. The present building is a cross basilica with three altars. The floor of the church is covered with complex Early Christian ornamental or flora and fauna-themed mosaics. The Saint Sofia Church stands in the middle of an ancient necropolis and many tombs have been unearthed both under and near the church. Some of the tombs even feature frescoes. Because Saint Sophia represents

Holy Wisdom Holy Wisdom (, ) is a concept in Christian theology. Christian theology received the Old Testament personification of Wisdom (Hebrew ''Chokmah'') as well as the concept of Sophia (wisdom), Wisdom (''Sophia'') from Greek philosophy, especially ...

, icons within the church depict Sophia as Christ Emmanuel, a young figure of Christ seated on a rainbow. The church also displays icons of historical saints, including

St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

and St. Vladimir.

Gallery

File:StSophiaChurch-Sofia-10.jpg, Nave File:St. Sophia basilica.jpg File:St. Sofia basilica 2.jpg File:St. Sophia basilica 3.jpg File:Sofia sv Sophia 1878.jpg, Façade view in 1878 File:Sv.Sofia 1915.jpg, View of the church c. 1915 File:Saint Sophia Church, Sofia - plan.png, Plan of the church

Sources

Further references

*
The Church of St. Sofia / Църквата "Св. София"

3D Model of the Church
{{Authority control Sophia, Church of St Byzantine church buildings Mosques converted from churches in the Ottoman Empire 6th-century churches Byzantine architecture in Bulgaria Former mosques in Bulgaria Churches converted from mosques

History and architecture

Gallery

See also

Sources

Further references