Church of Saint Sophia, Ohrid

The Church of Saint Sophia (Macedonian: Црква Света Софија, romanized: Crkva Sveta Sofija) is a church in Ohrid, North Macedonia. The church is one of the most important monuments of North Macedonia, housing architecture and art from the Middle Ages.

Church of Saint Sophia
Света Софија Sveta Sofija
The exterior of the church (rear courtyard)
Religion
Affiliation	Macedonian Orthodox Church
Location
Location	Ohrid
Country	North Macedonia
Architecture
Type	Middle-Byzantine
Style	Byzantine style
Completed	9th century AD

History

"St. Sophia as a Mosque", Ohrid, "Autochrome", Auguste Léon, 1913.

The current church was built on the foundations of a metropolitan cathedral demolished in the first decade of the 6th century by the Barbarian invasions. The next church was built during the First Bulgarian Empire, after the official conversion to Christianity. Some sources date the building of the church during the rule of Knyaz Boris I (852 – 889).[1] 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,[2] an autocephalous Patriarchate. Later it became a seat of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, under the Patriarchate of Constantinople until the 18th century.

It was converted into a mosque during the rule of the Ottoman Empire.[3] The interior of the church has been preserved with frescoes 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 introduced a new Coat of Arms with church of St. Sophia as a charge on the shield.[4]

A detail from the church is depicted on the reverse of the Macedonian 1000 denars banknote, issued in 1996 and 2003.[5]

Gallery

• 
  Aerial view of the church
• 
  West side of the church
• 
  Narthex of St Sophia
• 
  Ceiling frescoes in the Church of St. Sophia
• 
  Byzantine Greek inscription on the exterior, seen from the rear courtyard
• 
  St Sophia and its surroundings in 1863

See also

Churches in Ohrid

• Church of St. John at Kaneo
• Church of Saints Clement and Panteleimon

References

1. Boris Cholpanov - "Land of a global crossroads", Sofia, 1993, Bulgarian Academy of Science, page 131 (the original is in Bulgarian)
2. Асен Чилингиров, Охридската "Света София" и нейната датировка. Херон Прес, София, 2013, ISBN 978-954-580-324-6, стр. 4-5.
3. Frucht, Richard (2005). Eastern Europe: an introduction to the people, lands, and culture. ABC-CLIO. pp. 928. ISBN 978-1-57607-800-6. page 613
4. "Македонско хералдичко здружение". heraldika.org.mk.
5. National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia. Macedonian currency. Banknotes in circulation: 1000 Denars (1996 issue) & 1000 Denars Archived 2008-03-29 at the Wayback Machine (2003 issue). – Retrieved on 30 March 2009.

External links

• Pictures of the Church