Church of St. Nicholas, Sofia, Bulgaria
The Russian Church of St.Nicholas the Miracle-Worker situated in the center of Sofia, at the intersection of George Rakovski Street and King Liberator's Blvd. This is one of the most outstanding buildings of the Sofia. The church was built in 1907-1914. Design was made by the famous Russian architect Mikhail Preobrazhenskiy and building was placed on the territory of the Russian Embassy.
A large number of Russians settled in Bulgaria after the Russian-Turkish War and in Sofia arose a need for a native Orthodox church. In 1912 the church of St. Nicholas was built.
The church is crowned with five domes; it's a quadrangular structure with a high porch, covered with green tiles.
Mural paintings made by Russian artists led by Vasily Perminov. On the iconostasis there are 4 icons that represent copies of the icons of the Kiev Cathedral of St. Vladimir. These are unique examples of best Russian icon paintings for early XX century. Made in Saint-Petersburg fine majolica iconostasis decorated with beautiful ornaments drew special attention.
Church bells were donated by Russian Emperor Nicholas II.
In 1947 the church moved to the diocese of the Moscow Patriarchate, which rules it till date.
There is a tomb of Archbishop Seraphim (Sobolev) in the church crypt. Many orthodox Christians believe that he was a Miracle-Worker. Archbishop Seraphim managed Russian Orthodox communities in Bulgaria from 1921 to 1950. Till now many believers write him letters asking for help and leave them on his tomb believing that the Miracle-Worker will help them.
Article and Photos by Lilit Vanesyan, www.building.am