Sveta Nedelya Church (Bulgarian: Катедрален храм "Св. великомъченица Неделя" в София or църква „Света Неделя“, romanized: Sveta Nedelya) is an Eastern Orthodox church in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, a cathedral of the Sofia bishopric of the Bulgarian Patriarchate. Sveta Nedelya is a medieval church that has suffered destruction through the ages and has been reconstructed many times. The present building of the temple is among the landmarks of Sofia. It was designed by the famous Bulgarian architectural team Vasilyov-Tsolov. The relics of the Serbian kingStefan Uroš II Milutin is kept in the church.
The history of the cathedral's earliest years is to a large extent unknown. It was probably built in the 10th century and had stone foundations and an otherwise wooden construction, remaining wooden until the middle of the 19th century, unlike most other churches in the city. A German traveller by the name of Stephan Gerlach visited Sofia in 1578 and mentioned the church.
Around 1460, the remains of Serbian kingStefan Uroš II Milutin were carried to Bulgaria and were stored in various churches and monasteries until being transferred to St Nedelya after it became a bishop's residence in the 18th century. With some interruptions, the remains have been preserved in the church ever since and the church acquired another name, Holy King („Свети Крал“, „Sveti Kral“), in the late 19th and early 20th century.
The former building was demolished to make place for a larger and more imposing cathedral on 25 April 1856. The construction of the 35.5 m-long and 19 m-wide church began in the summer of the same year. The still incomplete building suffered from an earthquake in 1858, which prolonged the construction works that ultimately finished in 1863. It was officially inaugurated on 11 May 1867 in the presence of 20,000 people. A new belfry was erected to accommodate the 8 bells given to the church as a present by Russian Knyaz (Prince) Alexander Mikhailovich Dondukov-Korsakov in 1879.
The church was renovated in 1898, with new domes being added. Exarch Joseph I of Bulgaria was buried immediately outside the walls of St Nedelya in 1915. The church was razed in the assault in 1925 that claimed over 150 victims. After the assault, the church was restored to its modern appearance between the summer of 1927 and the spring of 1933 (once again inaugurated on 7 April 1933). It was almost erected anew as a temple 30 m in length and 15.50 m in width and featuring a central dome that made it 31 m high. The gilt iconostasis that survived the bomb attack was returned to the church.
The mural decoration was done by a team led by Nikolay Rostovtsev between 1971 and 1973. The floor was renovated and the north colonnade was glazed between 1992 and 1994. The façade was cleaned thoroughly in 2000 and a device to automatically ring the eleven bells (the eight ones from Knyaz Dondukov-Korsakov, two made in Serbia and one cast in Bulgaria)
Name
The origin of the name Sveta Nedelya is rather obscure. It can be translated as either "Holy Sunday", "Saint Nedelya", or even as "Saint Sunday", depending on which etymology is taken as the basis. According to the Bulgarian Orthodox website pravoslavieto.com, the church was noted by a German traveller, Stephan Gerlach, in 1578, as being known by several names, among which "The Lord's Church" (Bulgarian: Gospodnya Tsurkva) and "Jesus Christ Church" (Tsurkva Isus Hristos) but, more importantly, by the Greek name Kyriaki,[1] a word literally meaning "Sunday", but which itself derives from Kyrios – "Lord" (i.e. Sunday, or Kyriaki = "The Lord's Day" and hence "The Lord's Church"). Furthermore, Kyriaki is also the name of a third-century Christian martyr – Saint Kyriaki, known in Bulgarian as Sveta Nedelya (Nedelya = "Sunday"). So, even though today the meaning appears to refer to the holiness of the day of Sunday, it may have originally referred to the young martyr Saint Kyriaki, or ultimately to Jesus Christ.
Gallery
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint Nedelya Church, Sofia.
Tsarkoven vestnik. by Dr Hristo Temelski. Visited 18 April 2006.
^The Sveta Nedelya Church of Sofia (in Bulgarian), pravoslavieto.com, sourced Aug 2010.
External links
Old photographs of the cathedral
January 06, 2023
nedelya, church, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, december, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources St Nedelya Church news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message Sveta Nedelya Church Bulgarian Katedralen hram Sv velikomchenica Nedelya v Sofiya or crkva Sveta Nedelya romanized Sveta Nedelya is an Eastern Orthodox church in Sofia the capital of Bulgaria a cathedral of the Sofia bishopric of the Bulgarian Patriarchate Sveta Nedelya is a medieval church that has suffered destruction through the ages and has been reconstructed many times The present building of the temple is among the landmarks of Sofia It was designed by the famous Bulgarian architectural team Vasilyov Tsolov The relics of the Serbian king Stefan Uros II Milutin is kept in the church Saint Nedelya ChurchKatedralen hram Sv Nedelya ReligionAffiliationBulgarian Orthodox ChurchRegionBulgarian PatriarchateEcclesiastical or organizational statuscathedralYear consecrated10th century 1867 1933LocationLocationSveta Nedelya Square Sofia BulgariaTerritoryDiocese of SofiaGeographic coordinates42 41 48 N 23 19 17 E 42 69665 N 23 32126 E 42 69665 23 32126 Coordinates 42 41 48 N 23 19 17 E 42 69665 N 23 32126 E 42 69665 23 32126ArchitectureArchitect s Ivan Vasilyov current building StyleByzantine Revival architecture Contents 1 History 2 Name 3 Gallery 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory EditThe history of the cathedral s earliest years is to a large extent unknown It was probably built in the 10th century and had stone foundations and an otherwise wooden construction remaining wooden until the middle of the 19th century unlike most other churches in the city A German traveller by the name of Stephan Gerlach visited Sofia in 1578 and mentioned the church The relics of Serbian king Stefan Milutin r 1282 1321 in the St Nedelya Church Around 1460 the remains of Serbian king Stefan Uros II Milutin were carried to Bulgaria and were stored in various churches and monasteries until being transferred to St Nedelya after it became a bishop s residence in the 18th century With some interruptions the remains have been preserved in the church ever since and the church acquired another name Holy King Sveti Kral Sveti Kral in the late 19th and early 20th century The former building was demolished to make place for a larger and more imposing cathedral on 25 April 1856 The construction of the 35 5 m long and 19 m wide church began in the summer of the same year The still incomplete building suffered from an earthquake in 1858 which prolonged the construction works that ultimately finished in 1863 It was officially inaugurated on 11 May 1867 in the presence of 20 000 people A new belfry was erected to accommodate the 8 bells given to the church as a present by Russian Knyaz Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Dondukov Korsakov in 1879 The church was renovated in 1898 with new domes being added Exarch Joseph I of Bulgaria was buried immediately outside the walls of St Nedelya in 1915 The church was razed in the assault in 1925 that claimed over 150 victims After the assault the church was restored to its modern appearance between the summer of 1927 and the spring of 1933 once again inaugurated on 7 April 1933 It was almost erected anew as a temple 30 m in length and 15 50 m in width and featuring a central dome that made it 31 m high The gilt iconostasis that survived the bomb attack was returned to the church The mural decoration was done by a team led by Nikolay Rostovtsev between 1971 and 1973 The floor was renovated and the north colonnade was glazed between 1992 and 1994 The facade was cleaned thoroughly in 2000 and a device to automatically ring the eleven bells the eight ones from Knyaz Dondukov Korsakov two made in Serbia and one cast in Bulgaria Name EditThe origin of the name Sveta Nedelya is rather obscure It can be translated as either Holy Sunday Saint Nedelya or even as Saint Sunday depending on which etymology is taken as the basis According to the Bulgarian Orthodox website pravoslavieto com the church was noted by a German traveller Stephan Gerlach in 1578 as being known by several names among which The Lord s Church Bulgarian Gospodnya Tsurkva and Jesus Christ Church Tsurkva Isus Hristos but more importantly by the Greek name Kyriaki 1 a word literally meaning Sunday but which itself derives from Kyrios Lord i e Sunday or Kyriaki The Lord s Day and hence The Lord s Church Furthermore Kyriaki is also the name of a third century Christian martyr Saint Kyriaki known in Bulgarian as Sveta Nedelya Nedelya Sunday So even though today the meaning appears to refer to the holiness of the day of Sunday it may have originally referred to the young martyr Saint Kyriaki or ultimately to Jesus Christ Gallery Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint Nedelya Church Sofia St Nedelya Church at night Another view A plaque commemorating the victims of the St Nedelya Church assault Saint Nedelya around 1880 The renovated Saint Nedelya building in 1922 shortly before the assault St Nedelya Church after assault in 1925 See also EditList of churches in SofiaReferences EditTsarkoven vestnik The St Nedelya Sofia cathedral by Dr Hristo Temelski Visited 18 April 2006 The Sveta Nedelya Church of Sofia in Bulgarian pravoslavieto com sourced Aug 2010 External links EditOld photographs of the cathedral Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title St Nedelya Church amp oldid 1122336520, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
