Russian Church, Sofia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Russian Church

The Church of St Nicholas (църква „Свети Николай“), more commonly known as the Russian Church (Руската църква), is a Russian Orthodox church in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.

Another view of the church

Finished in 1912 and inaugurated on 11 November 1914, the church's architecture is typically Muscovite. It was built specifically for the needs of the Russian community in Sofia on a plot owned by the Russian embassy and after a project by Mihail Preobrazhenski. The mural paintings are the work of a team of painters led by Vasily Perminov, who also painted the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. The five little domes are made of gold, with the central one being 19 m high, and the bells were donated by Russian Emperor Nicholas II.

The crypt housing the remains of Saint Archbishop Seraphim is located right beneath the Russian Church's main floor. Dozens of people still visit the grave of the archbishop that died in 1950, praying and leaving notes where they've written their innermost wishes.