Boyana Church

Overview

Boyana Church "St. St. Nicholas and Panteleimon ” is situated on the outskirts of Sofia, at the foot of Vitosha Mountain,  in the Boyana quarter. It is one of the few medieval monuments of Christian art that have survived to this day. In 1979, the church was included in the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List, under №42. In 2003 it became a branch of the Bulgarian National History Museum. Here in 1844 - 1847 was discovered the Boyana medieval manuscript with the names of the Bulgarian kings and the Boyana palimpsest - remarkable monuments of the Bulgarian Middle Ages.

The Boyana Church was built in three stages: the first - XI century, the second - the middle of the XIII century, and the third - the middle of the XIX century.

The eastern part of the church is a small, cross-domed building with built-in supports that form an inscribed cross. The first layer of paintings, covering the entire eastern part of the temple, dates from the twelfth century. In the 13th century, thanks to the donation of Sevastocrator Kaloyan and his wife Desislava, who ruled the Sofia (Sredets) region at that time, the second two-storey part of the church was added. The donor's inscription says that the church was re-painted in 1259. The painters Vasilie and Dimitar, whose names were revealed during restoration works, painted a new layer of frescoes on the first layer in the old part and painted the two floors of the new part of the church.

The Boyana Church owes its world fame to the frescoes from 1259, an exceptional achievement of the Bulgarian medieval culture. All images, over 240, are of great artistic value. The portraits of the founders - Sevastocrator Kaloyan and his wife Desislava, and of the Bulgarian tsar Konstantin Asen Tikh (ruling in the period 1257 to 1277) and Queen Irina are some of the oldest and well-preserved portraits of historical figures. The life of St. Nicholas - one of the patrons of the temple - is illustrated in 18 scenes, which include elements from the life of the artists' contemporaries. 

Among the saints depicted here is the oldest preserved portrait of the Bulgarian national saint Ivan Rilski, who lived in the tenth century and founded the Rila Monastery. Among the images of monks and hermits is the figure of St. Ephraim the Syrian, whose all-seeing eyes constantly follow the visitor.

The portrait of Saint Ivan Rilski in the Boyana church, the patron saint of Bulgaria and Bulgarian people, is one of the oldest portraits of the saint ever found. Saint Ivan Rilski lived in the tenth century and founded the Rila Monastery. 

The face of St. Ephraim the Syrian, whose all-seeing eyes constantly follow the church's visitor is among the images of monks and hermits.