Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, Ruse

Overview

"Holy Trinity" is a Christian church in the Bulgarian city of Ruse. The Orthodox Church "St. Trinity "in the city of Ruse was built in 1632. In the southwest corner of the temple is a room called the "catacomb". Its construction history is rather unclear. It is supposed to be a catacomb from the 5th century or a medieval church, later included in today's church. During the Ottoman rule, it was easier to issue a permit for the construction of a new temple, when before there was another, restoring the old one. The Christians of Ruse probably used the old catacomb to build their church. Today's temple is a three-nave basilica measuring 15.60 / 31.20 m. Two rows of seven columns separate the naves. The middle ship is taller. The exterior of the temple is poor and unimpressive. It was dug four and a half meters below the level of the yard, due to the requirements of the Turkish authorities. The current appearance of the temple is after the Liberation. Two chapels were built through donations. One is dedicated to St. Alexander Nevsky and was consecrated on August 5, 1884. It has not functioned since 1979 and was rebuilt in 1983 to house a museum exhibit of church utensils, icons and old printed books. The second chapel is dedicated to the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius. It was consecrated on March 16, 1886 by Metropolitan Gregory of Dorostol and Cherven. The wooden stairs leading to the temple and separated by a railing were replaced with stone ones. Above them is a beautiful dome in the Russian style. Probably at the same time the bell tower was built. The stones for its construction are from the fortifications around the Russian fortress, demolished by a decision of the Berlin Congress in July 1878. There are five bells in the bell tower. The iconostasis of the temple is very original. Its origin is still unclear, it was made in 1805 - 1807. Then the icons were painted. During the period 1989-2000 a complete restoration of the iconostasis was carried out by Irina and Vaclav Josif Kopecki from Sofia. The walls of the church were painted in 1934 by Prof. Stefan Ivanov and Mr. Zhelyazkov. In 1870 the church choir was created on the idea of ​​the teacher Todor Hadjistanchev. The choir is the only one in Bulgaria since 1900 on an annual state subsidy. The cathedral church "St. Trinity was declared a Cultural Monument of national importance in 1983. Care is constantly taken to preserve and renew it to preserve it for future generations, as one of the oldest buildings in Ruse.