Rock church - Matochina village

Overview

"Holy Spirit" is a medieval rock church near the village of Matochina, Bulgaria, dating from the tenth century - the time of Tsar Simeon the Great, when there was a strong revival of monasticism and asceticism in Christianity in connection with its rise in Bulgaria and the Byzantine era of iconoclastic unrest. Like the neighboring Mihalichka rock church, their modern old Bulgarian Murfatlar rock complex, etc., like them, it is carved into a rocky hill. It is 2 km southwest of the village of Matochina. It is shaped like a rectangular vaulted room, which is entered through a short, also arched corridor. This rock church is carved into the rock itself only with the help of hand tools. The total length of the temple is 14.05 m, and only on the corridor is 4.20 m. The highest point of the arch in the corridor is 3.5 m, its width is 3 m. There are two square niches on both sides of the entrance corridor to the exit. Further in, on the left side, at the same height (1.5 m from the current level) there is another such niche. To the left of the entrance, in the rock, there are carved steps leading to a vast plateau, under which the church is located. Just above the entrance are preserved traces of cult forms carved into the rock, most likely from the time of the Thracians. At the very outer end of the entrance corridor there are two parallel grooves for the door. Above the church in the rock are carved several graves, oriented east-west. In recent history, the rock church was named "Holy Spirit" and acted as a church of three villages - Matochina, Varnik and the non-existent village of Blaguntsi. A crowded gathering was held on the plateau above the church for many years. Only in 1934 in Matochina was built a new church "St. St. Constantine and Helena ”and gradually the church life in the“ old church ”died out.