Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Veliko Tarnovo

Overview

The church of Saints Peter and Paul was built together with a monastery in the early 13th century, under the rule of the Bulgarian King Kaloyan. The church’s construction was ordered by his wife Ana-Maria, who was the daughter of a Hungarian king. In the beginning, it was a patriarchal church, which later became united with the Roman Catholic Church. After the victory of orthodoxy in Bulgaria, and under the rule of the heirs of Ivan-Asen II /1218-1241/, it was the temple of Ascension of Jesus that became the main church hub. However, in 1393, after the fall of the town of Tarnovo under Ottoman rule, Saints Peter and Paul became a patriarchal church once again. Patriarch Evtimii, the last head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, had served there before he was sent into exile. During the Ottoman rule in Bulgaria St. Peter and Paul was the head office of Bulgarian metropolitan bishops until the late 19th century.

The preserved church frescoes are from three different periods. The first layer of paintings consists of three images inscribed in the western arch, between the two columns from the north. These are the martyrs of Edessa - Guri, Samona and Aviv. This picturesque layer dates back to the middle of the thirteenth century.

Deacons Dimitrian, Roman, Philip and others are depicted in the altar part. Above these images are scenes illustrating the Sunday morning gospels.

The images of the anchorite saints in the porch of the church are impressive. This second layer of painting is stylistically connected with the Italo-Cretan art school, ideologically connected with the Uniate Ferraro-Florentine Council of 1439. The inscriptions on some of the frescoes from this period are bilingual - Bulgarian and Greek.

The gallery from the south of the church was painted at the latest. On its northern wall is a mural calendar for the months of January, February, September, November, and December. The frescoes in the gallery date from the 16th century.

The relics of St. John Polivotsky, St. Michael the Warrior from Potuka, and St. John of Rila were kept in the church.

The temple was restored in 1981.