The church of St. Sofia

The church of St. Sofia is one of the largest medieval churches on this territory. For a long time it was the cathedral church ("Great Church") of the Ohrid Archiepiscopate whose ecclesiastical authority covered the territories up to the river Danube to the north, the Albanian coast to the west, and the Bay of Thessalonica to the east.

The church was probably used as a cathedral way back in the past, in the period of the Czar Samuel who, in the late X century, moved his throne from Prespa to Ohrid. The other assumption is that there used to be another church on the same site during the reign of the Macedonian Czar Samuel, and that later on this church was ruined for unknown reasons. The date of the construction of that church is uncertain because there are no inscriptions that help reveal it. It is also mentioned that today's church was either built or restored during the period of the Archbishop Leo who was on the throne of the Church in the period between 1035-1056. His esteemed ecclesiastical principal became a donor of the painting decorations in the church of St. Sofia.

The original church had only one main dome. In the XIV century an opulent external nartex was constructed. Its original shape was a three-naval basilica with a transept, a dome, and galleries on the side naves. It had a parvis and separate chapels above the northern and southern altar sections even in XI century. Almost three centuries later, during the period of the Archbishop Gregorius, a new parvis was built. It represents the climax of the Macedonian XIV-century culture. The concept of the extended parvis was horizontal, with portico on the ground, and galleries on the first floor. Above the Gregorious Gallery, on the northern and southern sides, there were separate sections with towers.

With the arrival of the Turks, the church St. Sofia was converted into a mosque. They "took care" to reshape the church almost entirely so that it could serve the Muslim religion. The frescoes were whitewashed, the ornamented plates from the iconostasis were used for constructing the internal staircase, and a minaret was built above the northwest dome. These undertakings distorted the structure of the entire church.

In the period from 1950 to 1957 extensive conservatory and restoration activities were performed. The frescoes were cleaned and conserved, and also some reconstruction work was done. The fresco paintings in the church are amongst the highest achievements in medieval painting in Macedonia and even wider. At that time Ohrid was under the direct authority of the Constantinople Patriarchate, so these are the most important preserved works of Byzantine monumental painting. The donor of the fresco paintings, one of the most learned men of the time, the Archbishop Leo, directly influenced the selection of the compositions painted in the XI century.

Preserved frescoes from XI, XII, and XIV century can be found in the temple of St. Sofia.

The frescoes from the altar section, the diaconicon, the prothesis, and from the ground floor of the nartex are the oldest frescoes and they date from the XI century. A number of painters were working on them, but it is obvious that a unique concept predominates. Portraits of the fifty most prominent patriarchs, archbishops, and clergy wise men cover the lower sections of the entire altar region. Portraits depicting the principals of the Constantinople Patriarchate are largest in number, and they occupy the central parts of the church. St. Basilius the Great, St. Jovan Zlatoust, and St. Gregorius the Theologian, as church principals, were painted in the lower section between the windows of the main apse. Portraits of six Roman popes and representatives of the Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Antioch Patriarchates are painted on the side section of the diaconicon. It should be stated that among all these eminent figures also the portraits of the two Slav Saints were painted: Cyril the Philosopher and his disciple St. Clement of Ohrid, who in the XI century already was a cultfigure in Ohrid.

The scenes of the Old Testament are in the first zone of the main altar section, the scenes of the life of Abraham on the southern side, whereas on the north side the scenes "Three Jews in the Fiery Furnace" and "Jacob's Ladder" are presented. Immediately above them, in the second zone, are two friezes with angels, while the composition "Ascension of Christ" is in the vault. The portraits of the Holy Fathers, and above them scene of "The Apostles Communion" are located in the altar apse. The semi-calotte of the altar apse is covered with a portrait of Virgin Mary with Christ, and in the ???proscomidium apse is the scene of "The Forty Martyrs".

A number of frescoes dating from XII century are also preserved. One of them is the portrait of the Holy Mother above the portrait of the Virgin Mary with Christ in the altar apse, and the scenes depicting the Sufferings of the Apostles. The frescoes in Oliver's Chapel located on the northern side of the first floor are from the XIV century. The chapel was dedicated to St. John the Forerunner. The last painted heterogeneous composition painted in the church of St. Sofia was the Gregorius gallery that contained more than a hundred scenes and portraits. Unfortunately, most of them were destroyed. Two cycles from this section are quite interesting. They depict the scenes from the life of Jacob from the Old Testament and the Destiny of the Soul. Also the scene "The Last Judgement", painted on the northern wall should be mentioned. The portrait of St. Naum, already known in the Middle Ages as the healer of the insane, is among the numerous portraits of healers and martyrs painted in the western section.