Description of the attraction
The Church of Light Petka Samardzhiyskaya is a functioning medieval church located in the center of Sofia, on Maria Luisa Boulevard. It is located on the territory of the ancient city of Serdika, not far from the Cathedral Church of the Holy Week. The temple is dedicated to Saint Paraskeva (Petka) of Iconium (the word "Samardzhiyskaya" in the name denotes a nation that lived nearby in the Middle Ages and considered Paraskeva its patroness).
Despite the seemingly very small dimensions, the church building has two floors. An external metal staircase leads to the second floor, but this entrance is usually not entered. The main entrance for visitors is below, under a concrete beam that reads "Temple of Light Petka".
This temple was discovered after the Second World War as a result of archaeological research. The building was erected over an ancient Roman tomb (probably IV century). The estimated date of construction is the 11th century. To date, only a small part of the church has remained - one building of stones and bricks with walls 1 meter thick. In the fifties of the XX century, the church was declared an architectural monument (perhaps this is what saved it in that historical period when many churches were destroyed). Until 1992, the temple functioned only as a museum, however, subsequently, the clergy of Bulgaria insisted that services be held here again.
An interesting fact: there is a memorial plaque on the wall of the temple, the inscription on which says that the national hero of Bulgaria Vasil Levski is buried under the church, but whether this is really so has not been reliably established.
