Description of the attraction
In the Bulgarian town of Ruse, on Lipnik Boulevard, there is the Church of St. Michael the Archangel. The decision to build a new church in one of the Russian cemeteries was made in the winter of 1950. The foundation stone of the church was laid in 1951 on June 14th. Earlier this wasteland was occupied by corn crops.
The Church of St. Michael the Archangel was built according to the project of the architect Kirill Doychev. The metropolitanate, the churches of the Holy Trinity and St. Mary, and local Christians donated a certain amount of money for the construction. According to the preliminary project, it was envisaged the construction of four more, in addition to the temple, buildings, as well as serious improvement of the surrounding area and even the construction of a fountain. However, the project was not fully implemented. Construction work was completed in May 1953, the church was a basilica with a dome with a diameter of 9 meters, topped with a cross. In November 1953, the church cemetery was closed, as a result of which the church of St. Michael the Archangel began to serve as a parish for residents of the surrounding neighborhoods.
It was planned to build a new iconostasis from travertine - artificial marble, but later the idea arose to use the carved iconostases from the chapel of St. Basil, which belonged to the city hospital, but was later turned into a warehouse. Also, icons, liturgical books, vestments and various church utensils were transferred from this chapel to the new church. Some of the books were donated by Metropolitans Michael and Sophrony. Icons for the iconostasis were painted by Todor Yankov. The front door was made of elm wood. The church icon was presented by the Orthodox brotherhood of the holy Archangel Michael in 1956. On January 15, 1956, the church was consecrated by Metropolitan Michael. The painting of the church was carried out during 1967-1969 by the Sofia artist Karl Yordanov, who painted 26 more Bulgarian large and small churches and churches in a team with other famous artists and decorators. Most of the murals are badly damaged today.
In 2005, at the expense of the Beautiful Bulgaria program, the facade of the church was repaired, a new fence was erected around the building, and the frescoes were partially restored.
