St. Sofia (God's wisdom)
Have a look at St. Sofia from all aspects:
The cathedral church of St. Sofia that for centuries was the seat of the Ohrid Archiepiscopate, is the earliest preserved church in Ohrid. It is one of the most significant medieval monuments in Macedonia and elsewhere, the unique gallery of medieval painting that dates back from the first half of the XI to the second half of the XIV centuries.
The church was built by Archbishop Leon (1036 - 1056). During that period, the Byzantine Empire was ruled by the Macedonians, thus the church's style is Macedonian.
St. Sofia was built over the foundations of an early Christian basilica. Fragments of frescoes that preceded the ones from the XI century were detected on several spots within the altar area. The church was reconstructed during the life of Archbishop Leon.
The interior of this ancient cathedral church of Ohrid Archiepiscopate awakes the memories of its earlier opulence. One hundred square metres of frescoes are forever lost. Parts of the original stone iconostasis lay scattered near the altar. They are either exhibited as separate items or, together with the rest of the XIV ciborium's constituents, were built in the still existing Turkish mimbar.
The magnificence of this unique gallery of medieval wall painting is first and foremost visible in the altar's area. Rather impressive are the immense figures of the church's dignitaries, the monumental Old and New Testament compositions, and the two friezes , each containing five angels that kneel, run, and fly at the same time.
The church of St. Sofia was converted into mosque, presumably in the XVI century. Then both its interior and exterior were radically changed. A series of alterations and buildings-up were carried out. The frescoes in the central part of the church were whitewashed, and a minaret was built above the western dome.
Immediately after the Second World War, urgent activities for preventing the further decay of the church were carried out. First the frescoes were cleaned of mortar and lime, and then the works on the complete preservation of the church commenced, with the use of the most advanced conservatory techniques. The frescoes on the
southern wall, and those located on the endangered spots, were removed. In May 1953, after the southern wall was restored into its original position without tearing it down, and by applying the experience of the renowned Italian conserver Fernando Forlatia, the frescoes were reinstalled by using special fabrics and wooden frames to carry them back to their original position.
The earliest frescoes of the church of St. Sofia date back from the XI century and have high iconografic and artistic value. On them for the first time the Old and New Testament motifs were used in the compositions. These motifs will become the common part of the iconografic repertoire of the wall decorations in the medieval arts.
The lower sections of the altar area are covered with an entire gallery of portraits of Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandrian patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops. In the apse of the diaconicon are the portraits of six Roman popes, and on the southern wall the earliest known portraits of the fathers of the Slavonic literacy,
Kiril Solunski (Cyril of Thessaloniki) and his most distinguished disciple Kliment Ohridski (Clement of Ohrid). The semi-calotte of the altar apse is covered by the huge figure of BogorodicaVirgin Mary, and underneath it is the composition of "The Communion", the earliest one in the history of the Byzantine art. In the first zone of the main altar's section are the scenes of the Old Testament. On the southern wall is the cycle of the scenes from the life of Abraham, the unique in the medieval Macedonian fresco painting. On the opposite side, on the northern wall, there are the compositions of "Three Jews in the Fiery Furnace", "Jacob's Ladder", "St. Basilius Serves Liturgy", and "The Dream of John the Theologician". The two last compositions, together with the two friezes with angels, are also unique in the medieval arts. In the vault of the altar area, above the friezes with angels, there is "The Ascension" composition. In the proscomidium apse is the scene of "The Forty Martyrs". On the northern wall of the narthex is the fragmentary preserved composition of "The Assumption". This composition is also the earliest one in the Byzantine painting, later frequently repeated.
The novelty is the manner of depicting Christ with His feet naked on the XI century fresco "The Holy Mother with Christ" located on the northern wall, initially a component of the original iconostasis. It is believed that these painting designs annul the thesis according to which the Italians were the ones who first started depicting Christ in such manner in the XIII century.
In the parvis of the church there is an entire gallery of women - saints, the unique iconografic unit in the wall painting of the XI century.
The frescoes of the church of St. Sofia in Ohrid, although related to the art of the Byzantine clergy from that period, were created in a new, Slavonic environment, in the seat of the autocephalous Ohrid Archiepiscopate. Certainly, that was also the only reason for developing new and independent understandings of the painting art from that time. These frescoes contain both very specific and universal iconografic and painting features. And that is the reason why the earliest fresco paintings of the church of St. Sofia in Ohrid are of particular importance.
During the subsequent centuries, the church patriarchs were set about to leave visible traces of their presence in the St. Sofia's church. Thus, the church's walls are covered with layers of frescoes dating from the first half of XI to the second half of the XIV century.
From the parvis and its gallery of women-saints portraits, there is a staircase that leads to the upper sections of the church. In the first section, to the north, there is the Chapel of St. John the Forerunner, decorated in the mid-XIV century. Here are the portraits of the family members of the feudal despot Oliver, the donor of the Chapel. The frescoes were painted by Konstantin. His and the name of his son Jovan are mentioned in the inscription discovered on the Chapel's window. These records are very important for the research of the local painting workshops' activities in Ohrid.
Even more interesting is the decoration of the upper floor of the parvis. There, in addition to the portrait of its donor - Archbishop Nikola - are also the portraits of Ss. Clement and Naum of Ohrid. In the central section, where once a kalotte was standing, demolished during the Turkish intervention when the church was converted into mosque, are the preserved fragments of the cycle "The Illustration of the Damascene Canon for the Assumption", found only in the church of Sv. Bogorodica Ljeviska in Prizren. In the vault there is the series of cosmic councils, rather damaged. These mid-XIV century frescoes were painted by Theorian and his colleagues. It is believed that the same team painted the very significant frescoes in the external parvis of the church of St. Sofia in Ohrid, which were rather damaged over time.
The western facade of St. Sofia attracts special attention. It was built in 1313 - 1314, during the life of the Archbishop of Ohrid Gregorius, according to the inscription made up of bricks that stretches along the entire width of the facade's upper section. The anonymous constructor, highly skilled in the elements of the Byzantine architecture's highest achievements, created an unique masterpiece by using harmonious divisioning of the area, and calm rhythms on the triphorus, blind windows and arcades.
Also the remnants of the Classical buildings and shrines were used during the construction of the church of St. Sofia. On the left side of the original western facade there is a quite interesting stone relief depicting the mythical scene of "The Duel of Centaur and Lapidus."
