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Bulgarian Exarchate

Plovdiv

The Assumption of the Holy Virgin Church is one of the oldest churches on the Three Hills. According to Niketas Choniates, Governor of the Plovdiv District in 1188-1189 during the time of the Bishop of Plovdiv Constantine Panthechnis, a new church was built in honour of the city's patron saint. The return to the Christian faith of the numerous heretics living in Plovdiv, resulting from the active work of Bishop Constantine, necessitated the construction of a large basilica with lavish interior decoration. It was probably erected on the site of an older temple. A monastery was built around the church, but later demolished after the 14th century Ottoman invasion of Plovdiv.When Stefan Gerlach visited Plovdiv in 1578 he saw a few churches on the Three Hills with murals still visible despite the damage to the buildings. The rising economic power of the Plovdiv Christian community during the 19th century made it possible for the citizens to take care of the old churches. In 1844 the old church standing here was replaced by a large three-nave pseudo basilica, made by builders from Bratsigovo. The church donors were Vulko Tchalukov and Stoyan Tchalukov, tax collectors from Koprivshtitsa, who settled in Plovdiv in the early 19th century. The iconostasis was made by two brothers from Debar, Andon and Dimitar Stanishev. Most icons were painted by the icon painter Nikola of Edirne. By 1859 the church services were still conducted in Greek. In 1860 Bishop Paisius was the first one to serve the holy liturgy in Bulgarian. Following the establishment of the Bulgarian Exarchate 1872, the first Bulgarian Bishop, Panareth, was welcomed here.After the Liberation of Bulgaria a belfry was designed and built by the architect Joseph Schnitter at the western door of the cathedral, in the Classicist style that was quite fashionable in Russia at the time. An inscription was placed at the facade as an acknowledgement to the Russian troops that liberated Bulgaria. To the east of the church there is an old graveyard where the Bishops of Plovdiv, Panareth, Nathaniel and Maxim, were buried. Eminent citizens and National Revival period figures, such as Yoakim Gruev, Stoyan Tchalukov, Hristo G. Danov, etc., were also buried here.

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