About the Place
The temple is called “Saint Nicholay the Wonderworker”, yet most inhabitants of Sofia know it as the “Russian church”.
It was built in 1914 and is among the most beautiful buildings in Sofia. It is located right in the centre of the city, surrounded by a beautiful garden with abundant flowers and trees. A small, yet easily distinguishable building, constructed according to the Russian Orthodox architectural tradition. It has 5 gold-covered domes of typical shape, abundantly ornamented friezes, mosaics, typical Russian wood carvings, sharp-pointed roofs with golden and green arranged small roof-tiles.
It is built onto land of the Russian embassy and is governed not by the Bulgarian, but by the Moscow Patriarchate and is spiritual centre of Russian immigrants in Sofia, the guests and inhabitants of the city. The building design and its wall-paintings have been created by Russian artists and architects, and its bells are gifted especially by the Russian tsar Nikolay II.
The crypt of the Russian church is home to the remains of Archbishop Seraphim Sobolev who is believed to have been (and still be) a miracle-maker. There are special tables in the church where one can sit and write a note to the saint, asking him for help or blessing. Some people ask him for a child, others – to help them recover from a serious disease, and still others – to simply get them through a difficult exam at university. Apparently most of the wishes do come true.