The Boyana Church (Bulgarian: Боянска църква, romanized: Boyanska tsărkva) is an old church built by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. It is located near the city of Sofia, which is the capital of Bulgaria, in an area called the Boyana neighborhood. In 1979, the church was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The east side of the two-story church was first built around the year 1000. Later, the middle section was added in the 13th century during the time of the Second Bulgarian Empire. The building was completed with an addition on the west side in the middle of the 19th century. There are 89 scenes painted on the church walls, showing 240 people.
History and architecture
The Boyana Church was built in three stages: the late 10th to early 11th century, the mid-13th century, and the mid-19th century. The oldest part, the eastern church, is a small one-apse cross-vaulted church with built-in cruciform supports. It was constructed in the late 10th or early 11th century.
The second section, connected to the eastern church, was built by Sebastocrator Kaloyan and his wife, Desislava, in the mid-13th century. This part is a two-floor tomb-church. The ground floor has a family sepulchre with a semi-cylindrical vault and two arcosolia on the north and south walls. The upper floor has a family chapel with the same design as the eastern church. The outside is decorated with ceramic ornaments.
The final section was built with donations from the local community in the mid-19th century. The church was closed to the public in 1954 for conservation and restoration. It was partially reopened in 2006.
To protect the building, air-conditioning was added to keep the temperature between 17–18 degrees Celsius (62–64 Fahrenheit), with lighting that produces little heat. Groups of up to 8 visitors may stay for 10 minutes. Managed by the National Historical Museum (Bulgaria), the church was fully reopened by Culture Minister Stefan Danailov on October 2, 2008.
Frescoes
The church is known for its religious figures and artworks. These include Saint Aretas or Arethan, often confused with Saint Nicholas. Another figure is Sebastocrator Desislava, a church patron from the 13th century. There is also a scene showing Saint Nicholas saving sailors, as he is the patron saint of sailors and sea navigators in Bulgarian Orthodox tradition. Other figures include Constantin Tikh of Bulgaria and Eirene of Nicaea. There is also a fresco of Pantocrator from 1259, and a scene of Christ among the scribes.
The church has multiple layers of frescoes. The first layer dates from the 11th–12th centuries, but only fragments remain. The most famous layer, from 1259, covers earlier paintings and is one of the best-preserved medieval art examples in the Balkans. Later frescoes from the 14th and 16th–17th centuries, as well as from 1882, also exist. The frescoes were cleaned and restored in 1912–1915 by an Austrian and a Bulgarian specialist, and again in 1934 and 1944.
The 1259 frescoes are the main reason the church is famous worldwide. They include 18 scenes in the narthex showing the life of Saint Nicholas. These scenes include details of life at the time, such as a ship and sailor hats similar to those of the Venetian fleet. Portraits of church patrons, including Sebastocrator Kaloyan and his wife Dessislava, as well as Bulgarian tsar Constantine Tikh and his wife Irina, are among the most lifelike frescoes and are located on the north wall.
The first layer of frescoes, from the 11th–12th centuries, originally covered the eastern part of the church. Fragments remain in the lower parts of the apse and north wall, and in the upper parts of the west wall and south vault. A donor’s inscription on the north wall of the second section shows the 1259 frescoes were painted over earlier ones by unknown artists. These artists also decorated the two floors of the building commissioned by Sebastocrator Kaloyan.
The Boyana Church is most famous for the 1259 frescoes, which show the achievements of medieval Bulgarian culture. Over 240 figures are depicted, each with unique expressions and vitality. The frescoes follow the painting rules set by the Seventh Ecumenical Council in 787.
In the oldest part of the church, the dome has a large image of Christ Pantocrator. Below, angels surround the Four Evangelists—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—in the pendentives. Four images of Christ appear on the arches: Christ Emmanuel, Christ the Ancient of Days, and the acheiropoietic Holy Mandylion and Holy Tile. Scenes from the Major Feast Days and the Passions of Christ follow. Ten warrior saints are shown in the first tier, and the Virgin Enthroned, with archangels, is in the altar conch. Below her are four church fathers: St. Gregory the Theologian, Basil the Great, John Chrysostom, and Patriarch Germanus. Frescoes near the altar include deacons Laurentius, Euplius, and Stephen, as well as St. Nicholas, the patron saint of the ground floor.
The life of St. Nicholas is shown in 18 scenes in the narthex. These scenes include realistic details of life at the time. A lunette above the narthex entrance shows the Virgin and Child, St. Anna and St. Joachim, and Christ Blessing. Other scenes include St. Catherine, St. Marina, St. Theodore the Studite, and St. Pachomius. The south arcosolium has Christ Disputing with the Doctors, and the north one shows the Presentation of the Virgin. Two important Bulgarian saints, St. John of Rila and St. Paraskeva (Petka), are also depicted. The monk St. Ephraim Syrus appears among others. The portraits of Sebastocrator Kaloyan and his wife Dessislava, as well as Tsar Constantine Tikh and Tsaritsa Irina, are among the oldest known portraits of Bulgarian historical figures.
The name “Boyana Master” refers to the unknown artists who painted the church. They were trained at the Turnovo School of Painting. The Boyana Church is the only fully preserved example of this school’s work from the 13th century. Experts say the frescoes influenced medieval Bulgarian and European art.
During restoration work from 2006–2008, an inscription was found: “I, Vasiliy inscribed.” This may be the name of the “Boyana Master.” A museum director noted that the painter’s name was rarely mentioned in church sermons. A restorer explained that the painter signed his work despite religious rules forbidding it. Some experts question if the name refers to the master or an assistant.
Some frescoes were painted over, but most remain today. Later additions include a 14th-century scene of the Presentation of the Virgin, a 16th–17th-century portrait of St. Nicholas, and 1882 images of the church’s patron saints, St. Nicholas and St. Panteleimon.