Visiting Holy Synod Palace in Sofia Daily Tour
Sofia daily tour is full of surprises, always ready to take you to interesting buildings in Sofia.
Very close to one of Sofia’s symbols, the Memorial Temple ‘St. Alexander Nevski’, and to the old ‘St. Sofia’ church, is the Synodal Palace with its style peculiarities and appearance that impress the visitors. It is the administration building for the Bulgarian Orthodox churches and the Holy Synod.
The architects of the Synodal Palace are Petko Momchilov and Jordan Milanov. The construction began in the year of 1904 and was finally completed in 1909. The palace is another place that enriches the capital of Bulgaria with its remarkably beautiful facade and architectural style.
The facade is decorated in Byzantium style with alternating white and brick rings, windows and arches.
In front of the main entrance of the building, amidst a small, elegant park is the monument of Hilarion Makariopolski, one of the early leaders of the Bulgarian National Revival. He was a member of the Holy Synod.
A monument built with a sense of responsibility and beauty
On our Sofia daily tour we will see three members of the Holy Synod as central multicoloured mosaic portrait above the entrance. These are the three major Bulgarian Revival figures, proponents of the Bulgarian National Church – Ilarion, Avksentiy Veleshki and Paisiy of Plovdiv. The main entrance is under a high arched portico and on eight stone columns that end with beauiful capitals.
The chapel of the Synod has been devoted to the forefather of the Christian Church in Bulgaria Tzar Boris I, who Christianized Bulgaria.
The Synodal House has a courtyard in the style of the Italian Palace parks.
Unfortunately, the original sculptural elements have been destroyed during the II World War. Today the Synodal Palace is the house of the Bulgarian Patriarch and it is open for visitors.
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church is the oldest Slavic Orthodox Church. The church has 6.5 million members in Bulgaria and roughly 1.5 – 2 million members outside of Bulgaria.
Bulgarian Orthodox Church was recognized as an independent church by the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 927 AD.
