Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker church Russian Church

St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Church, also known as the Russian Church, is an orthodox church in Sofia. the capital of Bulgaria, dedicated to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. It is one of the emblematic buildings in this city. Its erection began in 19^th century (the exact date is unknown, as different architectural designs followed one after another), and it took many years before it was consecrated in 1914, in the eve of the First World War.  The building was erected on a plot belonging to the Russian Embassy, according to the architectural design of Michail Preobrazhenski, and it was purposed to satisfy the religious needs of the Russian immigrants in our capital. The frescoes were made by a team of artists with Vasiliy Perminov at the head (one of the authors of the mural paintings of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral). The five small domes of the church are gold-plated. The height of the central dome church is 19 m. The bells were donated by the Russian Emperor Nicholas II.

The tomb of archbishop Seraphim Sobolev, considered to be a wonderworker by many orthodox Christians is situated at the crypt of this church. This fact gave origin to the practice, before any important enterprises, different kinds of people: believers and atheists as well, to visit his tomb asking him for miracle-working help.