,
"Autochrome", Auguste Léon, 1913 The current church was built on the foundations of a metropolitan
cathedral demolished in the first decade of the 6th century by the
barbarian invasions that brought the
early Slavs into the region. The next church was built during the
First Bulgarian Empire, after the official
conversion to
Christianity. Some sources date the building of the church during the rule of
Knyaz Boris I (852–889). It was basically rebuilt in the last decade of the 10th century as a patriarchal cathedral in the form of a dome basilica, after the replacement of the capital of Bulgaria in Ohrid, during the reign of
Tsar Samuil, when the church was the seat of the
Bulgarian Patriarchate, an
autocephalous Patriarchate. Later it became a seat of the
Archbishopric of Ohrid, under the
Patriarchate of Constantinople until the 18th century. It was converted into a
mosque during the rule of the
Ottoman Empire. The interior of the church has been preserved with
frescoes from the 11th, 12th and 13th century, which represent some of the most significant achievements in
Byzantine painting of the time. The main part of the church was built in the 11th century, while external additions were built by Archbishop Gregory II in the 14th century. In November 2009, the
Macedonian Orthodox Church adopted a new coat of arms with the church of St. Sophia as a
charge on the shield. A detail from the church is depicted on the
reverse of the 1000
Macedonian denar banknote, issued in 1996 and 2003. == Gallery ==