The Church of St. Stephen
The Church of St. Stephen
| The medieval church of St. Stephen, also known as the "New Bishopric", is located at the southern end of the Old Nessebar. It was built in the period 11th - 13th century. The church is a three-nave basilica. The central nave raises up above the lateral and has oval frontons in the east and west. The church was built in stones and bricks. For the construction of the church many architectural elements -cornices, capitals, reliefs of destroied earlier buildings were secondary used. In 16th century the church was elongated and in the 18th century a narthex was added. The church was initially dedicated to the Holly Mother and the wall paintings represent scenes from the Holy Mother’s life. The date of the church’s painting (1599) is marked on a donator’s inscription, situated above the southern door of the naos. There are 258 mural paintings and more than 1000 figures. Scenes from the Miracles of Christ, according to the Gospel legends are given in all range. The style shows that three painters worked - two of them on the eastern part of the naos ant the third - on the western one. Later, in the 18th century, the scenes of the Last Judgement’s day were painted on the eastern part of the narthex in traditional iconographic style for the time. An original painted iconostasis, dated back to 16th century and wood-carved throne and a pulpit from 18th century are preserved in the church. Because of its architectural style, iconostasis and remarkable mural paintings, the church “St. Stephen” is one of the most important monuments and significant Bulgarian cultural heritage. |
