Price: The Orthodox Church " St. Marina" is the temple with the most bells around Plovdiv . It is dedicated to Saint Martyr Marina Antioch , which is celebrated every year on July 17. In the temple a large bounty kept a fraction of its relics .
According to tradition , the Metropolitan Church was first built near the Maritsa river, the site of Imaret Mosque. In the erection of the mosque in 1444 the Ottomans destroyed the temple and Christians allowed to build a new one, but elsewhere. So "St. Marina" was preizdignata where it is today south of Three Hills . This legend is doubtful because the XV century to replace the current Imaret mosque was far beyond the bounds of the city .
During his visit in Plovdiv in 1578 , German Protestant theologian and preacher Stefan Gerlach mentions eight churches. Chief among them was precisely "St. Marina "which happened regularly worship and seat of the Archbishop . Church remains the cathedral of the Diocese to Plovdiv Anti Greek riots in 1906, when passing under the authority of the Bulgarian Exarchate . Since then she's metropolitan church of Plovdiv diocese.
Of unsaved until today inscription know that the church was renovated in 1561 mainly . At the end of the XVII century church burned and had to be rebuilt. Metropolitan Chronicle named among the top donors to recovery Hadji Ivan, Konstantin Mavrudioglu, Costa Atanasov, priest Yani . Then prominent from Plovdiv Ivan Koyumdzhioglu with other Christ- citizens gathered more funds . The church was completed and consecrated in 1783 in its present form "St. Marina" there from 1851 to 1856 , when was rebuilt with stone masonry . The new temple was larger and more representative of the old , as the Ottoman authorities no longer limit the amount of church buildings . In its construction work Bratzigovo masters led by Nikola Tomchev - Ustabashiyski . Finished building was consecrated by the then Bishop Hrisant the day of St. St. Constantine and Helena (May 21 ) , 1856
Among the attractions in Plovdiv church "St. Marina " is the bell tower and the iconostasis icons. In the northern part of the yard can not help but notice the 6 -story wooden belfry. It is 17 meters high , made of oak and is a unique work of the church building of the nineteenth century of 8 bells, located on top of it are the work of the famous foundry race Veleganovi . The largest of them weighs 180 kilograms and the smallest - only 5 kg .
Iconostasis icons of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary were painted by one of the first Bulgarian to academic art education - Stanislav Dospevski , and most of the others are the work of Nikola Odrinchanin . The icon of St. Spyridon is attributed to Dimitar Zograph or saccharin Zograph.
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