Patriarchal Cathedral of the Holy Ascension of God

The Patriarchal Cathedral of the Holy Ascension of God (Bulgarian: Патриаршеска катедрала „Свето Възнесение Господне“, Patriarsheska katedrala „Sveto Vaznesenie Gospodne“) is a former Eastern Orthodox cathedral in the city of Veliko Tarnovo, in north central Bulgaria. Located on top of the fortified Tsarevets hill in the former capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, the cathedral was the seat of the Bulgarian patriarch from its construction in the 11th–12th century to its destruction in 1393.

Standing on top of a late Roman church, the cathedral, reconstructed in the 1970s and 1980s, follows a cross-domed plan with a bell tower and a triple apse. Richly decorated on both the exterior and interior, its internal walls now feature modern frescoes, the presence of which has meant that it has not been reconsecrated. Though not active as a Christian place of worship, it has been open for visitors since 1985.

The Patriarchal Cathedral of the Holy Ascension of God is not the first church building to occupy the position on top of the Tsarevets hill. It was constructed directly on top of a late Roman (early Byzantine) basilica which dates to the 5th–6th century AD. The Roman basilica may have remained in use by the local congregation during the First Bulgarian Empire, though it was no longer active by the time the construction of the current church began.

The current building of the Patriarchal Cathedral is considered by scholars to have been built in two stages. The first stage of construction was carried out in the late 11th century or the 12th century. The cathedral was initially built as a monastery church in the middle of a monastery compound, though in the early 12th century it was already the seat of the Bulgarian patriarch. The compound suffered large-scale damage caused by a fire, which necessitated the church's reconstruction in middle of the 14th century, perhaps during the rule of Tsar Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria (r. 1331–71). Besides repair and reinforcement efforts, work on the church in the 14th century also included the construction of the exonarthex and the bell tower.

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