The Church of St Sophia, also known as the Old Metropolis, is an Orthodox church located in the town of Nessebar. It is part of a historical architectural reserve, which is inscribed on the UNESCO International Heritage List.
It is believed that the site where the church now stands was formerly the centre of the Old Town. The construction of the cathedral dates back to the end of the 5th and beginning of the 6th century. Researchers have established two periods of erection of the building. The temple acquired its present form in the times of the First Bulgarian Empire - in the beginning of the IX century. In the Middle Ages the church served as the cathedral of the Metropolitan Diocese of Nessebar. In 1257 the church was looted by the Venetians, many religious relics were later taken to the Church of San Salvatore in Venice.
In its architectural design, the building is a large three-nave basilica with one semi-cylindrical apse, a narthex and an atrium (courtyard). The length of the building is 25.5 metres. The side aisles are separated from the central nave by rows of rectangular stone pillars connected by brick arches. On the eastern side above the apse there are three arched window openings. The basilica had a double-pitched roof, which has not survived to this day. The floor of the temple was laid with a mosaic of coloured stones, and the plastered walls were decorated with frescoes. A marble slab with a quotation from the Bible is embedded in the wall of the temple: "And let my crying reach up to You".
