Not far from Tsarevets, beyond several hills, stood a church with an extraordinary history. One of the few churches discovered based on directions found in a saint’s hagiography, its construction involved some of the most significant figures in 14th-century Bulgarian history.
(Tsarevets is a hill in the city of Veliko Tarnovo, as well as a fortress of the same name in medieval Tarnovgrad. It is located near the old town of Veliko Tarnovo. It was the main Bulgarian fortress during the Second Bulgarian Kingdom (1185 – 1396), when Tarnovo was the capital of the kingdom.)
Much remains of the church. The altar is still here, and the main entrance has been preserved. But what truly reveals its royal nature is this small ceramic fragment from the church’s façade arch. Alongside many others, these decorated the entire church in a manner reminiscent of those in Nesebar. From here, the story of this glorious church begins to unravel—a church built with the personal involvement of Tsar Ivan Alexander.
The archaeologists have just completed the excavation, which crowns years of diligent search.
Prof. Hitko Vachev – head of the archaeological excavation:
“Two years ago, this was a dense forest where nothing was visible except for this segment of stones at this height. That was all that could be seen. It has long been my dream to locate the monastery where St. Theodosios of Tarnovo resided.”
The monastery was built precisely for Theodosios of Tarnovo and is so remarkable that it is mentioned in the saint’s hagiography. This text provides eyewitness information, as it was written by the Ecumenical Patriarch Callistus. The two were acquainted, having been students of Gregory Sinaites — the main proponent of hesychasm in the 14th century.
Prof. Hitko Vachev – head of the archaeological excavation:
“There is a very interesting passage stating that following the church councils convened by Tsar Ivan Alexander — where the main accuser of heretics was Theodosios of Tarnovo — the Tsar refused to let Theodosios leave the capital and built a church for him. As described in the hagiography, the Tsar personally carried sand from the nearby river and persuaded the nobility to erect the church. There is a very important detail there — a ‘beautiful church.’ Personally, I have studied all known donor inscriptions relating to church constructions, and nowhere does the term ‘beautiful’ appear. But this one was beautiful.”
That alone would ignite any researcher’s enthusiasm. The professor began carefully analysing the clues. During the construction of this ‘beautiful church’, Ivan Alexander carried sand from the river, three fields away — which amounts to 555 metres. The survey of the terrain around Tarnovo revealed traces matching this description only as far as Samovodene.
Prof. Hitko Vachev – head of the archaeological excavation:
“Well, we are 562 metres from the river. And tell me this is not the church of St. Theodosios of Tarnovo — the place emerged exactly after these field surveys.”
The church is far from complete, but enough remains to reconstruct its appearance.
Prof. Hitko Vachev – head of the archaeological excavation:
“This is one of the reference points that allows us to visualise, to reconstruct how the church looked, because by its construction technique — worked stone, rows of bricks — these are the arches of the so-called pseudo-constructive niches. On the front of these niches were embedded ceramic elements… They correspond to the finest examples, not only from Nesebar. We found more than 140 ceramic elements just in this section, meaning these were garlands of multicoloured brick bowls.”
Maria Cherneva: “A beautiful church?”
“That’s why it’s beautiful, that’s why it’s written as such.”
Later, as with most churches of the time, this one was whitewashed, and part of its splendour faded. Yet the marble columns at the entrance still stand, borrowed from the majestic nearby Nicopolis ad Istrum. Fragments of glass hint at colourful stained-glass windows; pointed bricks form a ‘wolf’s teeth’ cornice. The frescoes inside were exceptionally vivid and beautiful. The colours, still strong in the small surviving areas, reveal the style of the painting school.
Prof. Hitko Vachev – head of the archaeological excavation:
“The frescoes date from the mid-14th century, executed in a then very modern technique — al fresco… reflecting the style of the contemporary Palaiologan painting. This here — this is from the vault. These are bigorna stones. Bigorna stone is a porous, very light stone used in construction for building vaults. This is actually the painted decoration from the vault that has since collapsed. The blue represents the sky, and probably the halos of the saints, which were originally gold, would have shone brilliantly.”
The scale is impressive for a royal church. It was over six metres high, with its foundations extending beneath the modern road.
Prof. Hitko Vachev – head of the archaeological excavation:
“And in fact, this is not the entire church. For the architectural style of the time, this is not a small church, especially if you look westward — what you see is only the ‘nose’ of the church, meaning we are in the altar area… Since churches in the 13th and 14th centuries were generally not large, being smaller and more intimate, this was relatively large by the standards of the Second Bulgarian Empire.”
Though lacking revealing frescoes and inscriptions, the church’s patron can be identified with high probability. Three lines of evidence converge at this point.
Iliyan Petrakiev – archaeologist, Regional Museum Veliko Tarnovo:
“Firstly, St. Theodosios of Tarnovo began his monastic path in a monastery near Vidin — the Archarsky Monastery, called St Nicholas the Wonderworker.”
Shkorpil also recorded St. Nicholas the Wonderworker according to local accounts of visible remains. However, geodetic surveys showed the church’s orientation was shifted north from canonical directions, which does not align with sunrise at Christmas — the saint’s feast day. But this has an explanation.
Iliyan Petrakiev – archaeologist, Regional Museum Veliko Tarnovo:
“Since 1080, St. Nicholas, celebrated on 9 May, has been very popular in Bulgaria. It is quite possible the church’s orientation, slightly deviated north, is related to the feast of 9 May. This is, so to speak, the third part of the evidence supporting our hypothesis.”
The hagiography of Theodosios of Tarnovo places the events firmly in the 14th century. Yet the claim that the Tsar personally carried sand from the river may seem exaggerated. However, the saint was clearly highly influential.
Prof. Hitko Vachev – head of the archaeological excavation:
“According to some studies, he is believed to be a descendant of one branch of the Shishman family living near Vidin. On the other hand, the hagiography by Callistus notes that Ivan Alexander knew Theodosios very well and closely, suggesting Theodosios came from the Tsar’s own lineage on another branch… This implies very close relations, and logically, after the church councils of 1355 and 1359, which the Tsar led, and where Theodosios was the chief accuser of heretics, the Tsar built him a church. What could be more grateful? He was indeed an ecclesiastical intellectual.”
By winning the battle against the Adamites and widespread heresy, Theodosios of Tarnovo undoubtedly strengthened Ivan Alexander’s power and prevented a political crisis. But the hagiography speaks of a monastery, not just a church. Undoubtedly, a monastery existed, but it was destroyed in modern times to build facilities for oil reserves.
Prof. Hitko Vachev – head of the archaeological excavation:
“The artefacts we find and their locations clearly indicate residential rooms, a refectory. The pottery, which has no place inside a church, is found on the church’s periphery. These architectural remains are further proof of the monastery complex’s expansion eastwards. This is a modern artificial embankment — and I must add — it came from a reckless attitude towards a cultural monument. Without anyone considering it, a bulldozer dumped earth onto the architectural remains.”
Maria Cherneva: “Were the remains visible?”
“Apparently, yes. Understand, I am furious about this.”
The archaeologist also resolves another contradiction — the ‘beautiful church and monastery’ linked to the most prominent figure of hermitism during the peak of hesychasm in the 14th century.
Prof. Hitko Vachev – head of the archaeological excavation:
“Theodosios lived in a cave in the rock ridge… a rock cell, something typical for hesychasts. Although hesychasm in Bulgaria is quite specific, judging by the actions of Patriarch Euthymius. They focused on literary work because, judging by the patriarch’s stance, the word was crucial for returning to the roots of Orthodoxy.”
Their work here is currently complete. They will do everything necessary to make the Church of St. Theodosios of Tarnovo accessible to the public. They have not lost hope that one day they will return to explore the monastery. It would be Bulgaria’s first hesychast monastery.
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