Skopje – St. Clement of Ohrid (Soborna Crkva)


Soborna Crkva (Соборна црква), also Soboren Hram (Соборен архиепископски храм на Македонската православна црква „Свети Климент Охридски) main Macedonian Orthodox Church, Church of Saint Clement of Ohrid – Свети Климент Охридски (Sveti Kliment Ohridski) in Skopje (Скопје).

Soborna Crkva “St. Clement of Ohrid”, the largest Orthodox church in Macedonia is located at the corner of Boulevard Saint Clement of Ohrid and Boulevard Partizanski Odredi, a short distance from the Goce Delcev bridge and a short walk from  Ploštad, the main public square in the center of Skopje.  The church was designed by Slavko Brezovski from the village of Galicnik. Slavko Brezovski served as the dean of the Faculty of Architecture at the Sts. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje and became famous for his style of modern architecture.

On 26 July 1963, a devastating earthquake struck Skopje destroying approximately 80% of the buildings. Much of Skopje was rebuilt by 1980 and the construction of the Soborna Crkva began during this reconstruction period with the placement of the cornerstone on 23 April 1972.  Just five years earlier, in 1965, the Macedonian Orthodox Church (Македонска Православна Црква) declared autocephaly (independence) from the Serbian Orthodox Church

The church is dedicated to St. Clement of Ohrid, the patron saint of the Macedonian Orthodox Church.  St. Clement was born circa 840 anno domini and 1150 years after his birth the church was consecrated in his honor on 12 August 1990.1   In the courtyard there is a bronze statue of the Archbishop of Ohrid.  This 36m x 36m rotunda style church with its domes and arches covers approximately 1,000 m².  The bell tower is 45 meters high and has 3 bells. The heaviest bell is 1000 kg (2205 Pounds or 1.1 tons), the second heaviest bell is 500 kg, and the third is 300 kg.

 

 

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  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._Clement_of_Ohrid

About Brko

I am a Macedonia enthusiast and an adventurer. I really enjoy being immersed in the Macedonian culture, meeting people from all over Makedonija and sharing their traditions and cultural heritage.