Rockhewn Church Ivanovo Bulgaria

3D Model

The rock monastery “St. Archangel Michael” is situated at the same site. It was founded in the 1220s by the monk Yoakim, who later became a Bulgarian patriarch. The Bulgarian tsars Yoan Asen ІІ (1218-1241), Yoan Alexander (1331-1371) and other representatives of the royal court were among the monastery donators and their donor portraits are preserved to the present day. During the Second Bulgarian Empire the monastery established itself as a great spiritual and educational centre. Wall inscriptions in the cells provide information about important historical events. In the 14th century the monastery become a centre of hesychasm (a mystic trend in Orthodox Christianity).