Cathedral of the Dormition

The Cathedral of the Dormition, commonly known as the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Bulgarian (Byzantine) rite Catholic cathedral and the mother church of the Bulgarian Greek Catholic Eparchy of Sofia, situated in Sofia, Bulgaria. The church was established in 1924 to satisfy the religious requirements of Sofia’s Eastern rite Catholics.

The church was built owing to the efforts of Monsignor Vikenti Peev and the bishops of Sofia and Plovdiv, as well as personal contributions made by Benedict XV and Pius XI. The first stone was placed on September 17, 1922. Heinrich, the architect, constructed the chapel as Sofia’s first concrete church. The chapel was finished on August 27, 1924 near what was then the city’s outskirts. During his apostolic journey to Bulgaria in 2002, Pope John Paul II paid a visit to the cathedral.