Местонахождението на София в агиографската литература от ХVІ в.
Location of Sofi a according to the hagiographic literature from 16th c.

Summary/Abstract: The text analyzes different information sources about the city of Sofia under the Ottoman yoke. The city developed as one of the administrative and crafts centers of the Ottoman empire. Despite the lost political and ecclesiastical sovereignty, the Bulgarian society managed to save and defend its Christian identity. In the 16th c. the Ottoman control tried to gain over voluntarily two well-known craftsmen into the Islam. After these tries turned out to be unsuccessful, the two were forced into islamization and because of their refusal, they were killed in a horrible manner. Soon after their deaths the Church canonized them as martyrs and they are now known as St. George the New of Sofia and St. Nikola the New of Sofia. In the Vitae of the saints are found geographical descriptions and the location of Sofi a. According to their texts the city is between the East and the West and has an unique natural and climatic fortunes. The central location is justified by the folklore etymology of the name of Sofia – “Sredets”, “[a city] which is in the middle”. Due to the canonized martyrs Sofia, according to the Christian mentality, became a new sacral center.

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