page_title: Sozopol
section_title: Ecclesiastical history
hierarchical_section_title: Sozopol / History / Ecclesiastical history
context_page_description: Sozopol is an ancient seaside town located 35 km south of Burgas on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Today it is one of the major seaside resorts in the country, known for the Apollonia art and film festival that is named after one of the town's ancient names.
  The busiest times of the year are the summer months, ranging from May to September as tourists from around the world come to enjoy the weather, sandy beaches, history and culture, fusion cuisine, and atmosphere of the colourful resort.
  Part of Burgas Province and administrative centre of the homonymous Sozopol Municipality, as of December 2009, the town has a population of 5,410 inhabitants.
context_section_description: Sozopol was Christianized early. Bishops are recorded as resident there from at least 431. At least eight bishops are known: Athanasius (431), Peter (680), Euthymius (787) and Ignatius (869); Theodosius (1357), Joannicius, who became Patriarch of Constantinople (1524), Philotheus (1564) and Joasaph (1721).
  From being suffragan to the archbishopric of Adrianople, it became in the 14th century a metropolitan see without suffragan sees; it perhaps temporarily disappeared with the Turkish conquest, but reappeared later; in 1808 the Greek Orthodox Church united it to the see of Agathopolis. The titular resided at Agathopolis.
  Eubel (Hierarchia catholica medii ævi, I, 194) mentions four Latin bishops of the 14th century.
  The bishopric is included in the Catholic Church's list of titular sees as Sozopolis in Haemimonto and as a suffragan of Hadrianopolis in Haemimonto.
  Art flourished in the Christian era. The ancient icons and magnificent woodcarving in the iconostases are a remarkable accomplishment of the craftsmanship of these times. The architecture of the houses in the old town from the Renaissance period makes it a unique place to visit today.
caption: Fishermen's boats in Sozopol
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