Church of the Holy Mother of God, Plovdiv Church of the Holy Mother of God, Plovdiv The Church of the Holy Mother of God, full name Cathedral Church of the Dormition of the Holy Mother of God (, Катедрален храм "Успение Богородично") is a Bulgarian National Revival church in Bulgaria's second largest city Plovdiv. The church is situated in the Old town of Plovdiv on one of the city's seven hills, Nebet Tepe. A small church existed on the site as early as the 9th century. The church was renovated in 1186 by the bishop of Plovdiv Constantine Pantehi and it became part of a monastery. Both the
Plovdiv the Slavic name began to appear as "Papaldiv/n Plo(v)div, Pladiv, Pladin, Plapdiv, Plovdin", which evolved from a Thracian variant "Pulpudeva". As a result, the name has lost any meaning. In British English the Bulgarian variant "Plòvdiv" has become prevalent after World War I. The Crusaders mentioned the city as "Prineople", "Sinople" and "Phinepople". The Ottomans called the city "Filibe", a corruption of "Philip", in a document from 1448. Plovdiv is located on the banks of the Maritsa river, southeast of the Bulgarian capital Sofia. The city is in the southern part of the "Plain of Plovdiv", an alluvial plain that