Long ago, in the days when there was a Roman city called Serdika, the Christians built a church on a hill on the outskirts of the town. Now Serdika had been known in the Roman Empire as a city full of healing mineral springs. In fact, Constantine even considered making it the capital of the Roman Empire before Constantinople was chosen. As people traveled to Serdika, they would see this church on the hill before they saw the city. And they would say to the children's incessant "ARE WE THERE YET?" queries with, "Yes! There it is! You can see Sofia (the name of the church)!" Over time, that name became the name of the city. Many people today erroneously think that Sofia is named for a saint. In fact, it's named for this church (which was named for St. Sofia, so, in a manner of speaking, the city is named for her...)
There's no bell tower in this church, so in one of the trees on the left side of the picture, a bell is hung in the event that it needs to be rung! This is one of my favorite stops on the Free Sofia Walking Tour. There's also a wonderfully preserved crypt and ruins from ancient times in the basement. On Tuesdays it's free!