Belovo Basilica

The Belovo Basilica of the Ascension of the Lord, or St Spas, is an ancient Christian church near Belovo in Pazardzhik Province, Bulgaria. Existing in the Early Middle Ages, it forms part of the ruined Late Antique and medieval fortified town of Leuke. It survived until the seventeenth century, when the Ottomans destroyed it during the conversion to Islam of Bulgarians from the Chepino villages. The basilica lies in the Sveti Spas, or Spasovitsa, locality on the northwestern slopes of the Rhodope Mountains, ten kilometres south of Belovo and approximately 1.5 km south of Golyamo Belovo. It is reached by a difficult forest road from Belovo. Built towards the end of the fifth century as part of the fortified town of Leuke, it was the cathedral of the Diocese of Leuke. During the Middle Ages a monastery known as Golyamo Belovo Monastery developed around it; the Turks destroyed it in the seventeenth century during the conversion to Islam of Bulgarians from the Chepino Basin. The basilica has three aisles and three apses, a triconch baptistery and a three-part narthex. The complex is an extensive archaeological site dating from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Described by prominent figures of the Bulgarian National Revival, including Petko Slaveykov and Stefan Zahariev, the basilica has been the subject of scholarly research and archaeological excavation. In 1994 it was conserved and partially restored. Arches in the vestibule were reconstructed and gravel laid over the floor, allowing tourist visits and helping preserve the structure over time.

A small single-nave cruciform church was built beside the basilica in 1999. The site is still venerated, and tourists visit the new church to appreciate the unique archaeological and religious value of this ancient complex.