BUP Interview with Ekaterina Namicheva Todorovska

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Date: 22.09.2025

Balkan University Press is thrilled to share the interview with Ekaterina Namicheva Todorovska who is the author of the forthcoming BUP publication "The Church of Saint Sophia in Ohrid: Architecture, History, and Urban Context". The book is the second volume of the Architecture & Design book series.

BUP: Your book situates the Church of St. Sophia within Ohrid’s broader historical and urban landscape. Why was it important for you to frame the church not only as an architectural monument but also as a part of the city’s cultural and geographic identity?

ENT: I chose to treat Saint Sophia as more than a beautiful building because its meanings and effects are lived every day in the city. The church shapes where people walk, how streets open up to the lake, and how residents remember and tell stories about their neighborhood. By looking at it in relation to topography, circulation, and everyday practice, I could show how the monument and the community continuously shape one another — which matters for understanding the past and for making practical choices about conservation today.

BUP: Your research follows the church’s transformation across many centuries, from its early Christian roots to its later adaptations under Byzantine and Ottoman influence. Which of these historical phases do you find most illuminating for understanding how the building reflects the continuity and adaptability of cultural and religious life in Ohrid?

ENT: If I had to pick one phase that taught me the most, it would be the Byzantine period: that’s when the church’s scale, orientation, and basic spatial logic were put in place, and those decisions kept shaping the area for centuries. That said, the Ottoman and later phases are equally revealing in a different way — they show how people reused, reinterpreted, and adapted the building. Reading the layers together — foundations and reuse — is what really explains how the place stayed meaningful through change.

BUP: In the book, you place the Church of St. Sophia within a wider architectural context, drawing connections with buildings in Constantinople and Venice. How do these parallels highlight the shared cultural and artistic currents across the Byzantine world and the Mediterranean, and what do they reveal about Ohrid’s role within this interconnected heritage?

ENT: The similarities I note aren’t about copying; they point to shared ways of building, shared liturgical needs, and networks of craftsmen and ideas across the Byzantine and Mediterranean world. Think of them as variations on a common technical and aesthetic vocabulary. Those parallels show that Ohrid wasn’t isolated: it was part of wider cultural flows while remaining very much rooted in its local landscape and community.

BUP: You emphasize the church’s harmonic proportions and geometric precision as hallmarks of Byzantine tradition. How do these architectural qualities contribute to the church’s symbolic role in both local and regional history?

ENT: The church’s measured proportions and geometric clarity do practical and emotional work. Practically, they organize movement, sightlines, and the experience of worship; visually, they make the building readable from the city’s streets and shore. Emotionally and symbolically, that order conveys stability and civic authority — which helps explain why the church functions as a marker of identity and continuity for generations of residents.

BUP: In your conclusion, you highlight the church as both tangible and intangible heritage. What do you see as the biggest challenges today in preserving monuments like St. Sophia, and how can scholarship such as yours support conservation professionals and policymakers?

ENT: Today the main pressures are external — tourism, commercial clutter, insensitive infill, and environmental stresses — and internal — fragmented governance, limited budgets, and gaps in technical capacity. Research can help in very concrete ways: by documenting the site and its surroundings, mapping view corridors and buffer zones, producing clear, evidence-based guidance for planners, and working with local communities and conservators so interventions respect both heritage and everyday life. In short, scholarship should support practical tools and honest conversations, not just abstract arguments, so preservation can be effective and sustainable.

Ekaterina Namicheva Todorovska is a dedicated architect, researcher, and educator specializing in architectural heritage, interior design, and cultural studies. As a docent at Goce Delchev University, she combines academic expertise with practical experience in preservation, urban memory, and sustainable design. Her work extends beyond academia through curated exhibitions, international projects, and hands-on design workshops. Passionate about cultural heritage, she actively contributes to research and publications, promoting interdisciplinary dialogue in architecture and design. With a strong commitment to education and innovation, she strives to inspire future generations while advocating for inclusive and forward-thinking design solutions.

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