Much of this church was destroyed in the 1913 earthquake. Until then it had been one of Turnovo's longest serving churches. Today it has been partially restored and is a museum where visitors can see remains of the original frescoes from three separate eras of decoration. The six different columns were brought from the previous Bulgarian capitals of Pliska and Preslav. The church is something of a 'chuch within a church' as a protective outer layer has been added to preserve the delicate frescoes.

It was built during the reign of Tsar Kaloyan who in 1204 signed a union with the Roman Pope giving him the title of Tsar and head of the Bulgarian church.