Erect amid amidst the eastern necropolis of Serdica, the temple lies over 50 burial structures from the 3rd to 5th century CE. The present temple is from the 5th building period and dates to 6th century. During the 2nd Bulgarian kingdom it was used as a bishop's temple and gave the city its name in the 14th c. During the Ottoman period, it was transformed into a mosque. In 1930, it was reconstructed and has been used as an orthodox church, its original purpose, since.