Sozopol (Bulgarian: Созопол) is a small ancient town located 30 km south of Burgas on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, in Bulgaria. Today the town is mostly a seaside resort known for the Apollonia art and film festival (which takes place in early September) and is named after one of Sozopol's ancient names. The busiest times of the year are, of course, the summer months, ranging from May to September as tourists from around the world come to enjoy the fine weather, sandy beaches, history and culture, fusion cuisine (Bulgarian, Greek, Turkish), and overall atmosphere of the colourful resort. The increasing popularity of the town has led to it being dubbed the Bulgarian St. Tropez, seeing stars like Ralph Fiennes, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Goldfrapp exploring its beauty and charm[1]. Part of Burgas Province, as of September 2005 Sozopol has a population of 4,641.[2] The town is located at 42°25′N, 27°42′E and the mayor is Panaiot Reyzi. One of the most active and popular mayors had been Nikola Kaloyanov, who initiated numerous infrastructure changes to modernize the town in the 70s. Sozopol was Christianized early. Bishops are recorded as resident there from at least 431. At least eight bishops are known (Le Quien, Oriens christianus, I, 1181): Athanasius (431), Peter (680), Euthymius (787) and Ignatius (869) (all of whom in the Roman Catholic Church); Theodosius (1357), Joannicius, who became Patriarch of Constantinople (1524), Philotheus (1564) and Joasaph (1721) (all of whom in the Eastern Orthodox Church[1]). From being suffragan to the archbishopric of Adrianopolis, it became in the fourteenth century a metropolis without suffragan sees; it disappeared perhaps temporarily with the Turkish conquest, but reappeared later; in 1808 it was united to the See of Agathopolis. The titular resided at Agathopolis, in Ottoman days called Akhtébolou, in the vilayet of Adrianopolis (Edirne, in European Turkey). Eubel (Hierarchia catholica medii ævi, I, 194) mentions four Latin bishops of the fourteenth century. The city remains a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church, that of Sozopolis in Haemimonto, suffragan of Adrianopolis. The seat has stood vacant since the death of the last titular bishop in 2000[2]. Art flourished in the Christian era. The ancient icons and magnificent woodcarving in the iconostases are a remarkable accomplishment of the craftsmanship of these times. The architecture of the houses in the old town from the Renaissance period makes it a unique place to visit today. The original name of the city is attested as Antheia [3]. Coins were minted in the town bearing the inscription Apollonia, which date from the sixth century BC to the first half of the third century AD. During this period, appellations such as Apollonia Pontica (Apollonia on the Black Sea) and Apollonia Magna (Great Apollonia) have been recorded. By the first century AD, the name Sozopolis began to appear in written records (e.g., in the Periplus Ponti Euxini). After the town became part of the Ottoman Empire, the name was Turkified to Sizeboli, Sizebolu or Sizebolou. After Bulgaria took possession of the town, it was Slavicized to Sozopol.

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