St. Sophia, House of

the name of the residence (after the Cathedral of St. Sophia) and patrimony of the Novgorod prelates, including first bishops, then archbishops, and, after 1592, metropolitans; the administrative center of the Novgorod eparchy.

The House of St. Sophia was established in the late tenth century. From the late 12th to the 15th century it was a large patrimony, and the Novgorod archbishops had enormous political influence in the Novgorod feudal republic. The importance of the House of St. Sophia declined after Novgorod was annexed by Moscow. In the late 17th century the Kolmovo and several other Novgorod monasteries were added to the House of St. Sophia. The secularization of monastic and church property in the 18th century resulted in the decline of the House of St. Sophia.