The Church of Christ Pantocrator (, tsarkva „Hristos Pantokrator“ or църква „Христос Вседържател“, tsarkva „Hristos Vsedarzhatel“, Byzantine Greek: Ναός Χριστού Παντοκράτωρος) is a medieval Eastern Orthodox church in the eastern Bulgarian town of Nesebar (medieval Mesembria), on the Black Sea coast of Burgas Province. Part of the Ancient Nesebar UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Church of Christ Pantocrator was constructed in the 13th–14th century and is best known for its lavish exterior decoration. The church, today an art gallery, survives largely intact and is among Bulgaria's best preserved churches of the Middle Ages. History The Church of Christ Pantocrator is usually dated to the late 13th or early 14th century. University of Pennsylvania scholar Robert G. Ousterhout places its construction in the mid-14th century. Rough Guides author Jonathan Bousfield attributes its building to the rule of Tsar Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria (r. 1331–1371), though during this time control of Nesebar changed many times between the Second Bulgarian Empire and Byzantium. The church is dedicated to Christ Pantocrator, a name of God which hails him as the "Ruler of All" in Greek. The church is located on Mesembria Street, near the entrance to Nesebar's old town. Nowadays, it houses an art gallery which exhibits works by Bulgarian artists. As it belongs to the old town of Nesebar, the Church of Christ Pantocrator forms part of the Ancient City of Nesebar UNESCO World Heritage Site and the 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria. Since 1927, it has been under state protection as a "national antiquity", and it was listed among Bulgaria's monuments of culture of national importance in 1964. Architecture The church is designed in late Byzantine cross-in-square style. It was constructed from stones and brickwork, a construction technique known as opus mixtum, and measures , , or , depending on the source. The walls of the church are thick. The colour of the bricks gives the church a ruddy appearance. The church features a narthex and a cella (or "naos") with an essentially rectangular elongated plan. The narthex is small, but has a medieval tomb underneath it. There are four entrances to the church: two accessing the cella from the south and west, and another two for the narthex from the west and north. The apse of the church has three small parts which overlap each other to form a single, larger unit. The prothesis and diaconicon of the church are located