not include a separate sanctuary in front of the altar, though semicircular niches to the sides of the apse serve as its prothesis and diaconicon. The plan of the church also includes several square niches which bear similarity to similar executions in churches in medieval Veliko Tarnovo. The entrance to the church is on the south wall. In the past, the church had a dome, and its present double-pitched roof was built in more recent times. The narthex of the church was once topped by calotte and a bell tower, which has not been preserved today. The tower was accessible via a vaulted stone staircase on the west wall of the church. The belfry is a feature that the Church of Saint Paraskevi shares with other churches in Nesebar, such as the Church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel and the Church of Saint Theodore. Unlike the Church of the Holy Archangels, though, the staircase of the Church of Saint Paraskevi was on the outside, as in the Church of Christ Pantocrator. Much like other churches in Nesebar dating to the same period, the Church of Saint Paraskevi was lavishly decorated on the outside. The design of the exterior walls includes two rows of richly ornamented blind arches. Two rows of eight narrow arches each decorate the north and south walls, with an additional three on the west wall and two on either side of the apse. The lower arcade was larger than the upper one, though both were decorated with archivolts composed of three rows of coloured ceramic rosettes. The lunettes were built out of stones and bricks in various shapes, including ornamental fish bones, suns, chequered and zigzag patterns. References Bulgarian Orthodox churches in Nesebar 13th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings 14th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church buildings Byzantine architecture in Bulgaria