Timișoara Orthodox Cathedral

The Timișoara Orthodox Cathedral (Romanian: Catedrala Mitropolitană din Timișoara) is a Romanian Orthodox church in Timișoara, in the historical Banat region, in western Romania. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Timișoara and Metropolis of Banat. It is dedicated to the Three Holy Hierarchs, Saints Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom.

Timișoara Orthodox Cathedral
Catedrala Mitropolitană din Timișoara
The church in the city center
Religion
AffiliationRomanian Orthodox Church
RiteEastern Orthodox Church
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusMetropolis of Banat
Year consecrated6 October 1946
StatusMetropolitan cathedral
Location
LocationTimișoara
StateRomania
Location in Timișoara
Geographic coordinates45°45′02″N 21°13′27″E
Architecture
Architect(s)Ioan D. Traianescu
TypeCathedral
StyleMoldavian/Byzantine
Groundbreaking14 September 1936
Completed8 September 1941
Specifications
Length63 metres (207 ft)
Width32 metres (105 ft)
Height (max)90.5 metres (297 ft)

Built on an area of 1,542 m2 (16,600 sq ft), it has 11 towers, of which the central and the highest has a height of 90.5 meters.[1] The Metropolitan Cathedral is listed in the National Register of Historic Monuments.[2]

Architecture

The cathedral was raised between 1936 and 1941. The building's style (architect Ioan Traianescu) is Neo-Moldavian style, based on Romanian Orthodox, late Renaissance, Ottoman, and Byzantine architecture elements, such as niches under the eaves, ribbed star vaulting in the interior, and lacquered discs in a variety of colors.[3]

The church's interior and exterior paintings were created by the painter Anastase Demian.[3] The difficult period that followed the structure's completion, that of Romania during World War II, prevented the paintings from being finished with the building. Demian's work went on for many years after World War II.[4][5]

Art

Timișoara Orthodox Cathedral is home to many historic and artistic religious objects, including many vintage Romanian icon paintings.

There is also a collection of early writings in Romanian. Examples include the 1648 Noul Testament de la Bălgrad ("The New Testament of Bălgrad") and the 1643 Cazania lui Varlaam ("The Homiliary of Varlaam").

See also

References

  1. Cum s-a construit unul dintre simbolurile Timişoarei, Catedrala Mitropolitană (in Romanian)
  2. (in Romanian) Catedrala Mitropolitană at dccpcnjtimis.ro
  3. Catedrala din Timișoara, stil şi eleganţă at ziarullumina.ro (in Romanian)
  4. Catedrala Mitropolitană Ortodoxă Română Timişoara (in Romanian) at primariatm.ro
  5. Catedrala Mitropolitană at timisoara-info.ro (in Romanian)


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.