Romanian Cathedral or People’s Salvation Cathedral is the way how Romania surprises, once again, the whole world with another impressive building. After Palace of Parliament, the largest civilian building in the world, Romanians decided to set the record straight by building the People’s Salvation Cathedral, the tallest and largest Orthodox Cathedral in the whole world. People also call it the National Cathedral. This state-of-the-art cathedral in Bucharest will be devoted to the Ascension of Christ and to Saint Andrew, the saviour of the Romanians.
Romanian Cathedral is located in the central Bucharest, beeing seen from any part of the Capital. Let’s take a look at this article wrote solely with the purpose to give you a better understanding of People’s Salvation Cathedral insights.
The idea of a National Cathedral came forth after the Romanian War of Independence, a battle held mainly between Russians and the Ottoman Empire. The church symbolized the Orthodox Christian victory over the Muslims. Due to the lack of funding, location and resources back then, the construction has been postponed.
Long time after that moment, in 2005, Bucharest City Hall convinced the Patriarchate to build the church on the highest place in Bucharest, called Arsenal Hill. The sixth patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Daniel, gave his blessings for the construction of People’s Salvation Cathedral.
Following that, in 2010, the construction began. After eight years of continuous work, on 25 November 2018, the sanctification of the church took place.One hundred priests attended this holy event and approximately 55.000 people attended the Divine Liturgy.
As we speak, the Cathedral is still under construction. Even if a great deal of it is already raised, the workers put tremendous efforts to finish it. The chapel was done in 2011 and by 2025 the Romanian Orthodox Church should put the final touch, the paintwork.
People’s Salvation Cathedral is the tallest church in the world for a solid reason! It distinguishes itself by its unique architecture that will catch anyone’s attention. The architecture is a combination between traditional and contemporary style.
If we take a look at the iconography plan, we will understand that church inside walls display paintings of the great Romanian saints. The tessarae is made exclusively out of mosaic and gold. The floor will be made of marble, which was also used for the Palace of Parliament. To add up, this type of marble was common for buildings from Ancient Rome. Also, when the main cathedral door is open, you can see the one hundred meters Altar.
Another interesting fact about People’s Salvation Cathedral is that it has 28 bronze doors, all with iconography representations of saints. Imagine that one single door weights four tons! Once you arrive at the dome, you will see clearly its perfect hemisphere shape. People’s Salvation Cathedral dome is expected to be the third dome in the world.
Did you know what did it take to realize the church iconostasis? Undoubtedly you will be surprised to know that 45 workers spent 10 months to paint its murals. The iconostasis is made as a tribute to the Kingdom of Heavens.
This was just a sneak peak of the interior side! You will definitely have to go see it for yourself to believe your eyes. People’s Salvation Cathedral is not only about its interior beauty, but also exterior. The courtyard is divided into four buildings: Saint Andrew's House (for pilgrims), Saint Peter's House, Saint Paul's House (cultural center) and lastly Saint Luca's House (medical social center). The purpose of this wide space is not only to accommodate pilgrims and pastors, but also to hold cultural and social events.
Have we mentioned the underground galleries? People’s Salvation Cathedral never ceases to amaze us! There are two underground galleries which can take around 15.000 people into space. They serve many purposes such as holding the Holy Liturgy, gallery-exhibition and sacramental objects.
For all one knows, the most intriguing aspect about this cathedral is its bells. People’s Salvation Cathedral bells are the world’s largest free-swinging bells! You will not be dazed when you find out that you can hear the bells’ sound from up to 20 km away.
The Italian campanologist Flavio Zambotto stated that it took them 8 months to build the bells. What is more, “their sound is sober, very strong, long and it marks you”.
Craftsmen paid particularly attention to the sound of the bells. It is made in such a way to mimic the sound of Saint Stephen's Cathedral bell from Vienna. However, People’s Salvation Cathedral bell has its own feature: the sound is not only lower, but longer.
So when can you hear this famous cathedral bell? People will be enchanted by its one and only sound on national holidays and any other major holiday.
After all these years of construction, the result must be worth something! Without a shadow of a doubt, People’s Salvation Cathedral has already earned its merits. Here is a shortlist that contains the biggest achievements so far as well as some interesting things to know about this building.
-People’s Salvation Cathedral dome is polished with gold
-The dome holds the title of the tallest domed cathedral in the world. After its completion, it will be 135m tall
-The Cathedral displays the largest mosaic collection in the world
-It has not only the tallest (44m) but widest (25.2m) nave in the history of Orthodox Churches
-People’s Salvation Cathedral owns the largest free-swinging bell in the world (25.2 tons)
-This cathedral hosted the most religious leaders such as the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, and the Pope
For those who wonder about the costs of this massive architecture, bear with us! Though there is no clear amount, people speculate that 110 million euros have been spent so far. Keep in mind that 25% of this sum was accumulated from donations.
All in all, the People’s Salvation Cathedral is expected to be Bucharest’s new attraction! Massive, unique, grand are just some of the few words to describe such a building.
Speaking of Bucharest’s attractions, you can try out Visit Bucharest today app for more impressive things to explore in Bucharest.
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8:38 pm, aprilie 19, 2024
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