Orthodox Cathedral

The Timi?oara Orthodox Cathedral (Catedrala Ortodox?) is a Romanian Orthodox cathedral in Timi?oara, Romania. It was built between 1937 and 1940. It is dedicated to the Three Holy Hierarchs, Saints Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom. It has 11 towers, of which the central and the highest has a height of 96 meters.

It is home to many valuable religious objects such as old icons and early writings in Romanian, such as the 1648 Noul Testament de la B?lgrad (“The New Testament of B?lgrad”) and the 1643 Cazania lui Varlaam (“The Homiliary of Metropolitan Varlaam”).

The building’s style is quite unusual among Romanian Orthodox buildings, although it is partly based on local religious tradition and partly on Byzantine architecture (the style developed by Moldavian and Byzantine artisans had transplanted and adapted). Elements such as niches under the eaves, starry vaulting in the interior, and lacquered discs in a variety of colors, can be seen in monasteries such as Cozia or Prislop (both built in the 14th century and based on guidelines devised by the monk Nicodim of Prilep).

The church’s interior and exterior paintings were created by the painter Atanasie Demian. The difficult period that followed the structure’s completion (see Romania during World War II) prevented the paintings from being finished on time, so this work went on for many years after World War II.

Attractions orthodox cathedral, timisoara