Thousands of pilgrims flocked to Romania’s capital for the consecration of religious paintings inside the National Cathedral, the world’s largest Orthodox Christian church.
Formerly known by the clunkier name of the Cathedral of the People’s Redemption, the giant church was opened after 15 years of construction. The presidents of Romania and Moldova were among those who arrived for a service on Sunday.
Patriarch Daniel and Bartholomew I, the ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, who also presided over the consecration of the National Cathedral’s altar in 2018 led worship. Bartholomew is the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians and the primary spokesman for the Orthodox communion.
Daniel called the consecration of the Cathedral’s iconography “a testimony of unity in Orthodoxy and of the constant support of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for the administrative freedom and dignity of local churches.”
There has been criticism of the amount of funds spent on the church but the dominant Romanian Orthodox Church to which more than 85% of Romanians belong has called the cathedral “a symbol of national identity.”
The gold-domed cathedral which stands behind former Romanian Communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu’s gargantuan House of the People is more 125 meters at its highest point and has a capacity for 5,000 worshipers.
Religious artists have covered the cathedral’s interior walls with frescoes and mosaics featuring saints and icons. They cover a vast area of 17,800 square meters, according the National Cathedral’s website. The idea of a national cathedral was first conceived after Romania’s war of independence in 1877-78, historians say.
Romania is one of the most religious countries in the European Union, with the vast majority of Romanians belonging to the Orthodox Church.
Construction for the cathedral began in 2010, and its altar was consecrated in 2018. It has so far cost a reported 270 million euros, the majority paid for with public funds. The investment has generated controversy over the amount spent in a country where critics say the money would have been better spent on new hospitals and education.
President Nicusor Dan and his family and Moldovan President Maia Sandu sat in the front row of Sunday’s service. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan also attended, as did ambassadors including Britain’s Ambassador Giles Portman, and representatives of other churches such as Father Nevsky Everett, the chaplain of the Anglican Church of the Resurrection.
Thousands watched the service via TV screens set up outside the cathedral.
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