The Orthodox Cathedral (), also known as the Metropolitan Cathedral (), is a Romanian Orthodox church in Timișoara. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishopric of Timișoara and the Metropolis of Banat. It is dedicated to the Three Holy Hierarchs, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom.
Built on an area of 1,542 m2, it has 11 towers, of which the central one has a height of 90.5 m, making it the second tallest church in Romania, after the People's Salvation Cathedral in Bucharest. The cathedral is listed in the National Register of Historic Monuments.
History
The history of the cathedral is closely linked to the year 1919, when, on 28 July, Banat was united with Romania. The new Romanian administration took a series of measures to encourage Orthodoxy, neglected by the previous Austro-Hungarian administration, which was only favorable to the Catholic religion. Thus, the Bishopric of Timișoara was created, elevated to the rank of archbishopric in 1939, and in 1947 the Metropolis of Banat was established.
There was an obvious need to build a new place of worship, commensurate with the Orthodox community in Timișoara and the Romanian Banat. At the initiative of the parish of Cetate (the historic center of Timișoara), a fund for the construction of the new church was set up and an appeal was launched to parishioners for donations. In 1936, all the preconditions for starting construction already existed. The financial fund for the building was already collected, although the total amount needed was very high for those times. The necessary land, located at the crossroads of the most important arteries of the city, was donated by the City Hall, and the project of the church was entrusted since 1934 to the architect . The project provided for a building with a capacity of 5,000 people. The City Hall provided all the bricks free of charge, and the Reșița Steel Works made a 30% discount on the purchase price of 330 tons of iron.
The actual construction began on 16 March 1936. On 20 December of the same year, a solemn service was held, laying the foundation stone of the future cathedral (which was consecrated by Bishop Andrei Magieru of Arad). The execution of the construction works was done by Tiberiu Eremia's company from Bucharest. The church bells and crosses were consecrated on 23 August 1938. The final reception of the construction works took place on 9 July 1940, and the parish council approved this reception on 24 July. The cathedral was inaugurated on 6 October 1946 in the presence of King Michael I, Prime Minister Petru Groza, Patriarch Nicodim Munteanu, Bishop of Timișoara , Metropolitan of Transylvania Nicolae Bălan and representatives of other cults, led by Roman Catholic bishop Augustin Pacha and Greek Catholic bishop Ioan Bălan. During World War II, after Romania turned its weapons against Germany, German aircraft bombed Timișoara (30–31 October 1944). Six bombs fell on the cathedral, but only one of them exploded, causing significant but limited damage. The interior and exterior painting was finished only in 1956, due to World War II and the difficult period that followed.
Architecture
The building's style is neo-Moldavian, 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. Such elements can be found in the old Cozia and Prislop monasteries, typical for the 14th century. The church is a fortunate "head of perspective" of the Victory Square in front of it. The style of the building is not entirely extraneous to the 1900s architecture in the square, also characterized by the ample play of roofs.