World’s largest Eastern Orthodox church to open in Romania World’s largest Eastern Orthodox church to open in Romania

The world’s largest Eastern Orthodox church is set to open in Romania this month.

The People’s Salvation Cathedral, which is found in the capital Bucharest, will tick off a number of world records when it opens its doors on 26 October, including being the tallest (132 m), and the largest by area (6,000 sq m) and volume (323,000 sq m). It will also have the world’s largest Orthodox iconostasis, and the world’s largest free-swinging church bell.

St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City is the largest church in the world, while Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady Aparecida in Brazil is the largest cathedral. The next largest Eastern Orthodox church is the Saint Isaac’s Cathedral in Russia.

People’s Salvation Cathedral’s cornerstone was sanctified in 2007, but construction itself began in December 2010.

The opening forms part of the celebrations to mark the centenary of the Romanian Patriarchate. The patriarch is the highest-ranking bishop within a church, and within the Eastern Orthodox church, there are also patriarchs for Constantinople, Georgia and Russia.

Located within the heart of Bucharest, it is found in the same courtyard as the Palace of the Parliament, which is the largest parliament building in the world, and the heaviest overall at 4,098,500 tonnes.

More information: catedrala-nationala.ro

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