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The Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Daniel, declared this Sunday, in Oradea, that the consecration of the new Cathedral in the town, after 25 years of construction, represents a great and blessed event for BOR, in general, and especially for the local Diocese, according to Agerpres.
“It is a great and blessed event for the Romanian Orthodox Church in general, and especially for the Orthodox Episcopate of Oradea, who wants to keep alive the flame of the ancient Orthodox faith and increase the love for the values of Romanian spirituality. But this sanctification it is, at the same time, an act of worship and a moment to cultivate gratitude towards our forerunners. It is a historical moment, full of spiritual emotion destined to punctuate other historical moments, thus cultivating communion between generations “, said the high hierarch.
His Beatitude Daniel participated on Sunday, together with the local bishop, Sofronie, and 20 other hierarchs of the Holy Synod of BOR, in the consecration of the Orthodox Cathedral “Resurrection of the Lord” in the vicinity of the Fortress of Oradea.
The more than 2,000 believers attended the event around the building, on the front plateau and on the road closed to vehicular traffic. The official program was broadcast through sound stations and on two large screens mounted on the sides of the cathedral. Due to preventive measures to limit the spread of COVID-19, access to the interior of the cathedral was restricted in number, by invitation.
PF Daniel spoke about the special significance of this day for the Orthodox Diocese of Oradea, on the 100th anniversary of its reestablishment of former rights, on the 340th anniversary of the first documentary certification, as well as on the 325th anniversary. since the mention of this ancient diocese in the Diploma of the Emperor of Austria Leopold I in 1695.
According to the patriarch, the diocese, which was never officially abolished, was left with an empty episcopal see.
He also featured the long process of building the Orthodox Cathedral, which was originally intended to be the Church with the Sun, compared to the Church with the Moon, a former provisional Episcopal cathedral.
The project of the Church with the Sun was born in 1920, at the initiative of the Roman Bishop Ciorogariu, assumed by Bishop Nicolae Popovici of Oradea, but the dream of the two could not be realized due to the hardships of the time: the outbreak of the Second World War, the establishment of communism.
Only after 1989 was the project resumed, and in 1995 Patriarch Teoctist and Bishop Ioan Mihălţan consecrated the foundation stone at the current location. After 2007, with the enthronement of Bishop Sofronie, work progressed steadily.
“This new cathedral, which the clergy and believers of the Diocese of Oradea offer to the Savior Jesus Christ as a gift or offering of their faith, diligence, wisdom, ability and generosity, becomes by sanctification the door of Heaven and the house of God (…) God is present everywhere, but in the most solemn and receptive way he is present in the church, in the house dedicated to him, through sanctification, where he sees and hears those who invoke him in prayer , listen to the Word of God and receive its holy mysteries, of eternal life “, said the Patriarch.
He gave various distinctions or ecclesiastical orders to some priests and archpriests, but also to businessman Viorel Micula and his wife, Doina Micula, whose contribution, said the hierarch, was important. “Mrs. Doina Micula paid for the bells made in Innsbruck and it was not a cheap job,” said Patriarch Daniel.
Before giving the floor to Bishop Sofronie, Primate BOR offered him various gifts for the new cathedral, including an Episcopal cross and natural incense brought from Oman, as well as a DVD “The Church in Times of Pandemic”.
The Episcopal Cathedral “Resurrection of the Lord” in Oradea was consecrated, on Sunday, by Patriarch Daniel, together with a council of priests.
The visit of Patriarch Daniel to Bihor takes place in the context in which the Orthodox Episcopate of Oradea marks, in 2020, the centenary of the reestablishment of the Orthodox Diocese of Oradea, through a Royal Decree signed by King Ferdinand I the Integrator on 30 August 1920. This year marks 340 years since the first official documentary certification of the Orthodox Episcopate of Oradea, in 1680, but also 325 years since the mention of the Orthodox Episcopate of Oradea and its then hierarch, Efrain, in the Diploma of the Austrian Emperor Leopold I from 1695.
Patriarch Daniel also officiated on Saturday, together with a council of priests, the consecration service of the new church “Asunción de la Madre de Dios” of the Izbuc Monastery, at the foot of the Codru Moma mountains.
The cathedral was built in front of the Oradea Fortress, joined to it by a wooden bridge, being the place where the voivode Mihai Viteazul camped with his troops, when he made a stop in Oradea. The episcopal cathedral “Resurrection of the Lord” is the dream of Bishop Roman Ciorogariu of Oradea, who, in 1925, started this project of construction of a new Orthodox cathedral in Oradea, which he wanted to call the Cathedral of the Sun.
According to the bishop’s spokesman, Father Cristian Rus, it was not possible to build it in those years, but not even during the atheist communist regime, only after 1990, due to the flu of Bishop Vasile Coman of Oradea, managing to resume this project. especially important for the Orthodox episcopate of Oradea.
The foundation stone of the sanctuary was laid and consecrated by the Romanian Patriarch Theoctist on June 4, 1995. From then until now, continuous work has been done. The cathedral was erected, clad in copper foil, the great golden cross was placed on the central tower, the two golden crosses on the small towers and four other golden crosses on the pediments, and it was lined on the outside with red marble. and Podeni stone. The five bells made in Innsbruck, Austria, were also erected and installed.
Inside, the decoration of the holy place began, until now, the painting of the apse of the holy altar was painted in the mosaic technique and the installation of the marble iconostasis with mosaic icons, as well as the altar floor and the floor of marble in Greece.
On the main facade of the sanctuary there is a large mosaic icon representing the Resurrection of the Lord, the main patron saint of the church, a copy of the original from the Daphni Monastery in Greece.
The cathedral is built in the Stefanian-Rareşian style, the Moldovan style, with a height of 67 meters from the ground to the top of the tallest cross.
The main patron of the Episcopal Cathedral is the “Resurrection of the Lord”, but also “Saint Andrew Hierarch, Metropolitan of Transilvania”.
Since 2005, when a chapel was arranged in the basement, the liturgical service began in this place
In 2012, after plastering the interior, installing the windows, interior doors and doors of the main entrance, made of solid wood, a copy of the doors of the Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Constantinople, on Easter night the liturgical service began in the cathedral itself.
In the year of the Centennial of the Great Union, 2018, the fire extinguishing systems were completed and the interior paving works with marble from Cavala, Greece, and mosaic paving began, managing to pave the Holy Altar and the floor, and the Saint. The table was completely covered in marble.
In 2019, the independent generator set was installed and put into operation for the full functionality of the fire prevention and extinguishing systems. The marble cladding and paving works were continued by artisans from Greece, and the marble cladding of the altar walls and around the floor was completed, up to a height of 1.70 m. At the same time, the painting of the apse of the Holy Altar in technique began. mosaic.
On November 7, 2019, the commission for the reception of the construction works was summoned in the Episcopal Cathedral, concluding in this sense the final acceptance report, subsequently issuing the Commissioning Authorization no. 820/13 December 2019.
In 2020, the marble iconostasis was completed and installed in Thessaloniki, Greece, with mosaic icons made in Romania, in Iasi, as well as the complete painting of the apse of the Holy Altar in the mosaic technique (175 m2), by a team of Art Georgies artists in Iasi.
The cathedral was endowed with objects of worship made in the Patriarchate Workshops: Ark, Gospel, Holy Vessels, blessing crosses, candlesticks, censers, candles, agiasma vessel and other objects used in sacred services. Velvet pillows were mounted, embroidered and sewn on the doors of the royal and the deacon in the tailoring workshops of the Monastery of the Holy Cross of Oradea.
The cathedral benefits from an underfloor heating system inside, but a defrosting system has also been installed under the main access stairs to the sanctuary, in order to prevent the water from freezing and the worshipers from slipping. on the steps.
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