Romanian People's Salvation Cathedral 2.93

The Cathedral for the Salvation of the Romanian People is the common name used to refer to a future Romanian Orthodox cathedral currently under construction in Bucharest. It will be the patriarchal cathedral of the Romanian Orthodox Church, and the tallest Orthodox Christian church in the world when completed . The new cathedral will be dedicated to the Ascension of Christ and to Saint Andrew.The plan of the cathedral complex includes a cathedral building; below the cathedral building, a soup kitchen with capacity for 1,000; two hotels; and parking for about 500 cars. The cathedral is designed with seating for approximately 6,000 worshipers, a greater than tenfold increase on the current patriarchal cathedral.HistoryThe earliest idea of a national cathedral came about after the Romanian War of Independence (1877 - 1878). It would symbolise the victory of Orthodoxy against the Ottoman Muslims. The idea was shelved for lack of consensus on design, location and funding.In 1920, King Ferdinand sent a letter to the Metropolitan bishop Miron Cristea, supporting the project, but this had no effect. In 1925, after the Romanian Orthodox Church became an independent patriarchate, Cristea suggested Carol Park as a site but his idea was defeated in favour of Bibescu Vodă Square. There, in 1929, a troiță (calvary) was raised. Lack of funds meant the construction was postponed and later forgotten.