The Church of the Ascension of the Lord ( ro, Biserica Înălțarea Domnului) is a church in

Bacău Bacău ( , , ; hu, Bákó; la, Bacovia) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. At the 2016 national estimation it had a population of 196,883, making it the 12th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and is the third largest cathedral in the country, after the

People's Salvation Cathedral The People's Salvation Cathedral ( ro, Catedrala Mântuirii Neamului), also known as the National Cathedral ( ro, Catedrala Națională, link=no), is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral under construction in Bucharest to serve as the patriarchal cathe ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

and the Holy Trinity Cathedral of

Baia Mare Baia Mare ( , ; hu, Nagybánya; german: Frauenbach or Groß-Neustadt; la, Rivulus Dominarum) is a municipality along the Săsar River, in northwestern Romania; it is the capital of Maramureș County. The city lies in the region of Maramureș ...

. Officially the structure is a church and not a cathedral, because Bacău is not the seat of any bishop (the cathedral of the Bishop of Roman and Bacău, from which this parochial church belongs, being in

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

). However, due to its size and importance, it is called by the locals "cathedral" – in the sense used in the primary Christianity, that of the main place of the city. Officially if the bishop will serve in this church, it will be cathedral or co-cathedral.

History

On March 25, 1992, Ioachim Mareş, together with the Council of

Bacău County Bacău County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with its capital city at Bacău. It has one commune, Ghimeș-Făget, in Transylvania. Geography This county has a total area of . In the western part of the county the ...

(regional parliament), laid the foundation stone of the "Ascension of the Lord" Cathedral, and in the spring of 1993 the works were started, starting with excavations up to 11.80 m. The architect was Constantin Amâiei, and it was finalized by the new architecture office Vanel Exim.

Overview

The construction, with a floor area of 1,706 m², has a total length of 70 m, a width of 38 m and a maximum height of 70 m (63 m at the base of the cross on the main tower, the main cross having 7 m height). The foundation starts from 10 meters below ground, with a basement comprising two levels. The lowest level houses an exhibition hall, a book store, and a local air defense shelter. The next level is a paraclis, after which, at level 0, the cathedral itself begins, with concrete walls reaching a thickness of one meter in certain sections. The dome of the nave has an opening of 24 meters. The 18 bells with which the cathedral is equipped, weighing between 30 kilograms and 4.5 tons, were manufactured in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

. Of these, 13 are designed with a special shape. They are synchronized by computers, thus being able to play about 1,000 different songs, specific to certain moments during the church year. The other 5 are classic bells. The main cross, the largest in the country, is 7 meters high, an opening of the side arms of 4.20 meters, and a weight of almost 2 tons. The other three crosses, mounted on the turrets that hold the cathedral bells, are 4 meters high and the opening of the arms is 2.46 meters.

References

{{reflist Romanian Orthodox churches in Romania Bacău Churches completed in 2018 21st-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings