The Co-cathedral of Christ the King ( sh, Konkatedrala Krista Kralja) is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

place of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is somet ...

located in ''Krunska 23'', in the city center of

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. It is the oldest extant Catholic church in the city south of the Sava and the Danube rivers, and was built between 1924 and 1988, the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Belgrade.

History

The Co-Cathedral of Christ the King is the oldest catholic place of worship of Belgrade. Its construction was undertaken only in 1924: in fact, since 1914 the negotiations were taking place between the Holy See and the Serbian government for the construction of a church. The new temple, dedicated to St. Ladislaus, was solemnly consecrated by the

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...

Pellegrinetti December 7, 1924 and elevated to the rank of

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

of the newly Archdiocese of Belgrade, which was the first Archbishop

Ivan Rafael Rodić Archbishop Ivan Rafael Rodić, O.F.M. (also , it, Giovanni Raffaele Rodic; June 15, 1870 – May 10, 1954) was a Croatian Franciscan prelate, who served as the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Belgrade-Smederevo between 1 ...

. In 1926, the church was expanded and reached its current size, was also dedicated to Christ the King next year, were installed the new

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

and

bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...

s. Between 1966 and 1971, a period in which Ciril Zajec was cathedral’s vicar, were expanded local parish and the presbytery was converted to the new liturgical norms dictated by the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

. Since 1988, when he was consecrated the new cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, the Church of

Christ the King Christ the King is a title of Jesus in Christianity referring to the idea of the Kingdom of God where the Christ is described as seated at the right hand of God. Many Christian denominations consider the kingly office of Christ to be one of ...

has assumed the title of co-cathedral and is mainly used for diplomatic meetings,

requiem Masses A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

and interreligious meetings.

Description

Exterior

The

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

is preceded by a small

churchyard In Christian countries a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster-Scots, this can also ...

surrounded by a wrought iron gate onto which both the church and the

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

. The

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

of the church of

is divided into two sections by a horizontal cornice in stucco: the lower is the portal, supported by two Corinthian columns and topped by a

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', "little moon") is a half-moon shaped architectural space, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be segmental, and the arch may be an arc take ...

mosaic depicting Christ Blessing; in the upper one, there are the window with round arch and cornice supported by two shelves decorated with a pattern hanging arches. To the left of the facade of the church, there is a

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

with a belfry with three mullioned windows that opens to the outside. To the right of the church, however, is the rectory, on two floors, with four rectangular windows on the facade.

Interior

The interior of the Co-cathedral of Christ the King has three naves covered with a barrel vault. Along them, above the band in white

Carrara marble Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...

, are wooden

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

and stained-glass windows with scenes from the life of Jesus and Mary. At the bottom of two side aisles is the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

, which ends with two semicircular apses protruding slightly. In it are altars dedicated to

St. Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

(right altar) and

Our Lady of Lourdes Our Lady of Lourdes (french: Notre-Dame de Lourdes) is a title of the Virgin Mary. She is venerated under this title by the Roman Catholic church due to her apparitions that occurred in Lourdes, France. The first apparition of 11 February 1858, o ...

(left altar), also used for the custody of the

Blessed Sacrament The Blessed Sacrament, also Most Blessed Sacrament, is a devotional name to refer to the body and blood of Christ in the form of consecrated sacramental bread and wine at a celebration of the Eucharist. The term is used in the Latin Church of the ...

. The presbytery has fully restored to its present post-conciliar 1960s, led by the architect

Augustus Ranoki Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Principate ...

. Along the central axis, are the main altar and the marble bishop's throne. The apse is decorated with a modern mosaic depicting "

Pipe organ

In the choir loft located on the central portal, is the

, built in 1927 by Frank Jenko. It has 14

stops Stop may refer to: Places *Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States * Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina Facilities * Bus stop * Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck dri ...

placed on two keyboards and a pedalkeyboard.

External links

The church on the official website of the Archdiocese of Belgrade
*The organ on th

from the web sit
organo.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christ Roman Catholic churches in Belgrade Roman Catholic cathedrals in Serbia Vračar 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Serbia