The Holy Cathedral Church of the Annunciation of the Theotokos ( el, Ιερός Καθεδρικός Ναός Ευαγγελισμού της Θεοτόκου Αλεξάνδρειας, translit=Ieros Kathedrikos Naos Evangelismou tis Theotokou Alexandrias) is a trilateral

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

which was founded in the middle of the 19th century in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, Egypt. Its ecclesiastical see is the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa. The Holy Cathedral serves the Greek community of Alexandria. In the opinion of author Donald M. Reid, the cathedral was built in "

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

rather than

neo-Byzantine Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Orth ...

style"Donald Malcolm Reid: ''Whose Pharaohs? Archaeology, Museums, and Egyptian National Identity from Napoleon to World War I''. University of California Press, Berkeley, 2002. , p. 150 The cathedral is located in

Tahrir Square, Alexandria Tahrir Square ''Alexandria'' ( ar, ميدان التحرير , en, Liberation Square) is a public town square in Alexandria, northern Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country s ...

. The cornerstone of the cathedral was laid by Patriarch Hierotheus II on 16 November 1847. Completion of the work took nine years, which was officially marked on 25 March 1856 with a liturgy celebrated by Patriarch Hierotheus. Restoration work was completed in December 2004 with funding from the

Alexander S. Onassis Foundation The Alexander S. Onassis Foundation () was created by Aristotle Onassis to honor the memory of his son Alexander, who died at age 24 in an airplane crash in 1973. Aristotle Onassis died in 1975, and had directed in his will that half of his estate ...

. The church was rededicated on 2 April 2006 by the

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Bartholomew ( el, Βαρθολομαῖος, ; tr, Bartholomeos; born 29 February 1940) is the 270th Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch, since 2 November 1991. In accordance with his title, he is regarded as the ''primus inte ...

ͺ and the Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, Theodore II, in the presence of the

President of the Hellenic Republic The president of Greece, officially the President of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρόεδρος της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Próedros tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), commonly referred to in Greek as the President of the Rep ...

Karolos Papoulias Karolos Papoulias ( el, Κάρολος Παπούλιας ; 4 June 1929 – 26 December 2021) was a Greek politician who served as the president of Greece from 2005 to 2015. A member of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), he previously ...

. The church has a length of 41.80 metres, a width of 23.6 metres, and a height of 32.4 metres. The total area is 1,1155.23 square metres. The architect who conceived the church was Ermetes Pierotis; it was completed under Lukowitz. The marble

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand t ...

patriarchal throne Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical anthropological term for families or clans controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males a ...

, the

sedilia In church architecture, sedilia (plural of Latin ''sedīle'', "seat") are seats, usually made of stone, found on the liturgical south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for use during Mass for the officiating priest and his assistants, the ...

and the

ambo Ambo may refer to: Places * Ambo, Kiribati * Ambo Province, Huanuco Region, Peru ** Ambo District ** Ambo, Peru, capital of Ambo District * Ambo Town, a town in Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia ** Ambo, Ethiopia, a capital of West Shewa Zone ...

were all works by the

Constantinopolitan la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

Iakovos Varoutis. For the design of the

doors A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide security b ...

, windows,

pew A pew () is a long bench (furniture), bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating Member (local church), members of a Church (congregation), congregation or choir in a Church (building), church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom. Overview ...

baldachin A baldachin, or baldaquin (from it, baldacchino), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over h ...

and other sculpture the work was done by George Philippides. The gilder of the iconostasis, the throne and the ambo was Michael Larozas. The gilders of the nave were the brothers Iordanou. The icons were produced both in Egypt and in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, the windows in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, the clock came from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

(produced by Frederick

Dent Dent may refer to: People * Dent (surname) * Dent May (active 2007), American musician * Dent Mowrey (1888–1960), American composer, musician and music teacher * Dent Oliver (1918–1973), international speedway rider Places France * Dent d' ...

, of the same family responsible for London's

Big Ben Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England, and the name is frequently extended to refer also to the clock and the clock tower. The officia ...

), and the

chandeliers A chandelier (; also known as girandole, candelabra lamp, or least commonly suspended lights) is a branched ornamental light fixture designed to be mounted on ceilings or walls. Chandeliers are often ornate, and normally use incandescent li ...

came from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Gallery

File:Ikonostase der griechisch-orthodoxen Kathedrale Evangelismos, Alexandria, Ägypten.jpg File:Im Inneren der griechisch-orthodoxen Kathedrale Evangelismos, Alexandria, Ägypten.jpg File:Иконостас в Благовещенского кафедрального собора в Александрии (33970391328).jpg File:Благовещенский кафедральный собор в Александрии. Свечи.jpg

References

{{reflist Churches in Alexandria Greek Orthodox churches Churches completed in 1856 Greek Orthodoxy in Egypt Eastern Orthodox churches in Egypt Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria 19th-century churches in Egypt 19th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings