The Cathedral of Christ's Nativity ( ro, Catedrala Mitropolitană Nașterea Domnului, russian: Собор Рождества Христова) is the main cathedral of the

Moldovan Orthodox Church Moldovan and Moldavian refer to something of, from, or related to Moldova or Moldavia. In particular, it may refer to: *Moldovans, the main ethnic group of the Republic of Moldova *''Moldavians'', the inhabitants of the historical territory of the ...

Sectorul Centru Sectorul Centru is one of the five sectors in Chișinău, the capital of Moldova. The local administration is managed by a pretor appointed by the city administration. It governs over a portion of the city of Chișinău itself (central and west ...

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

. It was commissioned by the governor of

New Russia Novorossiya, literally "New Russia", is a historical name, used during the era of the Russian Empire for an administrative area that would later become the southern mainland of Ukraine: the region immediately north of the Black Sea and Crimea. ...

, Prince

Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov (russian: Князь Михаи́л Семёнович Воронцо́в, tr. ; ) was a Russian nobleman and field-marshal, renowned for his success in the Napoleonic wars and most famous for his participati ...

, and Metropolitan

Gavril Bănulescu-Bodoni Gavril Bănulescu-Bodoni (; 1746 – 30 March 1821) was a Romanian clergyman who served as Metropolitan of Moldavia (1792), Metropolitan of Kherson and Crimea (1793–1799), Metropolitan of Kiev and Halych (1799–1803), Exarch ...

in 1830. The cathedral was built in the 1830s to a Neoclassical design by

Abram Melnikov Abram or Avraam Melnikov (Авраам Иванович Мельников; 1784—1854) was a Russian Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical architect associated with the late phase of the Empire style. His teachers at the Imperial Academy of Art ...

(who had designed a similar church in Bolhrad). The cathedral was bombed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and its

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 ...

was destroyed by the local Communists in 1962. The new bell tower was constructed in 1997. During the Soviet period, worship was prohibited and the cathedral was transformed into an exhibition center. Melnikov's design is Neoclassical. The façade is very simple and clear with six Doric column for the entrance. Because of the numerous destructions which the cathedral suffered throughout time, the building has received several restorations and shifts in its shape. For instance, the current zinc dome and its cross at the top are both an addition from 1997 built over the previous structure. The inside was completely blank during the Soviet period but nowadays it has painted walls in pure Orthodox style. File:Chisinau riot 2009-04-07 23.jpg, During 2009 parliamentary election protests File:Chisinau Bell Tower.jpg, Belfry File:Nativity Cathedral and Belfry in Chișinău.jpg File:Innenraum der Kathedrale von Chișinău.JPG, Iconostasis File:25 річниці незалежності Молдови 04.jpg, The Moldovan flag in front of the cathedral.

References

* ''Centrul istoric al Chişinǎlui, La începutul secolului al XXI-LEA'', Chișinǎu, Editura ARC, 2009.

External links

Despre catedrală pe situl Mitropoliei MoldoveiAnsamblul Catedrala Naşterea Domnului
Religious buildings and structures in Moldova Cathedrals in Moldova Churches completed in 1836 19th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings History of Chișinău Buildings and structures in Chișinău Neoclassical church buildings in Moldova {{Moldova-struct-stub

See also

References

External links