The Transfiguration Cathedral ( ro, Catedrala Schimbarea la Faţă), also known as the Minorites' Church ( ro, Biserica Minoriţilor, hu, Kolozsvári minorita templom), was donated in 1924 by the Holy See to the

Romanian Greek-Catholic Church The Romanian Greek Catholic Church or Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic ( la, Ecclesia Graeco-Catholica Romaniae; ro, Biserica Română Unită cu Roma, Greco-Catolică), sometimes called, in reference to its Byzantine Rite, the ...

to serve as the Cathedral of the Cluj-Gherla Eparchy, after the move of the Eparchy's center from

Gherla Gherla (; hu, Szamosújvár; german: Neuschloss) is a municipality in Cluj County, Romania (in the historical region of Transylvania). It is located from Cluj-Napoca on the river Someșul Mic, and has a population of 20,203. Three villages are a ...

Cluj ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...

History

The first church of the

Minorites , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

in Cluj was the building known today as the Calvinist Church of Farkas street. After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, in 1556, the Friars Minor were expelled from the city. They were permitted to come back only in 1724 and could settle down only outside the city walls. Around 1765, the city council gave permission to the monks to settle down within the city walls. The church and the monastery were built in 1778-79, but the tower collapsed on 24 September 1779 due to mistakes made at the basement works. The re-building of the tower was financed by the empress

Maria Theresa of Austria Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' ( ...

. The design was made by the architect of the Bánffy Palace,

Johann Eberhard Blaumann Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

. The tower and the roof of the church burnt down in 1798, and a temporary wooden roof was constructed. The new roof was built only in the 19th century. The murals of the ceiling were painted by Ferenc Lohr in 1908. Several families offered

Mass stipend In the Catholic Church, a Mass stipend is a donation given by the laity to a priest for praying a Mass. Despite the name, it is considered as a gift or offering () freely given rather than a payment () as such. This is usually a small amount of ...

s to support the construction of the church. Many of them were later entombed in the church's crypt until 1834, when burials within the city walls were forbidden due to a cholera epidemic. Seven Baroque and

Empire style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 durin ...

honorary monuments, mostly of wealthy Armenian families, can be found in the church. In 1924

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

gave the church building to the Greek-Catholic Church to serve as the cathedral of the Cluj-Gherla Eparchy. When the Greek-Catholic Church was dissolved in 1948 by the Communist regime, the church was taken over by the

Romanian Orthodox Church The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches, and one of ...

. After the decline of Communism (1989), the Greek-Catholic Church asked for the restitution of the building, but they were refused. After a long litigation process, on 20 February 1998, the Court of Ploieşti decided in the favour of the Greek Catholic Church. On 20 March 1998 Orthodox priests held a procession in the centre of Cluj to protest again the restitution.Gaal György: Kolozsvár kétezer esztendeje dátumokban, in: Kolozsvár 1000. pp. 368

References

Sources

* , referenced as ''Kolozsvár 1000'' *

External links

Official page on the website of the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church
{{coord, 46, 46, 10, N, 23, 35, 34, E, region:RO-CJ_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Churches in Cluj-Napoca Greek-Catholic cathedrals in Romania Baroque church buildings in Romania Churches completed in 1779