The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour () is a

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...

church located in

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, ; also referred to as the Republic of Srpska or Serb Republic) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other bein ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. A Holy Trinity Church was built during interwar

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

in the center of Banja Luka. The construction of the church took from 1925 to 1929, and was solemnly consecrated on the Day of Salvation in 1939. During the German bombing on April 12, 1941, the church was hit and the altar section (apse) was significantly damaged. In May of the same year, the Ustashas declared the church a "mound of the city" and ordered the Serbs, Jews and Roma to completely demolish it, brick by brick. During the time of the communist government in Yugoslavia, the monument to fallen soldiers was erected in its place. The aforementioned monument to fallen soldiers was moved to a nearby location in 1993, at the time when the wartime leadership of Banja Luka renamed majority of streets, schools, and institutions.The erection of the new church began in 1993 when the foundations were consecrated. This solemn act was performed by

Serbian Patriarch Pavle Pavle ( sr-cyr, Павле, ''Paul''; 11 September 1914 – 15 November 2009) was the patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church from 1990 to his death. His full title was ''His Holiness the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć, Archbishop of Peć, ...

with the bishops and clergy of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The church was rebuilt under the name of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, because, in the meantime, another church consecrated in the name of the Holy Trinity has been built in Banja Luka (1963-1969), as a memorial to the demolished one. The cathedral is built of red and yellow travertine stone, originating from

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

, whose quality (excavation and processing) is certified by Prof. Dr. Bilbija, an expert from the Belgrade Institute for Material Testing. It is built with a three-layer wall: stone, reinforced concrete, brick. The domes are covered with golden stainless steel, brought from

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. Exterior construction work on the temple was completed on September 26, 2004, when the first liturgy was also celebrated. The liturgy was celebrated by 8 bishops with the clergy and deacons of the Diocese of Banja Luka, with the presence of tens of thousands of believers. Mosaic work in progress by Professor Duro Radlovica. The present church is architecturally identical to the previous one and is the tallest religious building in Banja Luka, with a bell tower 47 meters high and a 22.5 meter dome. The Bishop's Temple was consecrated by Bishop Ephrem on Salvation Day in 2009. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the founding and celebration of the

Day of Republika Srpska Day of Republika Srpska ( / ) is a formerly official national holiday of the Republika Srpska, which has been proclaimed unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The holiday is celebrated on 9 January, and its unof ...

, Patriarch Irinej celebrated the Holy Blessed Liturgy in the church on January 9, 2012.

References

Churches completed in 1929 20th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Serbian Orthodox cathedrals in Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbian Orthodox church buildings in Bosnia and Herzegovina Churches in Banja Luka Buildings and structures in Republika Srpska Rebuilt churches in Bosnia and Herzegovina {{RepublikaSrpska-stub