The Co-cathedral of Christ the King () is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 s ...

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

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. 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 (; 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 organization. A nuncio is ...

Pellegrinetti December 7, 1924 and elevated to the rank of

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

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

Ivan Rafael Rodić Archbishop Ivan Rafael Rodić, O.F.M. (also , ; 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 1924 and 1936. Biography Rodić ...

. 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 pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

and

bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () 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 m ...

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 and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

. 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 Christ is described as being seated at the right hand of God. Many Christian denominations consider the kingly office of Christ to be one o ...

has assumed the title of

co-cathedral A co-cathedral is a cathedral church which shares the function of being a bishop's seat, or ''cathedra'', with another cathedral, often in another city (usually a former see, anchor city of the metropolitan area or the civil capital). Instances o ...

and is mainly used for diplomatic meetings,

requiem Masses A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is u ...

and interreligious meetings.

Description

Exterior

The

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

is preceded by a small

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

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 a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

. The

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

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 crescent- or half-moon–shaped or semi-circular architectural space or feature, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be ...

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 to ...

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 A co-cathedral is a cathedral church which shares the function of being a bishop's seat, or ''cathedra'', with another cathedral, often in another city (usually a former see, anchor city of the metropolitan area or the civil capital). Instances o ...

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

Carrara marble Carrara marble, or Luna marble (''marmor lunense'') 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 ...

, are wooden

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...

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 ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

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

Saint Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...

(right altar) and

Our Lady of Lourdes Our Lady of Lourdes (; ) is one the Marian devotions, devotional names or titles under which the Catholic Church venerates the Mary, mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary. The name commemorates a series of Lourdes apparitions, 18 apparitions reported by ...

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

Blessed Sacrament The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

. The presbytery has fully restored to its present post-conciliar 1960s, led by the architect Augustus Ranoki. 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 placed on two keyboards and a

pedal keyboard A pedalboard (also called a pedal keyboard, pedal clavier, or, with electronic instruments, a bass pedalboard) is a musical keyboard, keyboard played with the feet that is usually used to produce the low-pitched bass line of a piece of music. A p ...

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