The Misericordia Church (), also known as the Cetate Greek Catholic Church, is a Romanian Greek Catholic

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 ...

located in

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

's 700 Square. 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 ...

, the church belonged to the

Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God The Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, officially the Hospitaller Order of the Brothers of Saint John of God (abbreviated as OH), are a Catholic religious order founded in 1572. In Italian language, Italian they are also known commonly ...

(also known as "Merciful Brothers") and was built between 1748 and 1753. It is the second oldest church in Timișoara and houses the largest icon of St. Joseph in Romania as well as the oldest

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

Banat Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...

History

Opposite today's 700 Square, the "Nepomuk brothers", a religious association in the city, built the city's first hospital and pharmacy in what was then ''Johannesgasse'' in 1735. Upon its completion in 1737, the mentioned association, represented by Count Andreas Hamilton, entrusted it to the Merciful Brothers. They were popularly called "black priests" and they took care of the sick, the elderly and the suffering. The first six friars arrived in Timișoara from

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 ...

in 1737, under the leadership of Vicar Paulinus Temel. The church, attached to the hospital, was built between 1748 and 1753, on the site of the former chapel of the Order. It was designed by engineers Kaspar Dissel and Johann Lechner as a single-

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

building with a semicircular

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosur ...

in provincial

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style. In 1748, the church received a donation of 60,000 florins from Empress

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

. The said sum was donated for the completion of the works at the church and for the hospital. It was consecrated on 19 March 1757 by Bishop . On the night of 6 to 7 July 1849, during the siege of Timișoara by the Hungarian revolutionary troops, the church was hit by an artillery projectile, being largely destroyed. In 1851, the church was also rebuilt in the Baroque style. In 1948, after the abolition of religious orders, the church was closed and used by the

Museum of Banat The National Museum of Banat (; abbreviated MNaB) is a museum in Timișoara, Romania, headquartered in Huniade Castle. It was founded in 1872 by the Society of History and Archeology of Banat () on the initiative of the prefect of the then Temes C ...

as a depository of archeological pieces. After 1990, when the agreement for use was obtained from the rightful owners, the interior was renovated and arranged with the financial support of painter Alfons Vezoc, the works being executed by the team of engineer Ioan Pricop. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Timișoara

Sebastian Kräuter Sebastian Kräuter (December 22, 1922, in Nițchidorf, Banat – January 29, 2008, in Timișoara) was the Roman Catholic bishop of the Timișoara diocese in Romania between 1990 and 1999. Biography Sebastian Kräuter was the son of businessman Ba ...

and the representatives of the Order of the Misericordia decided in 1993 that the church should be donated to the Greek Catholics. The church was consecrated during the inaugural

Holy Mass The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass "the same Christ ...

on 3 July 1993 by

Ioan Ploscaru Ioan Ploscaru (19 November 1911 – 31 July 1998) was a Romanian bishop of the Greek-Catholic Church. Born into a peasant family in Frata commune, Cluj County, he studied in Blaj. He was ordained a priest in 1933 and a bishop in November 19 ...

Architecture

The church is part of a larger architectural complex with an F-shaped floor plan. Located to the south are a small transverse structure and a two-story corner building, both lower in height than the church itself. The former monastic complex now houses an eye clinic. Unusually, the church is not oriented to the east; instead, it follows a south-north axis, aligned with the adjacent street in the city center. This

aisleless church An aisleless church () is a single-nave church building that consists of a single hall-like room. While similar to the hall church, the aisleless church lacks aisles or passageways on either side of the nave and separated from the nave by col ...

features a gabled roof covered in red tiles. A small

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

occupies the northwest corner, seamlessly integrated into the structure with a lean-to roof. The church exterior is plastered and painted yellow, with architectural elements such as

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

s, and jambs left unplastered to showcase the white natural stone. Pilasters divide the long facades and extend upward to a continuous, profiled cornice. Pointed arch windows further articulate the exterior—three on the east side and two on the south. The north side is solid, featuring only a small round-arched niche, above which are mounted a large cross and a round arch. A square-plan tower on the south side serves as a transitional element between the church and the older parts of the complex. Fully enclosed by surrounding buildings except on the east, the tower projects slightly in that direction and aligns only with the church’s central axis. Above the church's eaves, the bell tower rises with corner pilasters and round-arched openings for the bells. It is topped by a curved dome adorned with a finial and a trefoil cross.

References

{{PlacesTimișoara Religious buildings and structures in Timișoara Greek-Catholic churches in Romania Historic monuments in Timiș County