The St. Nicholas Serbian Church (; ) 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 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 ...

in the Avram Iancu Square in the Mehala district of

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 ...

, Romania. There are two other churches in this square, the

Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the Eastern Orthodox Church. S ...

Church of the Ascension and the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Church of St. Mary. The St. Nicholas Church is together with the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Cetate's Union Square and the St. George Church in

Fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

's Trajan Square one of the three Serbian Orthodox churches in the city.

History

The first settlers of Mehala, the

Rascians Rascians ( / ''Raši, Rašani''; ) was a historical term for Serbs. The term was derived from the Latinized name for the central Serbian region of Raška (; sr-Cyrl, Рашка). In medieval and early modern Western sources, exonym ''Rascia'' was ...

, belonged to the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

religious community. In 1744 they founded their then joint Serbian-Romanian parish. The St. Nicholas Church is the oldest documented building of the Mehala district and was built of brick between 1786 and 1793. Its tower houses an old clock mechanism and five bells. In the 19th century, the interior carpentry and the

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere withi ...

were executed. The chairs were made by Gheorghe Liblaitner, the furniture of the iconostasis by Mihajlo Janić, and the icons are the work of the painter Sava Petrović. The painting of the interior walls was done by Nicolae Alexici. The church saw gun firing during the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848, also known in Hungary as Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many Revolutions of 1848, European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in ...

and was later used as an animal shelter for six months. It was rehabilitated in 1870 from donations from parishioners. In 1887 the Orthodox parish split into a Romanian and a Serbian denomination, and the church was given to the Serbian Orthodox believers. The Romanian Orthodox believers built their own church in Avram Iancu Square, which had to be replaced after 25 years due to dilapidation. At the same place, in 1925, the foundation stone was laid for the largest building of Mehala, the Romanian Orthodox Church of the Ascension. The St. Nicholas Church has had a huge impact on the Serb community in the area. It once had a denominational school, a football team that played matches in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

and

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 ...

and an active choir called Zora. In the past, each member of the choir wore a special badge.

References

{{Serbian Orthodox church buildings Religious buildings and structures in Timișoara Serbian Orthodox church buildings in Romania Historic monuments in Timiș County

History

See also

References