page_title: People's Salvation Cathedral
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: People's Salvation Cathedral / History
caption_attribution_description: English: People's Salvation Cathedral - Days of consecration
context_page_description: The People's Salvation Cathedral, also known as the National Cathedral, is an Orthodox cathedral under construction in Bucharest that is meant to become the patriarchal cathedral of the Romanian Orthodox Church. It is the tallest and largest Orthodox church in the world by volume. Also it's and the largest Eastern Orthodox church in the world by area, to be considered that the Saint Isaac's Cathedral is a state museum. It is located in central Bucharest on Spirea's Hill, facing the same courtyard as the Palace of the Parliament, which is the heaviest building in the world, the cathedral having the tenth part of its weight. The standard ground level of the People's Salvation Cathedral above the Black Sea is 86.2 metres and at 135 metres height, the cathedral holds a dominant position in Bucharest's cityscape and is visible from all approaches to the city.
  The cathedral is dedicated to the Ascension of Christ and to Saint Andrew the Apostle, protector of Romania. The Cathedral was consecrated on 25 November 2018 by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, Patriarch Daniel of Romania and Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Patras from the Greek Orthodox Church.
context_section_description: The idea of a national cathedral first emerged following the Romanian War of Independence (1877–1878), which was mainly fought between the Russian and Ottoman Empires. The church was to symbolise the victory of Orthodox Christians over the Ottoman Muslims. The idea was shelved for lack of consensus on design, location and funding. The Unification of the Romanian Principalities in 1859, entailed a unitary organisation of church structures in Moldavia and Wallachia within the Holy Synod (1872), thus the assembly of hierarchs increased to 12 members, including: the Primate Metropolitan (chairman), the Metropolitan of Moldavia and their suffragan bishops of Râmnic, Buzău, Argeș, Roman, Huși and Lower Danube (Galați) and one auxiliary vicar-bishop for every diocese. The old Metropolitan Cathedral had proved overcrowded, especially during the national holidays, such as the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Romania and the crowning of King Carol I of the Romanians (10 May 1881), when none of the over one hundred churches in Bucharest were able to receive those who would have wanted to participate in the official service. Therefore, at King Carol I's desire, Romania's Assembly of Deputies and the Senate voted in favour of the Law no. 1750 on the construction of the Cathedral Church in Bucharest, promulgated by King Carol I on 5 June 1884.
  On 10 May 1920, King Ferdinand sent a Royal letter to Archbishop Miron Cristea, the first Metropolitan-Primate of Greater Romania, supporting the project, but this had no effect. In 1925, after the Romanian Orthodox Church became an independent patriarchate, Metropolitan Miron Cristea, now newly enthroned as the first Patriarch of All Romania, suggested Carol Park as a site, but his idea was defeated in favour of 
  Bibescu Vodă Square (Unirii Square). There, in 1929, a cross (calvary) was raised. Lack of funds meant the construction was postponed and later forgotten. The process was stopped due to the economic crisis, the Second World War, and then the establishment of the communist regime in Romania.
  Patriarch Teoctist was the one who re-launched the project of building a National Cathedral, in this sense sanctifying a cross on 5 February 1999 as the cornerstone of the future cathedral, in the place of Unirii Square that had previously been sanctified by Patriarch Miron Cristea. Meanwhile, there has been an epochal event, which was the visit by Pope John Paul II to Romania (7-9 May 1999).
  On 16 February 2005, the Bucharest City Hall proposed to the Patriarchate "as the most suitable place to be available" for the structure, 
  which was the Arsenal Hill, considered the highest place in Bucharest. Following the Patriarchate's approval, the Government of Romania promoted the Ordinance no.19/17 March 2005 for the building of the People's Salvation Cathedral. Then the Chamber of Deputies voted to give the building site of 110,000 m² to the Romanian Patriarchate by the protocol of 13 February 2006. The Arsenal Hill was recommended after three other locations were proposed at different stages (Unirii Square 1999, Alba-Iulia Square 2001, Carol Park 2004). For lack of alternatives, the Romanian Patriarchate accepted this location, although it offers a reduced visibility due to the immensity of the Palace Parliament, the current headquarters of the Romanian Parliament. This location has been chosen as a moral repair or 'a resurrection light' for the five 'crucified' churches. Three churches were demolished (Alba Postăvari, Spirea Veche, and Izvorul Tămăduirii), and two churches have been translated (Schitul Maicilor and Mihai Vodă), by the communist regime to build the Palace of the Parliament (Romanian: Palatul Parlamentului), previously known as the House of the People (Romanian: Casa Poporului). The cornerstone for the construction of the People's Salvation Cathedral was sanctified on 29 November 2007, being officiated by Patriarch Daniel, the sixth Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
  Building began in 2010, and after almost a decade of construction, the cathedral was consecrated on 25 November 201
caption: Crowds watching the consecration ceremony on 25 November 2018
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