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The Patriarchal Cathedral, The Patriarchal Residence and The Palace of Patriarchy

The architectonic ensemble of the Patriarchal Cathedral, the Patriarchal Residence and the Palace of Patriarchy is sited on the ground of the former monastery Voivode Constantin Serban Basarab, the Ruling Prince of Wallachia (1654-1658), had built in Bucharest in 1656.

The church of the monastery, dedicated to Sts. Constantine and Helen, was consecrated in 1658 by Macarios, the Patriarch of Antioch and of All Orient (1647-1672), together with Wallachia's metropolitan and bishops.
The inner walls of the monument were first painted in 1665.
In 1668, a document signed by Voivode Radu Leon (1664-1669) turned the church into a Metropolitan Cathedral.

An occasional metropolitan residence after 1661, the monastic establishment was entitled to house country's highest Orthodox (Eastern) Church prelate in 1688, when the metropolitan seat moved from Targoviste to Bucharest, following voivode's above-mentioned decree.

In 1678, Metropolitan Varlaam (1672-1679) founded a printing workshop in a couple of rooms of the building, where, after ten years, they issued the Bible "of Bucharest", that appeared wholly in Romanian.

In 1925, the Romanian Orthodox Church was elevated to the rank of a patriarchy; consequently, the Metropolitan Cathedral became a Patriarchal Cathedral, and metropolitan's residence, patriarch's residence.

During the last three centuries, both church and residence have often been repaired, developped and embellished; the most important restoration works were made in 1779, 1834-1839, 1932-1934 and 1960-1962.

The Patriarchal Cathedral follows the style of the church Voivode Neagoe Basarab (1512-1521) erected in the precinct of the monastery at Curtea de Arges in 1512-1517, but the Bucharest monument is far greater: built on a larger three-lobbed foundation, it has an ampler pronaos and four higher identical steeples; the outer decoration consists in two panel roes separated by a carved belt made of three twisted cords.

The monument almost regained its original appearance after the restauration works of 1960-1962, made according to the plans of architrect Paul E. Miclescu. The porch preserves the dedication icon of Sts. Constantine and Helen, painted in 1665 on the eastern wall, above the entrance door. The ten octagonal stone columns of the pronaos have wrought edges as well as carved gilt capitals.

The inner frescoes were painted by Dimitrie Belizarie in 1932-1935. In the northern niche of the pronaos there are St. Demetrios the New's relics, brought to the place in 1774 and laid in a richly decorated silver coffin. The tombs of the first, second and fourth Romanian patriarchs - Miron (d. 1939), Nicodim (d. 1948) and Iustin (d. 1986) - are to be found in the southern part of the pronaos.

The four enamelled royal icons, designed by Otilia Otetelesanu and executed in the Bucharest workshops of the Biblical Institute in 1961-1964, were ordered by the third Romanian patriarch, Iustinian (d. 1977).

The belfry, finished in 1698, was a command of Voivode Constantin Brancoveanu's (1688-1714). Outside the Cathedral, towards the altar, the inscribed round column stands for a memorial raised to honour two metropolitans, Teodosie (d. 1708) and Stefan II (d. 1738).

The three crosses ("Troita"), carved in stone, were placed to the north of the Cathedral in 1959. The tallest of them is said to belong to Voivode Petru Cercel (1583-1585), the other two are dated 1617 and 1644 resp.

The Patriarchal Residence was enlarged and redecorated according to the plans of architect Gheorghe Simota. The most important restoration works were performed during the pastorship of the All-Happy Fathers Miron, Iustinian and Teoctist (the fifth Romanian patriarch, 1986).

The building of the chapel dedicated to St. George had probably started in the course of Voivode Gheorghe Duca's reign (1673-1730) and finished in 1723, thanks to Voivode Nicolae Mavrocordat (1719-1730) and Metropolitan Daniil (1719-1731), when the place acquired a second dedication, that of St. Daniel.

The Palace of Patriarchy occupies the building erected in 1908-1909, after the plans of Dimitrie Maimarolu, for Romania's Parliament.

In 1948, the edifice became the seat of the Grand National Assembly, and after 1990, that of the Chamber of Deputies (the lower branch of the legislature).

Assigned to the Patriarchy in 1996, the Palace houses the important religious events promoting the pastoral, social and charity missions of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

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The Patriarchal Cathedral

Patriarchal Cathedral - interior