Work on Romania's future Redemption Cathedral has reached 16 meters underground, after two and a half years, and three more years will be needed until the construction is finished. Located near the Parliament Palace – or the People's Palace, and almost halfway through completion, the Cathedral's tower with the Holy Cross will be 120 meters tall, which will be taller than the People's Palace. This will be a sign of blessing for the entire Bucharest, said father Constantin Stoica, spokesman for the Orthodox Patriarchy.

The Cathedral will however be just one tenth of the size of Romania's largest building. The size of the new cathedral was required by the high number of priests and people attending more important masses, as the existing Patriarchal cathedral cannot accommodate enough people, and many have to stand outside the church, in the cold, according to the patriarchy.

The cost for finalizing the foundations and subterranean parts of the Cathedral, where a mass will be held on Palm Sunday, was 20 percent lower than initially estimated. It has two levels underground and a demi-basement, where multifunctional halls will be created, as well as two tunnels. So far, besides the 16 meters underground, the construction also had four meters above the ground, and 55,000 cubic meters of concrete have been used. So far, the Patriarchy invested some EUR 50 million in the Cathedral, most of which has come from donations, and EUR 8.4 million from public money. The patriarchy paid some EUR 7.8 million in taxes to the state budget on account of work on the new cathedral. The total investment in the new iconic church is expected to reach the EUR 100 million mark.

After the first phase of construction of the Cathedral is finalized, work on the upper part of the building will be awarded to a new constructor.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Patriarchy)