Cașin Church

Cașin Church
Cașin Church
Biserica Cașin
Style	Romanian Revival
Groundbreaking	1937
Completed	1938
Specifications
Length	42 metres (138 ft)
Width	29 metres (95 ft)
Height	50 metres (160 ft)

Cașin Church (Romanian: Biserica Cașin), sometimes referred to as Cașin Monastery (Mănăstirea Cașin), is a Romanian Orthodox church located in Bucharest, at a large intersection a block away from Arcul de Triumf. It is dedicated to the Archangels Michael and Gabriel.

History

Plans for the church's construction were made in 1935 by a parish council that included

Ministry of Agriculture and Domains and from monthly subscriptions given by families and institutions. Several donations came from General Ion Antonescu.^[1]

Brâncovenesc style, with its entrance columns, with Byzantine architecture, as seen in the mosaics, the centred Greek cross plan and the high and spacious interior.^[1]

The marble and alabaster

Murano glass placed at eye level along the walls. Repairs were done in 2002–2003, and the domes, formerly copper green, were painted bright green in 2008.^[1]

This church's name refers to the valley of Cașin, in Bacău County, a place where history combines with myth.

Description

The church, measuring 42 x 29 m, has three apses, and the highest dome reaches 50 metres (160 ft). Its surface area is 780 square metres (8,400 sq ft). The altar apse is semicircular and is surrounded by an open, arched portico. A large polygonal dome rises above the nave; its windows are arched and it has small columns all around. Four smaller octagonal domes of similar design surround the main one. The vestibule features a large arch; in the centre of its exterior there is a large mosaic featuring Michael and Gabriel, surrounded by ornamentation.^[1]

Twelve stone steps lead up to an open area outside the entrance, surrounded by five frontal and two side arches supported by pairs of short white marble columns decorated with old Romanian patterns. The outside wall to the left and right of the entrance doors is also plated with marble and, above, decorated with mosaic icons. The doors have bronze bas-reliefs of Michael and Gabriel as well as Saints Peter and Paul.^[1]

As usual in Orthodox churches, the inside of the main dome is painted with Christ Pantocrator. The arches and walls of the sanctuary are entirely decorated in Murano glass, a first for Romania. The altar apse, noticeably raised, appears lit in green, in contrast to the white marble with which the iconostasis is plated.^[1]

In front of the church, a bust of Marshal Alexandru Averescu was placed in 2018.

Gallery

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Danalache, Teodor. "Biserica Cașin – Sfinții Arhangheli Mihail și Gavriil". crestinortodox.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 8 October 2020.

External links

[Casin-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Danalache, Teodor. "Biserica Cașin – Sfinții Arhangheli Mihail și Gavriil". crestinortodox.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 8 October 2020.

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