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27-697: The cathedral and surrounding buildings were raised in the western part of the Alba Iulia Citadel , on the site of a gatehouse near the Roman Plateau. It was thought of as a continuation of the former metropolitan seat at Alba Iulia (then called Bălgrad ), where Michael the Brave built a stone church in 1597. When the citadel was rebuilt in its current form in 1713–1714, the Habsburg authorities demolished this and its materials were used to build

54-432: A casket for unguents, and hence as the title of a number of medical works. Use for the architectural feature of church building is medieval ( Byzantine Greek ), in use by the 12th century ( Etymologicum Magnum ). English use dates from the 1670s. It isn't clear how this meaning was derived, allegedly from a resemblance of the entrance area of the church to a hollow stem. In Modern Greek narthekas (νάρθηκας) no longer has

81-468: A common meal, similar to the agape feast of the early church . To this day, this is where the faithful will bring their baskets at Pascha (Easter) for the priest to bless the Paschal foods which they will then take back to their homes for the festive break-fast . Traditionally, the narthex is where candles and prosphora will be sold for offering during Divine Services . The doorway leading from

108-510: A new church near where the railway station is today. A wooden memorial church in the southeastern part of the citadel marks the site of the former metropolitan cathedral. Built in 1921–1922, the cathedral was ready in time for the coronation of King Ferdinand and Queen Marie as monarchs of Greater Romania on October 15, 1922. This event, which took place in the same city where the Union of Transylvania with Romania occurred on December 1, 1918,

135-553: Is a star-shaped fortress located in Alba Iulia , Romania. Its construction commenced on November 4, 1715, during the Habsburg rule in Transylvania , and was completed in 1738. 20,000 serfs were involved in its construction, which is estimated to have cost around 3 million florins . The citadel was built on the site of two other fortifications: the legionary fortress of Legio XIII Gemina (known as Apulum ), as well as

162-449: Is decorated with traditional motifs, and above it are mosaic icons of the archangels Michael and Gabriel , while one side of the entrance has icons of Saints Peter and Paul and the other of Kings David and Solomon . The porch's niches have marble plates commemorating four events: Metropolitan Simion Ştefan printing the first Romanian-language New Testament in 1648; the union of the three Romanian principalities achieved by Michael

189-549: Is painted with the Theotokos and scenes from the Bible . There are three octagonal spires, each lighted by eight windows, with an onion dome roof and a metal cross on top. In front of the carved and painted oak iconostasis and adjacent to the triumphal arch, there are large portraits of former Metropolitans of Transylvania Ilie Iorest and Sava Brancovici , as well as of the monks Visarion Sarai and Sofronie of Cioara , and

216-547: The Byzantine Chora Church . By extension, the narthex can also denote a covered porch or entrance to a building. The original meaning of the Classical Greek word narthex νάρθηξ was " giant fennel ". Derived meanings are from the use of the fennel stalk as thyrsus , as a schoolmaster's cane, as a singlestick for military exercise, or as a splint for a broken limb. The term was also used for

243-677: The Diocese of the Romanian Army . It is now the seat of the Archdiocese of Alba Iulia , which has held this rank since 1998, having previously been a diocese since 1975. The building was renovated in 1993, the 75th anniversary of the 1918 Union. 46°04′06″N 23°34′11″E  /  46.068448°N 23.569821°E  / 46.068448; 23.569821 Alba Iulia Citadel The Alba Carolina Citadel ( Romanian : Cetatea Alba Carolina , Hungarian : Gyulafehérvári vár )

270-546: The Little Hours during Holy Week are celebrated there, rather than in the main body of the church. In the Russian Orthodox Church funerals are traditionally held in the narthex. Later reforms removed the requirement to exclude people from services who were not full members of the congregation, which in some traditions obviated the narthex. Church architects continued, however, to build a room before

297-537: The martyr Oprea Miclăuş of Sălişte , all of whom were canonized in the cathedral in 1955. A pair of thrones inscribed with royal symbols was placed beside the iconostasis during the solemn coronation service. In addition to the iconostasis, the furniture and choir are also oak and decorated with Brâncovenesc motifs. The cathedral lies on a rectangular lot which has four pavilions , one in each corner, linked by galleries that recall those found in monasteries, formed of open double arcades held up by columns. Some of

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324-497: The narthex . The tall nave is dominated by a cupola painted with the image of Christ Pantocrator and held up by four octagonal columns coated in Moneasa marble. The western wall of the nave has paintings of clerics from the time when the cathedral was built: Nicolae Bălan , Metropolitan of Transylvania , and Miron Cristea , Patriarch of All Romania , as well as votive portraits of King Ferdinand and Queen Marie. The altar apse

351-567: The Brave in 1600; the execution of Horea, Cloşca and Crişan in 1785; and the merger of the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church into the Orthodox Church in 1948, an act forced by the new Communist regime, supported at the time by the Orthodox Church but denounced as unlawful by Greek-Catholics. Also during that period, the authorities had the edifice's name changed to Catedrală Reîntregirii Neamului ("Cathedral of

378-604: The Unity of the People") in order to minimize associations with the abolished monarchy , but the "Coronation Cathedral" name staged somewhat of a comeback following the 1989 fall of the regime. One special feature are the paintings of historical figures or individuals who played a role in local religious life. Paintings of the ktitor of the first metropolitan church in Bălgrad, Michael the Brave, and of his wife Lady Stanca appear in

405-432: The classical meaning and is either the porch of a church, as English, or the brace of a sprained wrist or sling of a broken arm. In English the narthex is now the porch outside the church at the west end ; formerly it was a part of the church building itself, albeit not considered part of the church proper, used as the place for penitents . The purpose of the narthex was to allow those not eligible for admittance into

432-405: The columns have Corinthian capitals with Brâncovenesc touches. The larger, eastern pavilions house the archdiocesan residence and administration. The smaller, western ones are used by those who run the building and grounds. The 58 m-high bell tower, with the entrance to the complex beneath it, lies between the western pavilions. From the early 1920s until 1948, the cathedral was the headquarters of

459-587: The domes, resemble those found in Wallachian churches from the time of Matei Basarab and Constantin Brâncoveanu . The interior fresco painting, by Costin Petrescu and his apprentices, follows the dictates of traditional Byzantine Orthodox iconography while exhibiting Western influences. The entrance to the building has an open porch with large arches supported by columns with capitals. The portal

486-540: The entrance of the nave. This room could be called an inside vestibule (if it is architecturally part of the nave structure) or a porch (if it is a distinct, external structure). Some traditions still call this area the narthex as it represents the point of entry into the church, even if everyone is admitted to the nave itself. In the Eastern Orthodox Church , the esonarthex and exonarthex had, and still have, distinct liturgical functions. For instance,

513-402: The entrance or vestibule , located at the west end of the nave , opposite the church's main altar . Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper. In early Christian churches the narthex was often divided into two distinct parts: an esonarthex (inner narthex) between the west wall and the body of the church proper, separated from

540-501: The general congregation (particularly catechumens and penitents ) to hear and partake of the service. The narthex would often include a baptismal font so that infants or adults could be baptized there before entering the nave, and to remind other believers of their baptisms as they gathered to worship. The narthex is thus traditionally a place of penitence, and in Eastern Christianity some penitential services, such as

567-533: The medieval Belgrad citadel . The shape of the citadel, an iconic element of Vauban architecture, influenced the design of Alba Iulia's city logo when the city adopted city branding in 2014. The city received 47.5 million lei in 2009 for the restoration and conservation of the citadel. The citadel is named after Charles VI , known as Carol VI in Romanian, who was the Holy Roman Emperor at

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594-514: The narthex to the nave is sometimes referred to as the "Royal Doors", because in major cathedrals ( catholica ) there were several sets of doors leading into the nave, the central one being reserved only for the use of the Byzantine emperor . On feast days there will be a procession to the narthex, followed by intercessory prayers, called the Litiy . In Armenia the local style of narthex

621-533: The national style promoted by Ion Mincu and Petre Antonescu , incorporating traditional forms of Romanian architecture , in particular the Brâncovenesc style , and adapting them to modern tastes. The plan, an inscribed Greek cross , draws upon the Târgovişte Princely Church . Similarly, the exterior decorative elements, such as niches, beads about the column capitals and arcades , as well as

648-563: The nave and aisles by a wall, arcade , colonnade , screen, or rail, and an external closed space, the exonarthex (outer narthex), a court in front of the church façade delimited on all sides by a colonnade as in the first St. Peter's Basilica in Rome or in the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan . The exonarthex may have been either open or enclosed with a door leading to the outside, as in

675-597: The procession at the Paschal Vigil will end up at the exonarthex for the reading of the Resurrection Gospel , while certain penitential services are traditionally chanted in the esonarthex. In some Eastern Orthodox temples , the narthex will be referred to as the trapeza (refectory), because in ancient times, tables would be set up there after the Divine Liturgy for the faithful to eat

702-405: The time of the citadel's construction. This article about a Romanian building or structure is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This military base or fortification article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of

729-400: Was meant to give the union added symbolic and religious weight. Ferdinand, a Roman Catholic, objected to being crowned inside an Orthodox church, so the coronation ceremony was held outside in the courtyard. In commemoration of the event, busts of the king and queen were placed on the grounds in 2008. The cathedral forms part of a group of buildings erected beginning in the late 19th century in

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