Beginning Wednesday, August 27, only 60 days remain until the great consecration of the National Cathedral, scheduled for October 26, 2025, when Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will come to Bucharest for this unique event dedicated to the Centennial of the Romanian Patriarchate.
While construction teams are finalising the last installation works—particularly the fire suppression and smoke extraction systems—the team of iconographers is working against the clock on the mosaics in the narthex.
“We are working intensely to remove the scaffolding in the narthex. It will take about 10–15 more days,” said Daniel Codrescu, coordinator of the cathedral’s painting team.
“What remains to be completed are the pilasters with the Romanian Saints, the Prothesis, and the Diaconicon.”
New Romanian Saints to be depicted
The icons of the Romanian saints whose canonisation was proclaimed in the Centennial Year of the Romanian Patriarchate will be placed on the narthex pilasters, while mosaic icons of the Holy Apostles Andrew and Philip will stand guard at the entrance.
On the narthex vault, the Mother of God Orans will be depicted surrounded by a choir of 16 angels, while on the arch separating the nave from the narthex, the Holy Mandylion will be depicted.
Certain unfinished vertical wall surfaces will be covered during the consecration event with printed panels reproducing the planned iconographic designs. A recent milestone has been the installation of chandeliers with diameters of seven and six meters.
“I think this is the most important project I have carried out in 22 years of work in this field, and the atmosphere inside the cathedral is truly impressive,” said last month Constantin Marcu of Orion Grup, the company that designed and installed the lighting fixtures.
Photo: Basilica.ro / Mircea Florescu
