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St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral

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SeenThat
SeenThat
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St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral

  • March 28, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by SeenThat from Tel Aviv, Israel
St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral

A couple of hours after landing in South America, I stumbled upon a church. It was a Russian Orthodox one; would I have been more surprised if the first temple I had seen was a Tibetan Pagoda? Obviously, the Global Village was in one of its good days.

In dense urban areas, temples get often shadowed by a plethora of tall commercial buildings. Skyscrapers would block any good angle. Most probably it would not be possible to see the structure as a whole; a series of snapshots from bad angles would be the only thing to be appreciated. That is not the case with this one. Despite being located in a relatively central zone of Sao Paulo, the church got the place it deserves and is wonderfully illuminated during the late afternoon by sidelight filtering through far away placed big buildings. Surrounded by low gardens, its soft, round lines offer an oasis of peace in a turbulent city: a miracle.

The dichotomy between the noisy, hot South American city and the frozen temple does the trick: “we are something else, we offer you peace,” it seems to be quietly shouting. It could convert a Buddhist monk one day before achieving Nirvana.

Being a cathedral, and thus the main Orthodox Church in the city and the administrative centre, it is quite luxurious and is probably the best of its kind in Sao Paulo. The interior is typical of an Orthodox Church, with many colorful icons and dark, soft-lined furniture which is further softened by massive amounts of incense. I was alone in its interior and found that the place managed to impart a deep sense of peace and was ideal for a short break of meditation and prayer during a busy day.

Unbelievably, the cathedral is located next to the “Paraiso” (Paradise) subway station. Was that a hint? The Blue Line – to which the station belongs – is known also as the North-South one; it connects the city with the Tiete terminal. For those familiar with the BART in the San Francisco Bay, the subway will look suspiciously similar. Actually the excellent Sao Paulo subway was designed on the BART model.

From journal The Whole Horizon: Sao Paulo

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