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Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God

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captain oddsocks
captain oddsocks
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Orthodox Cathedral and Church

Orthodox Cathedral and Church

Orthodox Christianity is one of the four main faiths that help Sarajevo earn the nickname European Jerusalem. Within a couple of hundred metres of the catholic cathedral, the old synagogue and museum, and several mosques, stand both the orthodox cathedral and a smaller and older stone orthodox church with a single bell tower.

The gold and caramel coloured Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God faces the green open space of Liberation square, in the first ‘new’ suburb outside Sarajevo’s historic old Ottoman quarter. The cathedral was built in 1868-72 during the last years of Ottoman influence in the region, mostly in the neo-Baroque style, but with a nod towards Byzantine architecture in the domes and the patterned cornices.

Almost all Orthodox Christians in Sarajevo were ethnically Serbian, and since the end of the war in the mid '90s the Serbian population of the city has markedly decreased as many have moved (either by choice or necessity) to the areas of the country known as Republika Srbska, dominated politically and numerically by their ethnically Serbian brethren. The remarkably good condition of the cathedral (which also suffered extensive damage during the war) is partly due to the financial support of the Greek government, but I’d like to think also due to a surviving sense of tolerance among Sarajevo’s remaining citizens. Despite the Bosnian Serbs being accepted as the greatest villains in the conflict, their cathedral doesn’t appear to have been singled out for reprisal.

We were unfortunately unable to gain access to the interior of the cathedral, but when we stumbled across the small Church of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel and hesitated by its front gate, the priest rushed from across the street to ensure that we understood that we could enter.

The history of the church goes as far back as the fifteenth century but its current appearance dates from 1730, with some minor additions in the form of bullet holes and shell craters added more recently. The bare stonework of the exterior is broken only by small windows and the obligatory icons painted above each of the entry doors. Through the low entry door was quite an atypical interior. In some ways it seemed more like a synagogue than a church, being approximately as wide as it was long, and there was a deep first-floor gallery that looked down onto the ground floor of the church. We’d have missed the first-floor gallery if the priest hadn't pointed out the stairs to us. He also communicated that it would be OK to take photos-(before we’d even asked).

The wood and stone iconostasis was remarkably intricate and featured icons from the 17th and 18th centuries. There was also a huge chandelier that dominated the space above the main nave of the church, and a striking golden cross that rose above the iconostasis. Hanging incense burners and dark velvet curtains across the doors to the sanctuary added the final flourishes to this corner of Europe’s Jerusalem.

From journal Snowflake's Chance in Hell

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