The Moon Church () is a
Romanian Orthodox
The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the Eastern Orthodox Church. S ...
church located at 10 Piața Unirii,
Oradea
Oradea (, , ; ; ) is a city in Romania, located in the Crișana region. It serves as the administrative county seat, seat of Bihor County and an economic, social, and cultural hub in northwestern Romania. The city lies between rolling hills on ...
, Romania. It is dedicated to the
Dormition of the Mother of God
The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac churches). It celebrates the "falling asleep" (death) of Mary the '' Theotokos'' ("Mother ...
.
Origins
The local Orthodox community mainly lived in the
Velența and Orașul Nou districts, and was composed of Romanians, Serbs, Aromanians and Greeks. A number of them acquired substantial wealth, were prominent in city life and wished to build a grand church. Two rich, influential judges on the appeals court, noblemen devoted to the Orthodox faith, obtained an audience with
Joseph II
Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...
. They argued that the city’s only Orthodox church, located in Velența, was too far from other Orthodox areas. In spite of protests, permission was granted, and the
Bishop of Arad, Petar Petrović, presided over the cornerstone laying. This is recorded in Greek, Romanian and Serbian inscriptions.
[ Tamás Emődi]
Description
at the Virtual Encyclopedia of Romania (2010)
Construction began in November 1784, during the
Revolt of Horea, Cloșca and Crișan
Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
.
[ Laura Gal]
“Cum a fost ridicată Biserica cu Lună, cea mai cunoscută biserică din Oradea”
''Adevărul'', May 21, 2019 Jakab Éder was the architect, Joann Lins the building engineer.
In the summer of 1786, following several days of torrential rain, the structure partly collapsed.
Work was completed in 1790, with the first services taking place in November. Once the interior painting was done, the church was consecrated, in 1832.
[Description]
at the Oradea Tourism Office site
Description
The style is late Baroque with clear classicizing elements, as well as a decided provincial stamp. The interior strictly adheres to the norms of Byzantine architecture.
The keystone above the
iconostasis
In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere withi ...
used to feature a portrait of
Vasile Ursu Nicola, better known as the revolt leader Horea and usually considered the only authentic depiction of his face. Today, a copy stands in its stead; the original is at the
Oradea Diocese museum.
The nickname derives from a mechanism installed in the spire in 1793. The clock and moon are the work of an innovative local mechanic, Georg Rueppe. The mechanism that turns the moon is designed to complete a whole rotation around its axis every 28 days, thus indicating the phases of the moon, based on the daily cycle marked by the clock mechanism. The anchoring wheel of the clock is engraved in German with the designer’s name and hometown.
The church served as a cathedral from 1920, when the Oradea Diocese was revived,
[Description]
at the Oradea Heritage site until 2012, when a new cathedral opened.
[“Bihor: Catedrala Episcopală ‘Învierea Domnului’ din Oradea sfinţită de Patriarhul Daniel și un sobor de preoţi”]
Agerpres, September 20, 2020 The church was repainted in 1977-1979.
It is listed as a
historic monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...
by Romania's
Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.
[Lista Monumentelor Istorice 2010: Județul Bihor]
Notes
{{reflist
Buildings and structures in Oradea
Historic monuments in Bihor County
Romanian Orthodox churches in Romania
Churches completed in 1790
Baroque church buildings in Romania
Former cathedrals in Romania