Romania is Building the Biggest Orthodox Church in the World: A Christian Nation is a Healthy Nation

♱ Bucharest's massive, valuable People's Salvation Cathedral is months away from its scheduled opening, but the architectural colossus already dominates the skyline of the Romanian capital.

The landmark, in the center of the Romanian capital, is due to be completed by 2025 but is already the world's largest and tallest Eastern Orthodox Cathedral. When the final cross is added to the central cupola, the building will stand 127 meters tall.

Plans for a skyscraping cathedral to celebrate the ascendance of Orthodox Christianity date back to the Russian and Romanian victory over Muslim Ottoman forces in 1878. Romanians refer to that conflict as their War of Independence.

In the 20th century, world wars, followed by communist dictatorship, along with difficulties choosing a location, led to the cathedral project being repeatedly shelved. Finally, in 2010, ground was broken on an unused patch of land on the territory of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's infamous Palace of the Parliament, and construction has continued since then.

A reported 200 million euros ($216 million) have been spent on the project thus far, with most of the money coming from public funds, and around a quarter from donations.

The spiritual and practical consequences of the cathedral will make the cost more than worth it. The site is likely to become a major pilgrimage site for both Orthodox Christians and nonbelievers.

The cathedral will be capable of holding a choir of 1,000 singers and 6,000 worshipers within its main hall. A large team of artists is currently working on mosaics that will fill the interior surfaces.

A 25-ton bell for the project was designed by a team led by Italian campanologist Flavio Zambotto. He told Romanian media that, while every bell he produces is "like a son" to him, the monster instrument designed for the Bucharest cathedral "was emotional to hear for the first time: strong, deep, long. It's a sound that embraces you, marks you."

It will be possible to hear the bell around 20 kilometers away, according to reports.

The People's Salvation Cathedral was consecrated on 25 November 2018, as it was also marked the centenary of the modern Romanian state. In the video we see crowds of believers gathered outside the cathedral and watched the service on large screens.