Church official says historic site poor choice for Orthodox cathedral

Published: 2004-04-20

OXFORD, England (CNS) -- A Romanian Catholic Church official said a new Orthodox cathedral, while needed, should not uproot a national monument. The Orthodox Church is planning to build a new cathedral in Bucharest's Carol Park on a site where a monument to Romania's communist heroes is located. The monument is a former mausoleum; the remains of those interred there were removed and buried elsewhere after the fall of communism. "A large Orthodox cathedral is very much needed here -- the present places of worship can't accommodate people," said Father Francisc Unguranu, spokesman for the Bucharest Archdiocese. "But this mausoleum is part of our history, and many people think monuments like this shouldn't be moved. Only one man has tried to change our history this way, and that was dictator Nicolae Ceausescu," he said. On April 11, Orthodox Patriarch Teoctist confirmed plans to replace the monument with a "Cathedral of National Salvation," despite opposition from the capital's mayor.

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