11111The first armenian places of worship in Bucharest were built around the period 1581 – 1629 and then in 1743 and 1781, with the material support of the descendants of the first founder Harutin Amira Hovviant. The first Armenian church in Bucharest, named Bărăția, was built in 1581 – 1629, serving both for the orthodox and catholic parishioners. In 1638, when it was transferred into the possession of the Catholic Church, the orthodox Armenians built another church, in wood.
11111In 1911, in the same place, was set the foundation of the present church, the cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic Archbishopric in Bucharest, dedicated to the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. Architectural plans were signed by the architect Dimitrie Maimarolu, after the model of the cathedral from Vagharšapat – Echmiadzin in Armenia. A widespread legend claims that in this project another architect, Grigore Cerkez, of Armenian origin, would have been equally involved; unfortunately this is based on name coincidence of the architect with the engineer who supervised the works.
11111The construction was finished on September 6th, 1915. On July 31st, 1931, the Romanian government recognized the Armenian diocese, confirming its statute several months later. After this recognition the Armenian Apostolic Church has expanded its activity all over Romania.
11111The religious and socio-cultural complex of the Armenian community is composed of an imposing church, bishop’s residence, the Armenian library and an eparchial museum, the Armenian Culture House, a kindergarten and the offices of the Union of Armenians in Romania. In this complex also functioned an Armenian school.
11111The construction, quite faithful to the volumetric model of the Holy Echmiadzin (30 meters width and 15 meters height), displays a profusion of traditional decorative elements which mark the main horizontal accents, generously expanding on the frontons of the transept’s two arms. A conspicuous majestic but nonetheless slender feature is the belfry resting on top of the porch which opens on four large arches sustained by massive piers. The belfry, with its graceful columns, seems a kiosk suspended above these compact volumes, as a delicate, elegant counterpart for the imposing dodecagonal central dome. Inside, the painter Bassano made independent large dimension paintings on the lateral walls of the nave, also on the spherical semi-calotte covering the open altar. In 1971, the painter Eugen Profeta renewed the wall painting.
11111A felicitous complement to this large structure consists of the Culture House, a Modernist prism embellished with few decorative interventions of Caucasian inspiration, in the laconic, but nonetheless sensitive, spirit promoted by George Matei Cantacuzino.
11111Unfortunately, the reception of the ensemble has been irreversibly damaged by the addition of an office building which, through its totally alien expression, dramatically imposes a new scale for the general scenery. The many stories of this block definitively breaks the view towards the cathedral from Carol I boulevard, the east-west axis of Bucharest, and henceforth the Armenian church in Bucharest, in spite of its monumental vocation, plays a minor role in the definition of the urban landscape from the area.