Completed mosaics unveiled in Belgrade’s St. Sava Cathedral

On Thursday, October 22, His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia and Serbian President Aleksandr Vučić visited St. Sava’s Cathedral in Belgrade to examine the newly-revealed mosaics.

Last month, OrthoChristian reported that work on the cathedral’s unique and beautiful mosaics was completed. Now that most of the scaffolding in the church has been removed, the images of the Lord and His saints are visible to the public for the first time.

“I am glad that all citizens of Serbia and all Serbs, wherever they live, will soon be able to come to the church and see what we managed to do with generations of our ancestors,” President Vučić wrote on Instagram.

The church is adorned with beautiful mosaics of Christ the Pantocrator with a 66-ft. arm span, the Mother of God, and the Nativity of Christ, scenes from the Old and New Testaments, and Serbian saints, covering an area of more than 161,000 square feet and weighing more than 320 tons, making it a unique church in the Orthodox world. 24-karat gold was used in the mosaics. Especially monumental are the mosaics of the creation of the world, overseen by the Ascension of Christ in the main dome.

According to the Byzantine tradition, the circular space under the dome is covered with a blue mosaic, which evokes the heavens.

After more than a century, the construction and beautification work in the Church of St. Sava and around the building are in the final phase, and the official opening will be held sometime in the near future. Work continues on the main iconostasis, made of Italian marble, after which the floor will be finished.

Source: Orthochristian.com, photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr