Catedrala Mitropolitană din Sibiu, acum 50 de ani
The Metropolitan Cathedral in Sibiu, 50 Years Ago
Monument with a symbolic value for the spirituality of the Transylvanian Romanians, the “Holy Trinity” Orthodox cathedral in Sibiu was built in the early years of the twentieth century. Its decoration with wall paintings was done only later, in two stages. First, in 1905, Octavian Smigelschi completed a partial décor, including the painted panels of the iconostasis and the mural painting that covers the dome of the nave and the pendants placed between the arches which support the dome. During the second stage, which took place only later, between 1962 and 1965, after a pause of 53 years, the iconographic assembly was completed.
The outstanding contribution of the painter Octavian Smigelschi has often been highlighted; however, only few things have been written so far about the ones who continued his work. This study brings unpublished information and excerpts from archival documents about the completion, half a century ago, of this monumental work and about the actors involved in the process.
Keywords: The Orthodox Cathedral „Holy Trinity” of Sibiu; Metropolitan Nicolae Colan; Religious art in the decades of communist Romania; Anastase Demian;Iosif Keber.
România, Arhiva Arhiepiscopiei Ortodoxe Române a Sibiului (AAORS), fond “Catedrala”
Catedrala Mitropolitană din Sibiu / The Metropolitan Cathedral in Sibiu, în Mitropolia Ardealului, an X, nr. 11-12, 1965
Cisek, Oscar Walter, Demian, în Gândirea, București, octombrie 1927, p. 267-268
Djentemirov, Mihail, Raluca Iacob, Anastase Demian, Editura Meridiane, București, 1974
Lăptoiu,Negoiţă, Incursiuni în plastica românească / Forays into the Romanian plastic art, vol. II, Editura Dacia, Cluj-Napoca, 1987
Maniu, Adrian, Demian, în Gândirea, Cluj, 15 decembrie 1921
