Tihomir Pavlović
Temple of the Christ the Saviour, Banja Luka
Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Banja Luka today is the place where was once the Holy Trinity Church, built between the two world wars in the center of Banja Luka. Construction of the temple lasted from 1925 to 1929, and was officially consecrated on Ascension Day in 1939. After fake German bombing on April 12, 1941, the temple was hit and badly damaged altar area (apse). In May the same year the Ustasha declared temple as a "mockery of the city" and ordered the Serbs, Jews and Roma to completely broke down the temple, brick by brick. After World War II, more than half a century, many buildings are renovated or demolished but the reconstruction of the Cathedral was not permitted, Instead that, in the place where it was located, the communist regime built a monument to fallen soldiers. In the early nineties Banja Luka parish received permission to rebuild the destroyed temple, a monument to the fallen soldiers was transferred to a nearby location, also owned by the Serbian Orthodox Church. Restoration of the temple began in 1993 when foundations were blessed. This solemn act was carried out by Serbian Patriarch Pavle with the bishops and clergy of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The temple was rebuilt as the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, because in the meantime in Banja Luka (1963-1969) built the Temple which is named the Holy Trinity, as a memento of the ruined one, and that Orthodox Serbs thought that it would never be able to restored.
Temple of the Christ the Saviour, Banja Luka
Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Banja Luka today is the place where was once the Holy Trinity Church, built between the two world wars in the center of Banja Luka. Construction of the temple lasted from 1925 to 1929, and was officially consecrated on Ascension Day in 1939. After fake German bombing on April 12, 1941, the temple was hit and badly damaged altar area (apse). In May the same year the Ustasha declared temple as a "mockery of the city" and ordered the Serbs, Jews and Roma to completely broke down the temple, brick by brick. After World War II, more than half a century, many buildings are renovated or demolished but the reconstruction of the Cathedral was not permitted, Instead that, in the place where it was located, the communist regime built a monument to fallen soldiers. In the early nineties Banja Luka parish received permission to rebuild the destroyed temple, a monument to the fallen soldiers was transferred to a nearby location, also owned by the Serbian Orthodox Church. Restoration of the temple began in 1993 when foundations were blessed. This solemn act was carried out by Serbian Patriarch Pavle with the bishops and clergy of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The temple was rebuilt as the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, because in the meantime in Banja Luka (1963-1969) built the Temple which is named the Holy Trinity, as a memento of the ruined one, and that Orthodox Serbs thought that it would never be able to restored.