The iconostasis
A large screen of carved wood.
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The Resurrection of Christ Cathedral is Korçë's main Orthodox church and the seat of its metropolitan bishop: a large neo-Byzantine building in the city centre, with a central dome and twin bell towers. Begun in 1994 and consecrated in 2004, it is one of the city's best-known landmarks. When Albania banned religion in 1967, Korçë lost many churches: St George's was pulled down, and the old cathedral of the Life-Giving Spring lost its dome and bell towers and became a museum. On 2 August 1994 Archbishop Anastasios laid the new cathedral's foundation stone; he raised its whole cost, over US$2.5 million, saying the stones thrown at the Church would be gathered to build with. Work stalled in the unrest of 1997–98, and the cathedral was consecrated on 7 August 2004. Designed by the Thessaloniki architect Dimitrios Christidis, it is cross-shaped with four apses, has a portico along three sides and is faced in stone and decorative brick; its two bell towers, 22.5 m tall, hold five bells each. Inside, a large carved wooden iconostasis screens the sanctuary, and the once-white walls now carry hundreds of icons, gifts of the faithful since 2012. The basement holds a chapel, the baptistery and a hall. It stands on Republic Boulevard, where the pedestrian St George's Boulevard begins, and entry is free. Dress modestly, covering shoulders and knees, skip flash and avoid services, above all the Sunday morning liturgy. Half an hour is enough; the Mirahori Mosque and the Old Bazaar lie about 450 m and 560 m west in a straight line.
A large screen of carved wood.
22.5 m tall, with five bells each.
Hundreds, given by the faithful since 2012.
Republic Boulevard, central Korçë
Not quite. St George's, the great church completed in 1905, was pulled down under communism and the city library was built on its site; the new cathedral rose nearby, on a plot the state granted after the first site was withdrawn and the faithful protested.
At Easter, the high point of Korçë's Orthodox year, when the Good Friday procession and the Resurrection service, with candles lit and the flame passed from hand to hand, draw big crowds. Christmas on 25 December and Theophany on 6 January are busy too; for a quiet visit, avoid Sunday mornings.
