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THE MEMORIAL CHURCH 'MICHAEL THE BRAVE'

THE HOLY TRINITY ORTHODOX CHURCH

ALBA IULIA - ROMÂNIA
Bless the Lord, O my soul!

'Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name.'

'Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits!'

'Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul.'


The Holy Trinity Orthodox Church HISTORY

 

The town of Alba Iulia has a millennial history. In the first half of the second century, the ancient sources mention the tribe of the Apoulons and king Rubobostes. Ptolemeu, in his work "Geographia" also mentions Apulon besides the fourty important towns of Dacia situated in the middle of Transylvania. The town of Alba Iulia was called "Apulum" in Roman Times. It was the most important military, economic, social, cultural and political centre of the imperial province of Dacia.


At the beginning of the Middle Ages, the town was called "Bãlgrad" and became the main centre of Transylvania. On November 1-st 1599, after the victory at Selimbãr, prince Michael the Brave made his triumphal entrance in this town. After the union of Moldavia with the other two Romanian principalities in May 1600, the great prince entitled himself : "By God's Mercy, I, Michael, entitle myself prince and ruler of Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia" - achieving for the first time, the Romanian's most cherished ideal - the union of the three Romanian principalities under one single political rule. The presence of the great prince had already been felt at Alba Iulia a few years before: in 1597, he had a new metropolitan cathedral built there within the precinct of the old Metropolitanate, in the vicinity of the walls of the fortress which, for more than a century, was an important centre of Romanian religion and culture in Transylvania.


The Metropolitanate of Transylvania became, as our great historian Nicolae Iorga put it, "the most lasting and useful establishment of our nation from beyond the mountains" and had real spiritual fathers and men of culture such as: Teoctist (1606-1623), Dosoftei, Ghenadie II, Saint Iorest, Simion Stefan, Saint Sava Brancovici, Ghenadie III, Daniil, Iosif Budai, Ioasaf, Sava III, Varlaam, Teofil, Atanasie) and others.


The printings in the Romanian language made by the scolars of the Metropolitan seat of Bãlgrad had an important contribution such as: "The Gospel "(1641), "The Psalms" (1651), "Bucoavna" (1699 - the first primer printed in the Romanian language. However the most famous publication is "The New Testament of Bãlgrad" (1648) which was printed with the initiative of the Metropolitan Simion Stefan. The ancient metropolitan institution was later overthrown by Hapsburgs, who also destroyed its cathedral in 1714. Some remainders of the old cathedral were used to build a new church in the part of the city known as Maieri (near the railway station).
This little church was built on the site of the ancient Metropolitan Cathedral and it was hallowed in 1992. It is made of wood in a maramuresan style.

 

In this holy place, "old but young"- the Memorial Church tries to keep awake the conscience of community in love and communion.

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