Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Vienna

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Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Vienna Wien - Griechenkirche zur Heiligen Dreifaltigkeit.JPG
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Vienna

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (Griechenkirche zur Heiligen Dreifaltigkeit) is a Greek Orthodox Church Cathedral in the first district of Vienna, Austria, in the historic Greek neighborhood of Vienna's Innere Stadt. The neighborhood has also been known as the "Fleischmarkt".

Greek Orthodox Church Orthodox Christian denominations descended from a Greek cultural tradition, Wikimedia disambiguation page

The name Greek Orthodox Church, or Greek Orthodoxy, is a term referring to the body of several Churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the Septuagint and the New Testament, and whose history, traditions, and theology are rooted in the early Church Fathers and the culture of the Byzantine Empire. Greek Orthodox Christianity has also traditionally placed heavy emphasis and awarded high prestige to traditions of Eastern Orthodox monasticism and asceticism, with origins in Early Christianity in the Near East and in Byzantine Anatolia.

The districts of Vienna are the 23 named city sections of Vienna, Austria, which are numbered for easy reference. They were created from 1850 onwards, when the city area was enlarged by the inclusion of surrounding communities. Although they fill a similar role, Vienna's municipal districts are not administrative districts (Bezirke) as defined by the constitution; Vienna is a statutory city and as such is a single administrative district in its entirety.

Greektown is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Greeks or people of Greek ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood.

Contents

Since 1963 the cathedral has been the seat of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Austria (the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople: the Metropolis of Austria and Exarchate of Hungary and Middle Europe).

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople autocephalous church of Eastern Orthodox Christianity

The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is one of the fifteen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is headed by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, currently Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople.

History

Church interior Fleischmarkt 13 IMG 6892.JPG
Church interior

Greek Orthodox churches have existed near this site since 1787, as a result of the 1781 Patent of Toleration issued by Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. The architect of the 1787 building was Peter Mollner.

Patent of Toleration

The Patent of Toleration was an edict of toleration issued on 13 October 1781 by the Habsburg emperor Joseph II. Part of the Josephinist reforms, the Patent extended religious freedom to non-Catholic Christians living in the crown lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, including Lutherans, Calvinists, and the Eastern Orthodox. Specifically, these members of minority faiths were now legally permitted to hold "private religious exercises" in clandestine churches.

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor Holy Roman Emperor

Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor Francis I, and the brother of Marie Antoinette. He was thus the first ruler in the Austrian dominions of the House of Lorraine, styled Habsburg-Lorraine. Joseph was a proponent of enlightened absolutism; however, his commitment to modernizing reforms subsequently engendered significant opposition, which resulted in failure to fully implement his programmes. He has been ranked, with Catherine the Great of Russia and Frederick the Great of Prussia, as one of the three great Enlightenment monarchs. His policies are now known as Josephinism. He died with no sons and was succeeded by his younger brother, Leopold II.

The current building is a Byzantine Revival re-design of the Mollner building by Danish-Austrian neo-classic architect Theophil Hansen. Greek-Austrian diplomat and philanthropist Simon Sinas funded the project, [1] one of many collaborations with Hansen in Vienna and Athens. The cathedral was inaugurated on December 21, 1858.

Byzantine Revival architecture architectural revival movement

The Byzantine Revival was an architectural revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Orthodox Christian architecture dating from the 5th through 11th centuries, notably that of Constantinople and the Exarchate of Ravenna. Neo-Byzantine architecture emerged in the 1840s in Western Europe and peaked in the last quarter of the 19th century in the Russian Empire, and later Bulgaria. Neo-Byzantine school was active in Yugoslavia between World War I and World War II.

Theophil Hansen Danish architect

Baron Theophil Edvard von Hansen was a Danish architect who later became an Austrian citizen. He became particularly well known for his buildings and structures in Athens and Vienna, and is considered an outstanding representative of neoclassicism.

Simon Sinas Greek diplomat

Simon von Sina or Simon Sinas was an Austrian banker, aristocrat, benefactor and diplomat of Greek origin.

The exterior features two-tone brickwork and gilded archways. [2] The elaborately ornamented sanctuary shows a stylish allusion to Baroque church architecture typical of southern Germany and Austria. A number of frescoes for the facade and vestibule were commissioned from the Austrian painter and art professor Carl Rahl, with other frescoes by Ludwig Thiersch.

Carl Rahl Austrian artist

Carl Rahl, sometimes spelled Karl Rahl, was an Austrian painter.

Ludwig Thiersch German artist

Ludwig Thiersch was a German painter, primarily of mythological and religious subjects and especially of ecclesiastical art, also influential in Greece.

The address is Fleischmarkt 13, 1010 Wien. Among the parishioners here was the family of conductor Herbert von Karajan.

Herbert von Karajan Austrian conductor

Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 35 years. Generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, he was a dominant figure in European classical music from the mid-1950s until his death. Part of the reason for this was the large number of recordings he made and their prominence during his lifetime. By one estimate he was the top-selling classical music recording artist of all time, having sold an estimated 200 million records.

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Griechenbeisl building

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References

  1. ↑ Language and National Identity in Greece, 1766-1976, by Peter Mackridge, page 38
  2. ↑ National Geographic Traveler: Vienna, by Sarah Woods, page 80

Coordinates: 48°12′39″N16°22′39″E / 48.21084°N 16.377372°E / 48.21084; 16.377372

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