Chiesa di Santa Caterina Martire — Local services in Rome

Detta anche "chiesa di Santa Caterina d’Alessandria", esso è un luogo di culto, spirituale e incantevole dove si incontrano sia come luogo di ritrovo che luogo di preghiera molti ortodossi di Roma, di varie etnie: bulgara, russa, moldava, ucraina, etc. La chiesa è un piccolo gioiello di architettura ortodossa bizantina, a pochi passi dalla stazione di san Pietro e direttamente vicina all'ambasciata di Russia.

La particolarità più suggestiva a livello architettonico è la copertura color verde acqua marina, che crea un contrasto netto con la pietra bianca che costituisce sia le scalinate che le murature stesse della chiesa. La nascita della chiesa risale al 2000, quando il direttore del Centro di costruzioni artistiche Obolenskij (patriarcato di Mosca) ideò la costruzione di una nuova chiesa adiacente all'Ambasciata di Russia. La prima pietra è stata posata il 14 gennaio 2001, il giorno dedicato a santa Caterina; in questo evento vi furono sia la comunità ortodossa di Roma che i Ministri degli Esteri d'Italia e di Russia. I lavori sono terminati nel 2006. Tutti gli affreschi interni sono opere di artisti russi.

Una ulteriore particolarità della costruzione riguarda il sito stesso: camminando verso la collina retrostante si può ammirare lo skyline di Roma e una particolare prospettiva, dove la cupola della chiesa ortodossa si staglia nel cielo insieme alla cupola di san Pietro, come a rappresentare una vicinanza fra le due religioni anche se la collina sulla quale sorge la chiesa è stata scavata di circa 10 metri affinché la cupola non fosse più alta della cupola della Basilica di san Pietro. Grazie comunque al mastro campanaro, la dolce musica delle campane echeggia in ogni angolo del quartiere limitrofo e raggiunge persino la piazza di san Pietro, sorprendendo i turisti di tutto il mondo.

Per la costruzione stessa ci sono voluti parecchi anni, sia perché a Roma costruzioni di diverso culto cattolico seguono iter particolari e sia perché la costruzione stessa, in questo stile, contrasta fortemente con l'architettura italiana.

ENGLISH: Also known as the "church of St. Catherine of Alexandria", it is a place of worship, spiritual and enchanting where many Orthodox from Rome, of various ethnic groups, meet both as a meeting place and a place of prayer: Bulgarian, Russian, Moldavian, Ukrainian , etc. The church is a small jewel of Byzantine Orthodox architecture, a few steps from St. Peter's station and directly next to the Russian embassy.

The most striking architectural feature is the sea-green roof, which creates a sharp contrast with the white stone that makes up both the stairways and the walls of the church. The birth of the church dates back to 2000, when the director of the Center for artistic constructions Obolensky (patriarchate of Moscow) conceived the construction of a new church adjacent to the Russian Embassy. The first stone was laid on January 14, 2001, the day dedicated to Saint Catherine; in this event there were both the Orthodox community of Rome and the Foreign Ministers of Italy and Russia. The works were completed in 2006. All the internal frescoes are works of Russian artists.

A further peculiarity of the construction concerns the site itself: walking towards the hill behind you can admire the skyline of Rome and a particular perspective, where the dome of the Orthodox church stands out in the sky together with the dome of St. Peter, as if to represent a closeness between the two religions even if the hill on which the church stands was excavated by about 10 meters so that the dome was no higher than the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. However, thanks to the master bell ringer, the sweet music of the bells echoes in every corner of the neighboring district and even reaches St. Peter's Square, surprising tourists from all over the world.

The construction itself took several years, both because in Rome buildings of different Catholic worship follow particular procedures and because the construction itself, in this style, strongly contrasts with Italian...

Saint Catherine Russian Orthodox Church. In 2004 the Church of the Great Martyr Saint Catherine became the first Russian Orthodox church built in the holy city since 1054, when the churches split in an event known as “The Great Schism.” The 950 years in between saw less than accommodating stances between the two factions of Christian faith, though things have been warming up for some time now.

The church is unapologetically Russian/ Byzantine in its architecture, a striking departure from the classical Italian buildings throughout Rome. After the completion of the traditional onion-shaped dome, artists from Russia were brought in to paint the inside of the sanctuary. The relics of Saint Helen, a 1st century saint venerated by both churches, were placed inside by a Catholic cardinal. Years later, on the celebration of Saint Catherine’s feast day, a relic of Saint Alexius was also placed...

Just off the beaten path between Vatican City and Trastevere you can find this church. It's easily recognized by it's distinctive onion dome that is typical of Russian architecture. The building is beautifully situated on a small hill and looks magnificent from the outside. Construction was started in 2003 so everything is new and clean.

The actual church is somewhat small but elaborately decorated. Everything is accented in gold in the Byzantine style. I believe that the rest of the build is home to the Russian Embassy, although it's not indicated...