Church Temple "Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine & Empress Elena" — Local services in Municipality of Centar

Totally disappointed by the treatment of the unbuilt area around the church! Poorly designed pavements and massive "hidden" elements that just state the mentality of this nation: leaving almost every job unfinished!

The church of Saint Constantine and Elena, is a contemporary church that has been under construction for such a long period of time, which still is not fully constructed yet. It sits in the heart of the center of Skopje, with many important buildings around. it is situated in the city's promenade, nearby the historical street Makedonija. Nearby you can see the ARM home, the museum of Mother Theresa, and as a landmark in the end of the road you see the big statue of a knight on a horse.

This church is a result of an older ruling political party that is known for the neo-kitsch baroque-intending renovation of facades in Skopje, which does not look alike nothing compared to the design of baroque facades that were hanged upon the marvelous original modern style. Building it took 12 years and the result definitely does not let you think it would take anything close to that amount of time.

Historically, this land does not belong to the church, but rather it's an allocation of the original church which was destroyed by the earthquake in1963, that was located now in the modern existing GTC. The old church was built in 1919 and had taken 10 years to be built because of the historical and political events of its time, which kind of took less to build than the existing one. Since this site was dedicated to was planned to be some meters to the south-west, we can also find a mosaic in a residential block in front of the existing contemporary church of the two historical figures the church was crowned to, king Constantine the Great and Elena.

The church is characterized by its concrete left untouched, with gold color covered domes, leaving it strike with its form and details without a bunch of crowded materiality. An interesting addition is its facade with different reliefs on top of the prefabricated facade, which is highly detailed in the lower parts, and gradually fades while going atop, leaving the raw concrete material blend with the endless sky, until the golden domes put and end to it. The shapes of the dome highly resemble byzantine orthodox churches, with almost every element showing the inspiration it came from. Highly stylized forms of decorative elements, which still stood rigid in the whole shape of the domes. Though, the stylization was more free in the shape of the bell tower that sits right in front of the entrance, which is still not fully constructed and will also serve as a clock tower. It shares the same facade but the shape is geometrized, and that will probably serve as the newest high sightseeing point of the central zone...

​A true landmark in central Skopje, this church is a stunning example of modern Orthodox architecture. The exterior, crafted from beautiful light stone, is immediately impressive, crowned by multiple high cupolas with brilliant golden domes that shine brightly against the sky. ​The moment you step through the doors, you are immersed in a dazzling world of color and light. The vast interior is entirely covered in exquisite frescoes, reaching up to the high domes and surrounding the magnificent central chandelier. The quality of the craftsmanship extends to the elegant marble details underfoot and the truly breathtaking iconostasis. A must-visit for anyone interested in sacred art and grand religious...

This new build of a church was supposed to be finished by now but probably funds ran dry in the meantime because it was too big for the country to support. A similar situation can be found in Cluj-Napoca of Romania (Catedrala Greco-Catolică a Martirilor și Mărturisitorilor Secolului XX). Could be impressive...