Tens of thousands of worshippers attended the inauguration on Sunday of a giant new Orthodox cathedral in Bucharest, amid criticism from atheists that public funding for the project could be better used to pay for hospitals and schools in one of the EU’s poorest countries.
Construction of the Romanian People’s Salvation Cathedral began in 2010 and is scheduled to be completed in 2024.
Originally, the cost was estimated at about €80m (£71m), but it has already spiralled to €110m and tens of millions more are expected to be spent before it is completed.
Despite criticism about the costs, successive governments over the past decade have nevertheless put up the money in the hope of winning the support of the powerful Orthodox church in return.
About 88% of Romania’s population of 20 million are Orthodox.
The church is not yet finished, this is how it will look when its ready:
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