Cathedral of the Transfiguration
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The Cathedral of the Transfiguration is a Slovak Byzantine Rite Roman Catholic cathedral located in Markham, Ontario, Canada. The cathedral was built in a rural area north of the city of Toronto and was built to serve Slovak Catholics throughout the Greater Toronto Area. The Cathedral was conceived and funded by Stephen B. Roman, a Slovak immigrant to Canada who had built up the Denison Mines corporation. Roman both funded and designed the building, modeling the structure on the church in the Slovak village he was raised in. The cathedral was built on a donated portion of his Romandale estate.
Work began on the Cathedral in 1984. That year it became the first church in North America to be consecrated by a Pope, when John Paul II blessed the cornerstone during his trip to Canada. Construction took several years, and ran significantly over the original budget of $13 million dollars. Among its features is the world's largest three bell carillon, with the French made bells weighing 32,000 kilograms. The cathedral was built to hold 1000 worshipers serving a community of about 5000 Byzantine Rite Catholics in the GTA and 35,000 across Canada. The central tower rises 63 metres top by a gold onion dome.
Roman died of a heart attack in 1988, and did not see the cathedral completed. His funeral service was held in the partially completed structure, with 1600 people in attendance.
While originally built in a rural area some distance from the city, the rapidly growing Toronto suburbs now come near to the structure. In 2004 work began on Cathedraltown, a housing development of 1200 structures that will surround the cathedral.
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[edit] References
- "Thousands attend as new cathedral's giant bells blessed." The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa: Aug 16, 1986. pg. A.23
- "Church at the centre; A European-style community will take shape around golden-domed Byzantine Slovak cathedral Built by magnate with grand vision" by Pat Brennan. Toronto Star. Toronto: Apr 17, 2004. pg. M.01
- "Eparchy site in Markham Roman reticent about role in constructing cathedral" Kelley Teahen. The Globe and Mail. Toronto: Oct 26, 1985. pg. A.21
- "Progress slow on Byzantine shrine Hundreds worship in unfinished cathedral" Caroline Byrne. Toronto Star. Toronto: Jul 3, 1989. pg. A.6
- "1,600 mourn Roman at cathedral he built" Joseph Hall. Toronto Star. Toronto: Mar 27, 1988. pg. A.4
