Sunday, September 14, 2008

Holy Trinity-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral



Holy Trinity-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral on Birmingham's southside, has had a recent renovation to the front of the church and I had not seen it since the construction equipment had all been cleared away.  On my way downtown a few weeks ago I passed by and had to throw on my brakes and pull over for some photographs.  I have included a close up of the columns that frame the dark wooden doors.  The details are amazing,  and I think the creaminess of the stone is stunning.  Oh, and if the name of this church sounds familiar, it's because I featured their Greek Food Festival on September 12th. Go back and have a look if you missed it. 

My friend P.J. over at Pensacola Daily Photo and I are doing a photo swap of sorts today. She recently featured a Greek church in her community.  Today she is posting a photo similar to my "Hot Grits and a Bible" post.

The Tune du Jour is "Dhen in'avghi na sikotho" by Mandragore


23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Virginia, I love your blog. It's got me SO ready to come visit Birmingham! I am a non-blogger who visited you after a visit you made to "Heart & Soul" and the statues in the subway there (that was a while back). Enjoy your photos AND your music. Keep up the beautiful work!

Tash said...

They've done a marvelous job with this cathedral. I love carved stone & this is so inticate & as you said just creamy. You've caught it's beauty so well. My mom is a Serbian Orthodox and there a 3 very nice Serbian churches in LA area.

Laurie Allee said...

Virginia, you and I share a love of arches and beautiful architectural shots. WOW these are beautiful!

Marie Reed said...

It really is creamy. It marries well with the coffee I'm drinking right now!

tut-tut said...

I like your Tune!

Unknown said...

Virginia, when you say renovation, do you mean it has been modified or are you just refering to some restoration works? (sorry about the language barrier, but I really would like to know because those column capitals are something noboby makes nowadays).
Anyway I find the entrance very beautifull and it's allways so good to see neat buildings like that one! Your detailed photo is awesome!

Virginia said...

JM
Good question. If you go to their website you can see a photo of the church before the renovation. It appears that they just cleaned the front of the church and added new railings and maybe added more stone where there had been grass before. Those original columns are gorgeous. I took about 20 photographs of them alone.

Rob said...

Fantastic details. Very appealing, and contrasts to the office look we build these days.

angela said...

Like you I love that creamy stone and the renovation is lovely. There's something almost celtic about the carvings though maybe not so angular..

PJ said...

Good morning, Virginia! I love the color of the stone of this church. The new railings add an interesting line and I think this is the perfect choice for this Sunday. Beautiful.

Pat said...

Beautiful church, reminiscent of those here. Looks good enough to eat!

Webradio said...

Bonjour Virginia !

Belle architecture !

Merci pour ces rappels historiques...
----------------------
Hello Virginia !

Beautiful architecture!

Thank you for this historical...

Anonymous said...

the carvings are amazings.. what a beautiful church.. i would love to shoot a wedding infront of this one. Have a great day!

Jane Hards Photography said...

That detailing is so intricate. The colour is very Greek and also remind me of new Building in Montpellier France, done in a Greek style.

The bbc put the gary's stuff on you tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-qGkTjurHU

About time too.

Knoxville Girl said...

I looove the close up shot.

Wayne said...

It's a gorgeous looking entry Virginia. You're right, the detailing is worth a close look. I guess that's why they're called details. Duh, sometimes my dumbness surprises even me.

Burd Zel Krai said...

oh my that close up is exquisite! the intricacy is just beautiful... aaaah :)

Ming the Merciless said...

Love your description of finding this cathedral. I hope throwing the brakes didn't get anyone hurt. :-)

Love the details in the second photo.

Janet said...

I can see why you stopped here! It's gorgeous...perfect picture op.

Virginia said...

This church is indeed a lovely addition to our community. Glad you enjoyed the detail of the columns as much as I did.

Bob Crowe said...

V- this has really lovely color and composition but what I like the most is the single defiant flower in the center, thrusting its head up and apart from the rest. It is asserting its individuality.

MadAboutParis said...

Hey Virg - can you put up a link to PJ in Pensacola's site? Or have I missed it somewhere on your? You know I'm a slow learner!
xx,
M

Virginia said...

Mar,
Zip up here on the comments. You will see her comment and you can click on it. I think she's on vacaction so she may not respond quickly.
xx
V