On an arid esplanade on Washington Boulevard in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, the Orthodox Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ stands imposingly. The building is as blinding as the space itself where it is located, since it is a snow-white construction with no vegetation to camouflage it, absolutely exposed to the sun.
The temple is of impressive dimensions. Very recently created – it was consecrated in 2013 – members of the Serbian community celebrate their rituals without forgetting to identify themselves with flags. As one of the architectural attractions that it is, as soon as you enter, in a corner on the right there is a small table with brochures that explain in great detail the most relevant data (especially those that want to shock, such as that the interior is decorated with 1872 square meters of mosaics; that the construction was carried out by the famous architect Predrag RistiĆ; or that the twin towers of the bell towers are almost 27 meters high).
Truly, the temple is a beauty. Its gilding stands out, the drawing of Noah's Ark full of exotic animals reproduced on the pavement, in front of the main altar, or the large number of frescoes that illuminate each of the chapels, vaults, columns and frontals. However, the tourist brochure omits a detail that can be a little difficult to locate: as in so many other churches in the Christian world, there is a section dedicated to the moment of the Last Judgment, in which sinners are swallowed by a monster of enormous dimensions. Your digestive system connects directly to hell.
It's curious, because the sin-eating devil has his mouth full of what appear to be nobles and aristocrats of the country, all of them identified with large crosses and even some with outfits that mark them as members of royalty. The lower-ranking convicts are half-naked, with faces distorted by fear and with shackles holding their feet, lest they escape the fiery sentence. But, little ones, – in fact, without reproducing their bodies, just their heads – there are three characters that anyone even slightly familiar with contemporary history will recognize: they are Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Marshal Tito. They literally have a sea of fire that reaches up to their necks, and their entrance into hell is imminent.
The hostility towards such prominent ideologues and leaders of communism is striking, taking into account that Yugoslavia was not as belligerent with religion as the rest of the Iron Curtain countries. But now that the defectives cannot complain and the communists are crumbs of the past, the craftsmen of the Orthodox Cathedral of Podgorica have been dispatched to their heart's content.
It is worth stopping for a long time looking for the many details of the cathedral's decoration. And if there are no services at that time, access the spectacular crypt, which almost looks more like a concert hall due to its monumentality.
In a city like Podgorica, which does not have sparkling buildings due to the large number of times it has been demolished throughout history in different conflicts, the Cathedral of the Resurrection has all the numbers to become one of the focuses of attention of the – still scarce – tourists who arrive in the Montenegrin capital.
The Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ is located east of the Morača River, a 20-minute walk from the old town (Stara Varoš) and the bustling center (NovaVaroš).
