works took place on 9 July 1940, and the parish council approved this reception on 24 July. The cathedral was inaugurated on 6 October 1946 in the presence of King Michael I, Prime Minister Petru Groza, Patriarch Nicodim Munteanu, Bishop of Timișoara , Metropolitan of Transylvania Nicolae Bălan and representatives of other cults, led by Roman Catholic bishop Augustin Pacha and Greek Catholic bishop Ioan Bălan. During World War II, after Romania turned its weapons against Germany, German aircraft bombed Timișoara (30–31 October 1944). Six bombs fell on the cathedral, but only one of them exploded, causing significant but limited damage. The interior and exterior painting was finished only in 1956, due to World War II and the difficult period that followed. Architecture The building's style is neo-Moldavian, based on Romanian Orthodox, late Renaissance, Ottoman and Byzantine architecture elements, such as niches under the eaves, ribbed star vaulting in the interior and lacquered discs in a variety of colors. Such elements can be found in the old Cozia and Prislop monasteries, typical for the 14th century. The church is a fortunate "head of perspective" of the Victory Square in front of it. The style of the building is not entirely extraneous to the 1900s architecture in the square, also characterized by the ample play of roofs. 63 meters long and 32 meters wide, the cathedral owes its monumentality to the height of its middle dome – the dome of the Pantocrator (the Almighty). 52 meters high on the inside and 83 meters high on the outside, the middle dome is surmounted by a 7-meter-high cross and sustained by 10 decorative chains and golden buckles. At one point, the building was the third tallest in the country, after Casa Scânteii (104 m) and the People's House (84 m), both located in Bucharest. Due to the marshy terrain, the cathedral stands on a concrete slab supported by 1,186 reinforced concrete pillars, driven at a depth of 20 m. The built area is 1,542 m2, while the total construction volume is about 50,000 m3. The seven bells, cast in Anton Novotny's workshop, have a total weight of 7,000 kg and were made of an alloy of metals brought from Indonesia (Sumatra and Borneo). Their harmonization was done by the composer Sabin Drăgoi. The interior and exterior painting was executed by a group of painters led by the painter . The iconostasis was carved