also become the 14th tallest church building in the world when completed. has the tallest unpenetrated (without oculus) dome in the world (104 m – inside). It also has the tallest dome outside – 121 m without the lantern and the cross. will have the largest mosaic collection (interior decoration) in the world when it is completed (18,000 m2). has the largest free-swinging church bell in the world (25.2 tons). has the largest iconostasis in the world (407 m2). has hosted the largest number of religious leaders (the Pope, the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church) among all church buildings in the world. is the largest by volume (323,000 m3) and area (6,000 m2), the tallest (127 m when completed ) and longest (126 m) Orthodox church building in the world. It is also one of the largest church buildings in the world. has the tallest (44 m), widest (25.2 m) and longest Orthodox church nave in the world. It is the 2nd widest and 8th tallest among all naves in the world (only 2 meters lower than the nave of St. Peter's Basilica, which is the second tallest nave in the world). History The idea of a national cathedral first emerged following the Romanian War of Independence (1877–1878), which was mainly fought between the Russian and Ottoman Empires. The church was to symbolise the victory of Orthodox Christians over the Ottoman Muslims. The idea was shelved for lack of consensus on design, location and funding. The Unification of the Romanian Principalities in 1859, entailed a unitary organisation of church structures in Moldavia and Wallachia within the Holy Synod (1872), thus the assembly of hierarchs increased to 12 members, including: the Primate Metropolitan (chairman), the Metropolitan of Moldavia and their suffragan bishops of Râmnic, Buzău, Argeș, Roman, Huși and Lower Danube (Galați) and one auxiliary vicar-bishop for every diocese. The old Metropolitan Cathedral had proved overcrowded, especially during the national holidays, such as the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Romania and the crowning of King Carol I of Romania (10 May 1881), when none of the over one hundred churches in Bucharest was able to receive those who would have wanted to participate in the official service. Therefore, at King Carol I's desire, Romania's Assembly of Deputies and the Senate voted in favour of the Law no. 1750 on the construction of