The Saint John Apostle and Evangelist Greek Catholic Church can be found in the heart of the town Kazincbarcika. It stands in the middle of the park belonging to the core of the monumental residential district, on the area among the hospital, the town hall and the secondary school.
- architect: Mihály BALÁZS - Török és Balázs Építész Műterem
- year of design/ construction: 1991/1995
- photography: © Tamás BUJNOVSZKY
Away from the blocks of flats, the building rather faces the more human-scaled miner houses. The western entrance is from this direction, whereas the apse is strictly orienentated on the east, where the blocks of flats are. There is another entrance on the eastern side, right next to the altar, which can be approached on the path running through the park from the blocks of flats. The rectory was designed to stand in the back part of the site, behind the building of the Church, which isalong the main road. However, this rectory hasn't been built on account of financial possibilities.
The two oppositely placed entrances create a special situation: their spaces unite in a common side-aisle/ foyer-wing along the southern side of the body of the Church. The Church itself has a circular floor plan, whereas the space for the congregation is cylindrical with an octagonal cupola, which is constructed on a square drawn into the circular base of the cylinder. The east-oriented shrine is connected to, separated from the Church space by analtar screen attached to one side of the square. According to the original plans, the separate entry to the vestry would have had a covered path connection to the rectory.
At first sight, the builing may look chaotic, the proportioning, the connection of the towers and the central masses all aim the Byzantinestyle, additive method of planing. The applied materials and shapes, such as the terracotta, tile,together with the beam structure and copper sheet cover of the cupola, the embrasure-like windows, serve the same purpose. With the understanding of the symbol systems of the Greek Catholic traditions, the different pieces of the architectural creation become clearer and more comprehensible, among which the delicate equilibrum of asymetry brings harmony.
translation: Barnabás CSÁTHY
Data:
- client: Greek-Catholic Church of Kazincbarcika;
- scale: ...
