The Archbishopric Cathedral of Galați (Catedrala Arhiepiscopală din Galați) is the Romanian Orthodox cathedral of the Archdiocese of the Lower Danube in central Galați. Dedicated to Saint Nicholas and Saint Andrew, it was built in the early 20th century after Galați became the seat of the Lower Danube diocese.
After the Diocese of the Lower Danube moved its seat from Ismail to Galați in 1878, the existing Saint Nicholas Church served as the episcopal cathedral. Its severe damage in the 1903 earthquake left the diocese without a suitable cathedral and accelerated plans for a new purpose-built church. The site was blessed in 1905, and the foundation stone was laid on April 27, 1906, in the presence of Prince Ferdinand and Princess Marie.
Architects Petre Antonescu and Ștefan Burcuș designed the cathedral, with construction continuing under bishops Pimen Georgescu and Nifon Niculescu. Before completion, painter Costin Petrescu decorated the interior in oil in a realist style. The cathedral was consecrated on August 6, 1917, while Romania was still fighting in World War I.
Structural problems appeared relatively early because of unstable ground and earthquake damage. Repairs culminated in a reconsecration in 1936, but the major earthquake of November 1940 caused the central dome to collapse and cracked the walls. Between 1950 and 1957, the cathedral was rebuilt extensively without changing Petre Antonescu’s original architectural plan. The damaged interior paintings were replaced by a new fresco program created by Gheorghe Popescu and Niculina Dona, and the restored church was consecrated again in 1957.
Further earthquakes in 1977, 1986 and 1990 led to another long period of repairs and structural reinforcement. Work carried out between 1990 and 2005 strengthened the building, renewed the copper roof and exterior façades, and restored the interior paintings. Saint Andrew was added as a second patron of the cathedral in 2000, and the completed restoration was marked by another consecration in 2006.
The cathedral is dominated by a large central dome surrounded by four smaller towers, while two bell towers rise above the western end. Its entrance porch is supported by paired Corinthian columns, and the façades combine geometric, Byzantine and Romanian decorative motifs, including bands of recessed arches and carved rope patterns. Inside, the fresco decoration dates largely from the 1950s reconstruction, with some fragments of Costin Petrescu’s original painting surviving in the porch.
Among the devotional objects inside is a silver reliquary containing relics of Saint Andrew and several other Orthodox saints. The remains of Bishop Nifon Niculescu, who completed and consecrated the cathedral in 1917, were transferred to the pronaos in 2021.
