Chronicle "Discover the religious pluralism of Barcelona's neighbourhoods in 2024: Orthodox Christianity”
The activity “Discover the religious pluralism of Barcelona's neighbourhoods in 2024” took place on 6 July, and consisted of two routes, one in the Eixample district, and the other around the Sarrià-Sant Gervasi and Les Corts districts. The spotlight was on Orthodox Christianity, with visits to various Orthodox churches where participants were able to learn about the key aspects of the Orthodox Christian tradition first hand, and get to know more about some of the communities that adhere to it in Barcelona.
Barcelona is home to more than a thousand religious and spiritual communities and organisations, and this is reflected in the city’s urban landscape. To be precise, there are some 500 places of worship, eight of which are Orthodox Christian churches. This is nothing new: 2024 marks 50 years since the opening of the first Orthodox centre of worship in Barcelona, under the auspices of the Serbian Patriarchate. To mark the occasion, on 6 July the Office of Religious Affairs (OAR) organised the activity “Discover the religious pluralism of Barcelona’s neighbourhoods in 2024”, which involved a visit to three Orthodox churches in the districts of Eixample, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, and Les Corts.
It consisted of two routes. The first tour was in the morning in the Eixample district, guided by Bezawerk Oliver Martínez, who is in charge of contact with the Christian communities within the OAR. The route centred on a visit to the church of Saint Nectarius of Aegina (Patriarchate of Constantinople), which is located in a small room in the Puríssima Concepció parish church, right in the middle of C/ Aragó.
Guided by Tatevik Galoyan Muradyan, a facilitator specialising in interculturalism and former vice-president of the Barcelona Armenian Cultural Association, the afternoon tour took place in the Les Corts and Sarrià-Sant Gervasi districts. The first visit was to the parish church of Santa Nino (Georgian Patriarchate), in the Sarrià-Sant Gervasi district, which is home to the Georgian Orthodox community in Barcelona. The second stop on the itinerary was the church of La Mare de Déu (Bulgarian Patriarchate) which is based in the parish church of Maria Reina in Pedralbes (it is the very first Bulgarian Orthodox church in Spain). This parish church is also home to the Armenian Orthodox church. Galoyan explained the core principles of this tradition right in front of the Khachkar or cross-stone that stands at the entrance to the church, a monument inspired by the cross-stones of Armenian Christian symbolism.
