Phat Diem Stone Cathedral - a majestic architectural work combining Eastern and Western cultures

Phat Diem Cathedral is a Catholic church complex located on an area of ​​22 hectares in Phat Diem town, Kim Son district, Ninh Binh province.

Not only is Phat Diem stone church a place for common cultural and spiritual activities of parishioners in the Kim Son area, it is also a unique architectural work that attracts tourists from near and far to visit and admire.

Structure of Phat Diem stone church

Phat Diem Stone Church was built in the late 19th century by Phat Diem Parish Priest Peter Tran Luc (aka Mr. Sau) - who was appointed as Phat Diem Parish Priest in 1865 - after many years of research, completing blueprints and concentrating financial and material resources.

Phat Diem Cathedral complex includes a lake, a courtyard, a large church, four side churches, three artificial grottoes and a stone church.

Phat Diem Cathedral was built entirely of stone and ironwood. The wood was taken from many localities such as Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Son Tay... Stone was brought from Thien Duong mountain, 30km from Phat Diem. More precious stones were taken from Nhoi mountain near Thanh Hoa province, 60km away.

Phat Diem Cathedral complex also has many details carved very delicately. Around the building are decorated countless familiar images of Vietnamese villages such as pine, chrysanthemum, bamboo, apricot or lotus flowers...

The entire carpentry, interior of the church and the walls on both sides are made of large-trunk ironwood. The roof is covered with fish-tail tiles, the traditional type of tiles used in temples and pagodas.

The highlight of the architecture of Phat Diem stone church is the harmonious combination of Eastern and Western architecture. All items are arranged according to an overall plan in the shape of the letter V. The space opens and closes in a clear Eastern landscape style - in front is a lake, behind is a mountain - according to the Eastern concept "Water in front, mountain behind", with the wish that everything goes well and life is peaceful.

Square

One of the places considered architectural masterpieces in the Phat Diem church complex is the square house.

From the moment you step into the yard, visitors will be amazed by the large communal house, 24m long, 25m high, 17m deep, 3 floors high and almost square, assembled from monolithic green stone slabs.

The largest lower floor is built entirely of square green stone, divided into three compartments, each containing a stone bed. The stone bed in the middle compartment is the largest, measuring 4.2m long, 3.2m wide, and 0.3m thick.

The second floor hangs a large drum. The third floor hangs a bell 1.4m high, 1.1m in diameter, weighing nearly 2 tons, cast in 1890.

The roof of the square has five domes, four domes at the four lower corners, the highest dome is the dome in the middle of the third floor. The roof is not as high as a tower like a Western Catholic church but has an ancient low curved roof like the roof of a communal house or pagoda in a Vietnamese village. The two outer walls of the square have stone bars shaped like bamboo trees, on the outer walls of the lower floor are reliefs depicting the story of Jesus from entering Jerusalem to ascending to heaven.

Church of the Heart of Mary (stone church)

When talking about Phat Diem church, we cannot help but mention the stone church, also known as the church dedicated to the Heart of Mary. The 15.3m long, 8.5m wide, 6m high structure was built by Mr. Sau first in this relic complex.

It is called the stone church because everything in this church is made of stone, from the floor, walls, columns, door bars, towers or altars...

The interior of the stone church is carved with many beautiful reliefs, especially the four noble flowers of pine, apricot, chrysanthemum, and bamboo, symbolizing the weather and the unique beauty of the four seasons of the year. The lines depicting animals such as lions and phoenixes are extremely vivid.

Cathedral project

The center and highlight of the complex is the cathedral inaugurated in 1891, now the cathedral of the Bishop of Phat Diem.

The church is 74m long, 21m wide, has 4 elaborately carved roofs and 6 rows of solid ironwood columns, the two middle columns are up to 11m high, each column weighs 10 tons.

The main altar is a monolithic stone slab 3m long, 0.9m wide, 0.8m high with three sides carved with flowers and leaves.

The common point in the architecture of Phat Diem church is similar to churches in the West, the church is long, the rest is arranged in the traditional way, including 10 compartments, with 9 sets of beds. The roof system is divided into 2 floors interrupted by windows to bring in light and at the same time create a high roof. This is the form of overlapping matches in Vietnamese pagoda architecture.

At the end of the church, the palanquin is made of a block of granite, the arched construction creates 5 entrances to the church, the ground plan and elevation are both stepped with the highest point in the middle entrance and gradually lower on both sides.

The top of the tower is covered with fish-tail tiles, with graceful curved roofs, evoking a subtle combination of two Eastern and Gothic (Western) architectural styles.

Another point worth mentioning is the gilded lacquer panels on the wooden altars in the church, evoking a traditional worship space of the Vietnamese people.

In addition to the above-mentioned structures, each side of the cathedral has two small churches located next to each other, including St. Peter's Church, St. Joseph's Church, St. Bocco's Church and the Church of the Heart of Jesus. Each church has a different design, both exterior and interior.

The three artificial grottoes to the north of Phat Diem Cathedral are made of large and small rocks that retain their natural shape. There are large statues on the grottoes.

After more than 100 years of existence with the impacts of natural disasters and wars, the project is still sturdy and preserved in its original state to this day.

Phat Diem Cathedral architectural complex was ranked as a national historical and cultural relic in 1988.

With majestic architectural works, harmonious and sophisticated combination of Western church architecture and traditional Eastern architecture, Phat Diem church complex has become an indispensable part of Ninh Binh tourism, creating interesting discoveries when visitors explore this place.