In a country overwhelmingly Catholic, the cathedral of Saint Mary Magdalene stands as the seat of Poland's Orthodox community in Warsaw. It was raised in the nineteenth century on the right bank of the Vistula, in the Praga district, in a Byzantine and Russian revival manner that sets it apart from everything around it: a compact mass crowned by domes, arched openings, and an interior organised around a tall iconostasis separating nave from sanctuary. Inside, wall paintings, gilding and candlelight create a spatial and acoustic experience quite distinct from the Latin churches of the capital, and the sung liturgy follows a rite whose forms have altered little in centuries. Having survived the destruction that erased much of Warsaw, the building is also one of the older structures still standing in the city. The programme documents both the architecture and the living practice it houses, offering a rarely filmed account of Orthodox worship in Central Europe.
