On May 7th we celebrate the day of St. Domnius (Sudamja), the patron saint of the city of Split. Saint Domnius (also known as Saint Dujam or Saint Duje, Saint Domnio, Saint Doimus, or Saint Domninus) was a Bishop of Salona (today’s Solin) around the year 300, and is venerated as the patron saint of the nearby city of Split in modern Croatia. Saint Domnius was martyred with seven other Christians in the persecutions of the Emperor Diocletian, the founder of the city of Split.
St. Domnius has a cathedral named in his honor in the heart of the old town of Split, which is the seat of the Archdiocese of Split-Makarska. The Cathedral of Saint Domnius in the city of Split, consecrated at the turn of the 7th century AD, is regarded as the oldest Catholic cathedral in the world that remains in use in its original structure. The structure itself, built in AD 305 as the Mausoleum of Diocletian, is the second oldest structure used by any Christian Cathedral.
The Cathedral of St. Domnius is composed of three different sections of different ages. The main part is Emperor Diocletian’s mausoleum, which dates from the end of the 3rd century. The mausoleum was built like the rest of the palace with white local limestone and marble of high quality, most of which was from marble quarries on the island of Brač, with tuff taken from the nearby river Jadro beds, and with brick made in Salonitan and other factories. Later, in the 17th century a choir area was added to the eastern side of the mausoleum. For that purpose, the eastern wall of the mausoleum was torn down in order to unify the two chambers. The bell tower was constructed in the year 1100 AD, in the Romanesque style. Extensive rebuilding in 1908 radically changed the Bell Tower, and many of the original Romanesque sculptures were removed.
This cathedral has a special place in the history of Christianity, as well as the history of Croatians, therefore it is very dear to our hearts. You can see and feel all the history that is interwoven in every little piece of the church. It was a tremendous honor for us to be able to film portions of our music video for “Hallelujah” in there. This song connects our past and our present as Christians and as Croatians, in the same manner that the cathedral of St. Domnius connects it. Hallelujah!
7. svibnja slavimo dan svetog Dujma – „Sudamja“, sveca zaštitnika grada Splita. Sveti Dujam (sveti Duje) bio je biskup Salone (današnjeg Solina) oko 300. godine, a štuje se kao zaštitnik obližnjeg grada Splita. Za vrijeme progona kršćana, mučen je i pogubljen zajedno s drugim mučenicima, 304. godine, u gradskom amfiteatru, po naredbi rimskog cara Dioklecijana, osnivača grada Splita.
U srcu starog grada Splita, koji je sjedište Splitsko-Makarske nadbiskupije, je katedrala koja nosi njegovo ime. Katedrala Svetog Dujma u gradu Splitu, posvećena na prijelazu u 7. stoljeće nove ere, smatra se najstarijom katoličkom katedralom na svijetu koja je ostala u uporabi u svojoj izvornoj strukturi. Sama građevina, izgrađena 305. godine nove ere kao Dioklecijanov mauzolej, druga je najstarija građevina koju je koristila neka kršćanska katedrala.
Katedrala sv. Dujma sastoji se od tri različita dijela različite starosti. Glavni dio je mauzolej cara Dioklecijana, koji datira s kraja 3. stoljeća. Mauzolej je kao i ostatak palače izgrađen od bijelog lokalnog vapnenca i mramora visoke kvalitete, od kojih je većina bila iz kamenoloma mramora na otoku Braču, od sedre izvađene iz obližnjih korita rijeke Jadro, te od opeke izrađene u Salonitanu i druge tvornice. Kasnije, u 17. stoljeću, na istočnu stranu mauzoleja dodan je kor. U tu svrhu srušen je istočni zid mauzoleja kako bi se obje komore objedinile. Zvonik je sagrađen 1100. godine, u romaničkom stilu. Opsežna ponovna izgradnja 1908. radikalno je promijenila zvonik, a mnoge izvorne romaničke skulpture su uklonjene.
Ova katedrala ima posebno mjesto u povijesti kršćanstva, ali i povijesti Hrvata, stoga nam je iznimno pri srcu. Tu možete vidjeti i osjetiti svu povijest koja je protkana u svakom djeliću crkve. Bila nam je ogromna čast što smo tamo mogli snimiti dijelove našeg glazbenog spota “Hallelujah”. Ova pjesma povezuje našu prošlost i našu sadašnjost kao kršćana i kao Hrvata, na isti način na koji je povezuje katedrala svetog Dujma. Aleluja!
