Cathedral of the Transfiguration

Let's take a break from Africa for a moment and reflect on a bittersweet photograph:

The Cathedral of the Transfiguration was built by a multi-millionaire called Stephen Roman as a Slovak Byzantine Rite Roman Catholic cathedral. It was started in 1984 and was never really finished. Roman died in 1988 and the air went out of the balloon. In 2006, the cathedral was de-consecrated and it now sits in limbo.

For years, it stood out against the sky in the middle of farmers' fields visible from a busy highway north of Toronto. Now, not only is it crumbling and neglected, but a subdivision of houses called Cathedral Town is surrounding it. Soon, it will only be visible as three steeples poking above junior starter mansions.

I was driving down Woodbine Avenue in a dense fog and caught the cathedral in a rare moment of isolation. The approaching driveway is starting to grow potholes and the concrete on the steps leading up to the doors looks to be in rough shape, but the gold domes are still standing tall and looking pretty fine!