BALEA LAC, Romania (AP) — High on a remote mountain in Romania, priests have blessed a church made entirely from ice, outstanding both for its architectural style as well as being a place for religious tolerance.
A man shoots video on a mobile phone of Romanian priests inside at church built entirely from ice blocks cut from a frozen lake before a blessing religious service at the Balea Lac resort in the Fagaras mountains, Romania, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015. The blessing was performed jointly by priests from all Christian denominations in Romania and the church, built at an altitude of over 2,000 meters, will host all types of religious events like weddings and baptizing ceremonies as long as the cold weather lasts.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Builders have once again created the Ice Church, which is only reachable by cable car at an altitude of 2,000 meters (6,600 feet). Water from Balea Lake, 300 kilometers (190 miles) northwest of Bucharest, is blessed by priests. Chunks of ice are then cut with a chain saw and cemented together with water and snow.
A cross lies on top of a church built entirely from ice blocks cut from a frozen lake before a religious blessing service at the Balea Lac resort in the Fagaras mountains, Romania, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Romanian priests approach a church built entirely from ice blocks cut from a frozen lake before a blessing religious service at the Balea Lac resort in the Fagaras mountains, Romania, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
A woman walks by a depiction of the Last Supper cut in frozen snow inside a church built entirely from ice blocks cut from a frozen lake before a blessing religious service at the Balea Lac resort in the Fagaras mountains, Romania, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
A Romanian priest prays inside a church built entirely from ice blocks cut from a frozen lake after a blessing religious service at the Balea Lac resort in the Fagaras mountains, Romania, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Believers wait to be sprinkled with holy water by a Romanian priest inside a church built entirely from ice blocks cut from a frozen lake after a blessing religious service at the Balea Lac resort in the Fagaras mountains, Romania, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
A Romanian priest exits a church built entirely from ice blocks cut from a frozen lake following a blessing religious service at the Balea Lac resort in the Fagaras mountains, Romania, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
The structure — 6 meters (20 feet) tall, 14 meters (46 feet) long and 7 meters (23 feet) wide — is a copy of an old church in Transylvania. Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant clerics held a service there this week.
