Romanian Orthodox
The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the Eastern Orthodox Church. S ...
church in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
's
Sector 4
Sector 4 () is an administrative unit of Bucharest.
Economy
Romavia had its head office in Sector 4.Contact "
Radu Leon
Radu Leon (? – 1669) was ruler of Wallachia from 1664 to 1669. He had the byname Radu the Oyster-seller.
Biography
Born into the House of Bogdan-Mușat, he was the son of Wallachian ruler Leon Tomșa, and putative grandson of Ștefan Tomșa, ...
, its '' ctitor'', between 1664 and 1667,Ionescu, p. 283. the church was erected near a stone cross placed by Radu's father,
Leon Tomșa
Leon Tomșa, also known as Leon Vodă ("Leon the Voivode") or Alion, was the List of rulers of Wallachia, Prince of Wallachia from October 1629 to July 1632. He claimed to be a son of Ștefan IX Tomșa, and as such a Moldavian, but was generally ...
.
The cross was built between 1629 and 1632Georgescu ''et al.'', p. 22. in order to commemorate the victory Leon Tomșa's army had won on August 23, 1631 against the
boyar
A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...
s of Aga Matei (the future
Matei Basarab
Matei Basarab (; 1588, Brâncoveni, Olt – 9 April 1654, Bucharest) was the voivode (prince) of Wallachia from 1632 to 1654.
Reign
Much of Matei's reign was spent fighting off incursions from Moldavia, which he successfully accomplished in 1 ...
). The cross stands on a small circular mound, where the bones of Leon Tomșa's troops are buried, as well as those of his enemy. Between 1664 and 1665 Radu Leon restored the cross, providing it with a brick shelter, now lost.
After renovating the cross, Radu Leon built Slobozia Church. Initially constructed on a rectangular plan, the church was rebuilt, enlarged and rounded in 1743 by ''vistier'' (treasurer) Constantin Năsturel Herescu.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, the church underwent a series of important modifications, so that its original style acquired a classical look. Among these changes was the replacement of the interior walls with large arches; the
façade
A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face".
In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...
s also acquired classical elements.
The interior murals have also changed through time, the most important new features being introduced around the time of the
Wallachian Revolution of 1848
The Wallachian Revolution of 1848 was a Romanian liberal and nationalist uprising in the Principality of Wallachia. Part of the Revolutions of 1848, and closely connected with the unsuccessful revolt in the Principality of Moldavia, it sough ...
, a period when Western trends were combined with native elements. During construction work of the
Bucharest Metro
The Bucharest Metro () is an underground rapid transit system that serves Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It first opened for service on 16 November 1979. The network is run by Metrorex. One of two parts of the larger Transport in Bucharest, B ...
, the altar was cracked in April or May 1986, leading to the filling of the said tunnel with sand, and subsequent repairs to the altar.
Notes
References
* Ionescu, Grigore. ''București. Ghid istoric și artistic''. Bucharest: Fundația pentru literatură și artă, Regele Carol II, 1938.
* Florian Georgescu, Paul Cernovodeanu, Alexandru Cebuc. ''Monumente din București''. Bucharest: Meridiane, 1966.