Slobozia Church ( ro, Biserica Slobozia), dedicated to the Great Martyr St. Demetrius (''Sf. Mare Mucenic Dumitru''), is a

Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates i ...

church in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

's Sector 4, located at the intersection of Dimitrie Cantemir and Marășești Boulevards. Built by

Radu Leon Radu Leon (? – 1669) was ruler of Wallachia from 1664 to 1669. He had the byname Radu the Oyster-seller. Son of Wallachian ruler Leon Tomșa, and putative grandson of Ștefan Tomșa, ruler of Moldavia, Radu Leon replaced the deposed Grigore ...

, its ''

ctitor ''Ktetor'' ( el, κτήτωρ) or ''ktitor'' (; ka, ქტიტორი ''kt’it’ori''; ro, ctitor), meaning "founder", is a title given in the Middle Ages to the provider of funds for construction or reconstruction of an Eastern Orthodox ch ...

'', 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 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 identified as a Greek of lowly ...

. 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 Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Russian nobility, Russia, Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, Wallachia and ...

s of Aga Matei (the future

Matei Basarab Matei Basarab (; 1588, Brâncoveni, Olt – 9 April 1654, Bucharest) was a Wallachian Voivode (Prince) between 1632 and 1654. Reign Much of Matei's reign was spent fighting off incursions from Moldavia, which he successfully accomplished in 1637 ...

). 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 () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

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 sought t ...

, a period when Western trends were combined with native elements. During construction work of the

Bucharest Metro The Bucharest Metro ( ro, Metroul din București) 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 large ...

, 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.

External links

*
History of the church
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