The Mântuleasa Church ( ro, Biserica Mântuleasa) 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 located at 20 Mântuleasa Street 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 ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. It is dedicated to the Archangels

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

and

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር� ...

. The church is named after the street on which it stands, which in turn derives from a wealthy merchant, Manta, who owned land in the area. It was built by his sister Maria and his wife Stanca, according to the ''

pisanie A pisanie is an architectural elements, that consists of an inscription carved in stone, wood, metal, painted, etc., on the top of tombs or above the main door at the entrance in a church, in which are recorded information about the church, the don ...

'' of 1733. For a time, it was enlarged by closing the portico and adding another in front. The dome, which fell during an earthquake, was provisionally replaced by one of wood. It was restored to its original form between 1924 and 1930.Stoica and Ionescu-Ghinea, pp. 230-31 The church is small, 22 meters long by 7.7 to 10 meters wide, with the dome rising to 18 meters. Cross-shaped, it is covered in tin and has a long gutter. The portico has three arches in the main facade and one on each side; these rest on massive cylindrical columns of painted brick. The octagonal dome, with narrow windows, sits on a square base above the elongated

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

. The interior Byzantine frescoes came to light when the walls were washed in 1925. Their color and style places them in the Brâncovenesc period. The masonry facades are divided into two sections by a painted row. An icon of the patron saints sits in a recess above the entrance, flanked by paintings of Saints

Nicholas Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...

and Stylianos. The church is listed as a

historic monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs, as is the parish house.Lista Monumentelor Istorice 2010: Municipiul București

Notes

References

*Lucia Stoica and Neculai Ionescu-Ghinea, ''Enciclopedia lăcașurilor de cult din București'', vol. I. Bucharest: Editura Universalia, 2005, {{coord, 44.4352, 26.1134, format=dms, type:landmark_region:RO, display=title Historic monuments in Bucharest Romanian Orthodox churches in Bucharest Churches completed in 1733