The Church of the Holy Archangels () is a

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 located on Piața Victoriei,

Târgu Jiu Târgu Jiu (, is the capital city, capital of Gorj County in the Oltenia region of Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathian Mountains, Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu (river), Jiu. Eight localities are administered by the ...

, Romania. It is dedicated to the Archangels

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

and

Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

. The ''

ktetor ''Ktetor'' () or ''ktitor'' (; ka, ქტიტორი ; ), meaning 'founder', is a title given in the Middle Ages to the provider of funds for construction or reconstruction of an Eastern Orthodox church or monastery, for the addition of icons ...

''s were the merchants Dobre Sîrbu and Radu Cupetu, whose portraits appear in the vestibule; it is sometimes known as the Merchants’ Church. The cruciform church was built between 1748 and 1764. The church suffered damage during the Russo-Austro-Turkish wars. It was repaired by Wallachian princes

Alexander Mourouzis Prince Alexander Mourouzis (; Romanian: Alexandru Moruzi; 1750/1760 – 1816) was a Grand Dragoman of the Ottoman Empire who served as Prince of Moldavia and Prince of Wallachia. Open to Enlightenment ideas, and noted for his interest in hydro ...

in 1793 and by

John Caradja John George Caradja, also known by his regnal name Ioan Gheorghe Caragea (; History of the Romanian language, pre-modern Romanian: , Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Cyrillic: Їωан Геωргïє Караџѣ; , , or ; , , or ; ; 1754 – 27 Dece ...

in 1813. For a time, a princely school operated in rooms near the church.Alin Ion
“Istoria bisericii cu filosofi din Târgu-Jiu, unică în România”
''Adevărul'', October 14, 2016 The church was initially painted in Byzantine style fresco during the 18th century. In 1843, the

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere withi ...

was painted with support from

Pavel Kiselyov Count Pavel Dmitrievich Kiselyov or Kiseleff (; , Moscow – , Paris) is generally regarded as the most brilliant Russian reformer during Nicholas I's generally conservative reign. Kiselyov was plenipotentiary president ( de facto governor) ...

. In 1854-1855, the frescoes were painted over in Renaissance style by

Mișu Popp Mișu Popp (March 19, 1827 – March 6, 1892) was a Romanian painter and muralist. Biography Born in Brassó, Kingdom of Hungary (now Brașov, Romania), he was the eighth child of Ioan Popp Moldovan de Galați (1774–1869) and Elena (1783� ...

, while the spires were lengthened. Repairs, especially of the exterior, took place in 1902 and in 1933-1940. Historian

Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet and playwright. Co-founder (in 1910) of the Democratic Nationalist Party (PND), he served as a member of Parliament ...

was involved in the latter restoration, suggesting that the spire extensions be removed, the windows narrowed, the facade ledges brought back. The interior paintings were cleaned, while the old exterior frescoes, featuring philosophers and sibyls, were redone by local painter

Iosif Keber Iosif is the Romanian variant of the biblical name Joseph and may refer to: People *Iosif Amusin, Soviet historian *Iosif Anisim, Romanian sprint canoer *Iosif Ardeleanu, Romanian communist activist and bureaucrat *Iosif Blaga, Romanian literary t ...

. Among the figures depicted are Socrates, Aristotle, Pythagoras, Diogenes, Hippocrates and Plutarch. Such subjects are virtually unique for churches in Romania. During the

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

, the church stood in front of the local

Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ; PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave an ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that would replace the social system ...

headquarters. As such, it was targeted for demolition, but was saved by vigorous protests from experts. Nevertheless, the church was shut down in 1960 and became a museum in the early 1980s. It reopened as a church on Christmas Eve of 1989, during the

Romanian Revolution The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent Civil disorder, civil unrest in Socialist Republic of Romania, Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily ...

; further repairs followed. Excavations around the foundation have revealed human bones, suggesting the presence of a cemetery in the past. 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, historical ...

by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.Lista Monumentelor Istorice 2010: Județul Gorj

Notes

{{coord, 45.0410, 23.2723, type:landmark_region:RO, display=title Buildings and structures in Târgu Jiu Historic monuments in Gorj County Romanian Orthodox churches in Romania Churches completed in 1764