Faculty of Theology Saint Andrei Șaguna (Facultatea de Teologie Sfântul Andrei Șaguna) is the Orthodox theological faculty of the Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, housed in a monumental early-20th-century building beside the Metropolitanate of Transylvania in central Sibiu.
The institution has much older roots than its present headquarters. Orthodox theological education in Sibiu developed from the clerical and teacher-training courses established during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, before Andrei Șaguna substantially reorganized them after becoming bishop of Transylvania. Under Șaguna, theological training was expanded and raised to a higher academic level, with the course extended to three years in 1861. The school later became known as the Andreian Theological Seminary, preserving his name and continuing Sibiu’s role as one of the principal centers of Romanian Orthodox education in Transylvania.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the growing institution needed a larger purpose-built home. The present faculty building was constructed in 1913-1914 as part of the wider Orthodox complex along Strada Mitropoliei, which also included the Metropolitanate residence and other church properties. Its prominent façade was designed in a Neo-Brâncovenesc style, bringing forms inspired by historic Romanian architecture into a streetscape otherwise dominated by Saxon, Baroque and later Central European buildings. The structure was further developed in the 1930s, when a rear wing and chapel were added.
The façade is one of the most distinctive parts of the complex, with a strongly symmetrical composition, arched openings and decorative details that give the building a markedly different character from the neighboring 19th-century houses. The name of the faculty is displayed prominently above the entrance, while its scale reflects the status theological education had acquired in Sibiu by the years before the First World War.
The school continued through the political changes of the 20th century, including the period when King Ferdinand I University of Cluj was evacuated to Sibiu between 1940 and 1945. During those years the Orthodox Theological Institute became the Andrei Șaguna Faculty of Theology, joining the wider university life that temporarily developed in the city. It later continued as an independent theological institute before becoming part of the modern Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu.
