The Church with Saints (Biserica cu Sfinți) is a Romanian Orthodox church on Calea Moşilor, opposite Noblesse Palace, in the center of Bucharest.
The church was built by Metropolitan Daniil of Romania in 1728 on the site of an earlier wooden church from the early 17th century. The church was also known as the Church with Sybils (Biserica cu Sibile) because philosophers and Sybils (prophets from antiquity) were painted on the outside, something that wasn’t common. Over time the original paintings faded and because the parishioners didn’t understand the names, they simply referred to the “Church with Saints”, and that is how the church is still known today.
Over time, the church has been restored many times. Until 1863, when the secularization of monastic assets took place, the Metropolitan took care of the church and carried out some major restoration works between 1812 and 1819, and after the earthquake of 1838, when the spire was rebuilt. After 1863 some money continued to be received from the state, but the church also had to collect donations from its parishioners. In 1897, cracked walls threatened to collapse but the restoration that were carried out focused rather on the painting of the walls. By 1912 the walls had cracked further and the church had to be closed for an extensive restoration.
The Church with Saints is associated with the influential poet and musician Anton Pann (1794-1854). In 1812, at the age of 16, he arrived in Bucharest with his poor widowed mother after escaping the Russo-Turkish war. His special voice was noticed and he was offered to sing in the church before he got enrolled into a music school.
