The New Saint John’s Church (Biserica Sfântul Ioan Nou) is a Romanian Orthodox church near Union Square (Piața Unirii) in the center of Bucharest. The church is dedicated to the martyr Saint John New from Suceava, who is celebrated on June 2nd and 24th.
The church was built in 1756 by Ionita Croitorul, the leader of the furriers and dyer guilds, on the grounds of an earlier 17th-century church. In the 19th century, the church was restored twice: first in 1818 and later after the Great Fire of Bucharest of 1847. In 1878, the artist Serafim painted the interior. Further restorations took place between 1933 and 1940, and in 1948, after the bombings of World War II.
After the 1977 earthquake, Communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu rolled out his systemization plan for the reconstruction of Bucharest with Stalinist architecture and large squares and boulevards. During this time, the church had to make way for the construction of the large building blocks now visible around Union Square. To save the church from demolition, it was restored and moved 23 meters in 1986 and is now hidden behind the tall buildings. The Nuns’ Skete and Mihai Vodă Monastery underwent a similar fate.
The church is built on a rectangular plan and measures a length of 28.5 meters and a width of 12.5 meters. It has two towers, and the entrance is via a portico with three frontal arches and one arch on each side, which are supported by columns.
