Since 1995, when the Stavropoleos church downtown Bucharest was restored, it gets overcrowded each Sunday and and every great feast.
In the above-mentioned year, the project of Stavropoleos Ensemble received the European Architectural Heritage Awards granted by the Directorate for Culture within the European Commission. Afterwards, a long process of restoration of the church and the building within the precincts of the monastery began. Now the whole monastic assembly consists of the church and the precincts surrounding the inner courtyard, which was constructed in Neo-Romanian style, in accordance to the plans of architect Ion Mincu at the beginning of the twentieth century. The cells for monastic community, the refectory, the collection of art objects and the library were disposed in buildings enclosing the inner courtyard.
The church’s history dates back on April 6, 1722, when Archimandrite Ioanichie, coming from Gura Monastery in Epirus buys from Lady Despa a place where he builds the inn and the church, across from Ghiorma Banul Church. Later on, on March 7, 1726, Ioanichie is elevated to the rank of Archbishop of Stavropoleos, by order of Patriarch Ieremia and by approval of Voievod Nicolae Mavrocordat (Prince of Wallachia, 1719-1730). On February 7, 1742, Ioanichie passes away at 61 and he is buried in his church.
After his death, almost one hundred years later, the church is damaged by an earthquake. It had previous damages as well and in a couple of years the monastery hegumen asks for the demolition of the church and the construction of a new one. The church was not demolished after all, but revamped by respecting the original architecture and decorations. Yet, the inn and the monastery’s annexes were demolished at the end of the 19th century.
All that remains from the original monastery is the church, alongside a building from the beginning of the 20th century which shelters a library, a conference room and a collection of early 18th century icons and ecclesiastical objects, and parts of wall paintings recovered from churches demolished during the communist regime.
The library comprises over 8,000 books of theology, byzantine music, arts and history, but also a significant number of old books: more than 80 manuscripts and 400 printed works. There are Romanian, Greek, and Church Slavonic volumes.
Stavropoleos Church, dedicated to St. Archangels Michael and Gabriel, has been pastored since 1991 by father Iustin Marchis, the first hieromonk of the church in the last century.
The name Stavropoleos is a Romanian rendition of a Greek word, Stauropolis, meaning “The city of the Cross”.