The History of the Church

      The inscription above the entrance door to the pronaos, dating from 1898, unveils the mystery of the name of this holy place: in olden times, storks used to build their nests on the shingled roof of the church, causing the local people to call it “The Stork’s Nest“ – “Cuibul cu Barzǎ“.
      The beginnings of this holy place are lost in history. The first information about the existence of a church on the site of the present one dates from as early as the 18th century, when we learn that on the southern side of “Podul-de-Pǎmânt“ Street (subsequently called Ştirbei Vodǎ Street), close to the intersection with Berzei Street, there was a small church, which had gone to ruins before 1760. A piece of information from 1766 told of a church founded by Anastasia Cantacuzino in the slums of “Podul-de-Pǎmânt“.
      On the site of this church, a new and larger one was built by „the pious Christian Dona the Clucer [1]and his wife Zamfira, around the year of 1760“, having the Holy Martyr and Archdeacon Stephen as patron saint. This is recorded on a stone slab placed in 1830 over the founders’ grave situated in the nave of holy church.
      The church was successively repaired in 1853, 1877 (the big church tower was repaired and rebuilt), and 1898, when it was completely rebuilt, with the assistance of architect T. Dobrescu. In the same year, the church was painted in neo-byzantine style by the priest painter Vasile Damian, the pillars separating the naos and the pronaos were pulled down, and the old church porch was closed, making room for another one embellished with three accolade arches. The church was listed among Historical Monuments.
      After the damage caused by the earthquake in 1977, the parish priest Vasile Axinia, assisted by architect Gheorghe Naumescu, intitiated a process of restoration of the holy place in 1984, which involved the building of three steel concrete belts joined by small ornamental pillars, as well as the consolidation of the tower above the pronaos. A mosaic medallion, executed by the Profeta brothers, was applied on the western façade of the church.
      Once the restoration work had been finished in 1987, the place was listed among the churches intended for demolition, to make room for the new urbanistic arrangement of the Ştirbei Vodǎ area. A way of sparing the monument was eventually found, and the church was translated (physically moved) 12 metres to the south, on the 22nd February. Thus, St Stephen’s Church – “Cuibul cu Barzǎ“ – is the last monument in Bucharest translated by engineer Eugen Iordǎchescu’s team of professionals.
      On November 21, 1990, the church was reconsecrated and put into service.[2]
 
Fr. Daniel Benga, Ph.D.

 

[1] The Clucer was a small rank in the medieval administration of the Romanian countries, usually charged with the supply of goods for the voivod's court.
[2] The information concerning the history of the church was taken from: Nicolae Stoicescu, Repertoriul bibliografic al monumentelor feudale din Bucureşti, Ed. Academiei Române, Bucreşti, 1961, p. 194; Bisericile osândite de Ceauşescu. Bucureşti 1977-1989, Ed. Anastasia, Bucureşti, 1995, p. 26-27.