Biserica Sf. Atanasie şi Chiril

The church dedicated to Saints Athanasius and Cyril is located in the historic center of the city and was built between 1672 and 1674. The identity of the founder is not clearly established, with historians having different opinions. Some consider Mrs. Margarita, the wife of Prince Simion Movilă, as the founder, while others claim that it was Athanasius Patelaros, a Greek hierarch who administered the assets of the Greek monasteries in Moldova.

The church was severely damaged by a fire in the 19th century, and later suffered destruction due to the bombings of World War II and the earthquakes of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially, the church was decorated with paintings, but today there are no traces of that decoration.

The edifice was built outside the walls of the old citadel of Iași, on a plot of land known as the Poor's Cemetery.

The church has a nave-shaped plan and is built in the traditional Moldavian style. Above the narthex is the bell tower. Some historians believe that this church houses one of the most beautiful iconostasis in Moldova.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the first church choir in Moldova was founded here, under the direction of the renowned professor Gheorghe Burada, composer of the "National Overture" and conductor of the Iași State Philharmonic.

Sursa: sfatanasiesichiril.iasi.mmb.ro