Toma Cozma Church

About

The Toma Cozma Church (Romanian: Biserica Toma Cozma) is a Romanian Orthodox church located at 4 Școalei Street in Iași, Romania. It is dedicated to Thomas the Apostle and to Catherine of Alexandria. The church was built in 1807 on the west face of Muntenimii Hill, offering a view over the northwestern part of the city.

The initial ktitors were Toma Cozma and his wife Ecaterina; he was a local boyar who steadily rose through the ranks: șetrar, medelnicer, paharnic and ban. It has been suggested that he was of Roma origin. The church he built was small and simple in form, without spires.

It was made a metochion of Iviron on Mount Athos, and was known as the church of the potters' guild. The next ktitorissa, Maria Anastasiu Apostol Ketreanca, added a bell tower during an 1847 reparation, as attested on a plaque on the western wall. It is this inscription that notes the 1807 construction date.

However, the icon of Saint Thomas, to the right of the entrance, shows the ktitor as a paharnic, indicating a date for the icon before 1806, when he was elevated to ban. As icons were ordered near the point of a church's completion, it is possible the building was finished around 1804. Maria also...