Zlataust Church

About

The Zlataust Church (Romanian: Biserica Zlataust) is a Romanian Orthodox church located at 5 Zlataust Road in Iași, Romania. It is dedicated to Saints John Chrysostom and Theodore of Amasea. The first church on the site was a small wooden one with stone foundations, erected between 1563 and 1564.

This was built by Prince Ștefan IX Tomșa, who in the early 17th century was preoccupied by the development of that part of the city, then on its periphery. Eventually, the old church deteriorated. The present church dates to 1683, according to the inscription, and was built in thirty days by George Ducas, near the end of his third reign in Moldavia.

In order to fulfill a promise, he put it under the control of church authorities from Argyrokastro in exchange for Hlincea Monastery, which he placed under Cetățuia Monastery, recently founded by him. An alternate date is late 1682: on April 20 the following year, he was obliged to accompany the Ottomans to the Battle of Vienna, and was taken prisoner by the Poles in December, while returning from the campaign. Oddly, the inscription mentions George's son Constantine, who was only 6 or 7 years old in 1682, as well as his wife Maria.

His marriage...