Sâmbăta de Sus Monastery

Constantin Brâncoveanu, Prince of Wallachia, built a stone and brick church in place of an older wooden one around 1696, with the monastery established by 1701.

Part of his motivation was to strengthen the Orthodox presence in the region and guard against encroaching Catholicism, which had become a more pressing issue after 1683 and the consolidation of Habsburg domination over Transylvania.

Concurrent with the monastery's establishment, the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church was founded, drawing numerous Transylvanian Orthodox under Papal authority.

Greek-Catholic Bishop Grigore Maior insisted it be suppressed, as its monks not only refused to convert, but also urged local inhabitants not to do so.

[1] In 1922, following the union of Transylvania with Romania and subsequent land reform, the Romanian government transferred the property from the Brâncoveanu family to the Sibiu Archdiocese.