History of the Romanian Orthodox Parish of Brăișoru
The original wooden church was built in 1853 and was relatively small in size. The foundation stone of the new church was laid in 1928, through the efforts of master builder Ștefan Mendel and painter Crăciun Petre, with contributions from the local community.
The new church, built of granite stone in Neo-Byzantine style, includes an altar, iconostasis, solea, nave, and choir gallery. The church interior was painted in tempera-acrylic technique in 2010 by the painters Vasile Mocan and his wife Dana.
The church was consecrated by His Eminence Teofil Herineanu on June 3, 1973, and after renovation it was reconsecrated by Metropolitan Andrei on August 18, 2012.
After 2011, the exterior and roof of the church were renovated, and a carved wooden porch was added. In 2015, following a final and irrevocable court decision obtained by priest Dan-Ionuț Lupuțan, ownership-related legal proceedings with the Greek Catholic Church were concluded in favor of the Orthodox parish.
In 2017, an electric heating system was installed in the church. In 2019, the southern section of the church fence was rebuilt, and the church lands were officially registered. In 2020, the church building itself was entered into the land registry. In 2024, running water was introduced into the church and a gas heating system was purchased.
There are two cemeteries: the old cemetery, located next to the parish house and owned by the Church, and the new cemetery, owned by Sâncraiu commune but administered by the Church.
The original wooden parish house was built in 1911. The current parish house has served in its present form since 1981 and also functioned as a kindergarten for a period of time. The building was renovated between 2011–2016, again between 2020–2021, and once more in 2025. In 2018, the fences surrounding the parish house were also rebuilt.
