The church was built in memory of those who sacrificed themselves in 1877 for Romania’s independence. The cathedral was built on the site of an old church between 1900-1902, according to the plans of the French architect Andre Lecomte de Nouy, who borrowed architectural motifs from the church of the Curtea de Arges monastery.

The construction of the monumental church began in 1900 and was executed by the engineer Dimitrie Maimarolu, who built in Bucharest the building of the Metropolitan Palace and the Military Circle. The architectural style of the building is combined, the towers in front being in Baroque style and the rest in Byzantine style. The model for the construction of the cathedral was the church of the Curtea de Arges monastery, founded by Neagoe Basarab. Construction was completed fairly quickly in 1905. The great Romanian historian, Nicolae Iorga, considers it the 3rd in the country for its value and beauty, after the one at Curtea de Arges and the Monastery of the Three Hierarchs in Iasi.

The roof is made entirely of copper sheet, and the interior painting is executed in oil on a plasterboard, well finished. The solid oak furniture and stained glass windows were made in the Romania. Valuable items include a seven-armed chandelier made of silver alloy, silver-laden icons from the old church, and newer ones from private donations. There is harmony between all the pieces: from mosaic to painting, wood, zinc and bronze or stone sculpture and even the exterior ornaments from the eaves and towers.

The patron saint of the church remained St. Haralambie, who is also the patron of Turnu Magurele. St. Haralambie day is February 10, the day when in 1829, the old fortress Turnu was liberated by the Russo-Romanian armies during the Crimean War, which pitted the Tsarist Empire against the forces of the Ottoman Empire.

Saint Haralambie, the defender of health, has several churches dedicated to him in our country, as a result of the piety of the people towards him and as a consequence of the great epidemics that frightened the Romanians several times in their history. In Bucharest, Galaţi, Iaşi, Turnu Măgurele there are holy places dedicated to Saint Haralambie. Regarding the relics, we also have the particles both in the Capital and in other churches in Romania.

The choice of this saint by some holy places is directly related to the circumstances generated by the “plague of Caragea”, from 1813, but also to the famine during the time of Alexandru Constantin Moruzi, from 1795. People went in extreme situations to God’s help, but they often took on intermediaries who, over time, had a “specialization”. Saint Haralambie has this, defense of plague and famine. Confirmation is found in the words of the Akathist to the saint, which read thus: “Rejoice, savior of the plague and of famine!”. In Byzantine Orthodox iconography, Saint Haralambie is represented as a priest, and in Russian as a hierarch. There are also icons in which the saint has under his feet a skeleton or an ugly, frightening figure representing the plague. The evil character is shown in chains, as a sign of helplessness in front of the saint.