That the dates are not the only affirmation of the value of the Old Orthodox Church in Sarajevo, first officially mentioned in documents from the 16th century and, according to belief, built on the foundations of the basilica from the end of the 5th century, testify to its influence on the social image of reality. Through the spiritual and cultural articulation of the community gathered around this area, the church became a confirmation of multiculturalism and pre-Osmanli Bosnia.
“The community enriches this spiritual and cultural mosaic of Sarajevo, because there are few topos on the globe that nurture and maintain so many spiritual traditions in such a relatively small territorial framework. In addition to spirituality, the church was a meeting place of education and culture. Through the church, some questions from the domain of law were articulated and implemented,” historian Aladin Husić points out.
This place of worship hides a rich museological value. Within its complex, one of the two apartments in Sarajevo was built. It implied the existence of one of the first museums in Sarajevo.
“Dairs were also built, since there was also a church inn there. In those church buildings, which are the second buildings in Sarajevo, a museum was built that is so important for Sarajevo and the Orthodox Church that it is among the five most expensive, most precious museums in the whole world”, emphasizes architect Mufid Garibija.
The icons created mainly in the style of the Italokrit school are what make this archive one of the most famous church museums. Its value is also made up of other collections of spiritual-historical elements of the time that this building lived through.
“The second collection consists of church objects that were in use here in the church, so they were left in the treasury and then joined to that museum. The third collection consists of manuscripts,” explains Father Vladislav Topalović.
Church manuscripts, as well as documents of the Ottoman government about this church municipality, indicate not only the spirituality of the community, but also the social picture of an era whose outlines of values are being erased today due to the lack of collective awareness of the local cultural and historical wealth.
