The Church of „Saints Archangels Michael and Gabriel” is is close to the “Stone House” built by brothers Udriste, and Cazan Nasturel, which hosts now wonderful collections of rustic pottery and furniture.
The Church was founded by Elina Doamna, the wife of Prince Matei Basarab and consecrated for the first time in 1644 but we did not know exactly the year of construction.
The inscription above the entrance door in the narthex – written in Slavonic – informs us that: “In this holy and divine abode a very foundation’s was built and erected with the help of God and by persevering and enlightened command of her worshiper Princess Elina, with God’s grace, master and princess of the Ungro Vlachia Country, wife of the venerable and autocratic Io Matei Basarab, with toil and help of the two good brothers, Cazan Nasturel and Orest Nasturel, reigning in God, a Christian ruler, the above mentioned, her husband, during the Archbishop Kir Teofil and the bishop of Ramnic Kir Ignatie and of Buzau, Kir Ștefan, the year, from building up the world in 1644 and works foreman was Mamut Barbulov from Netezesti.”
Due to the vicissitudes of the times, the church was rebuilt by Serbian Prince Milos Obrenovic, in the nineteenth century, which has graced it with paintings and has given a new bell and sanctified it in 1833.
In the outer wall can still be seen the Radu Postelnicu tombstones, of Nasturel and other members of the family.
In the courtyard is the tomb of Milos Obrenovic brother, Milan Ist Obrenovici, ruled over a part of Serbia. The tomb is shaped like a stone sarcophagus, with pillars and sculptures, surmounted by a marble plaque with inscriptions.
Once the windows were enlarged and was ordered staircase to the belfry and steel-lattice mast, the construction was raised and the roof replaced. In 1866, the church was painted in fat tempera, the author is not known.
The church keeps wooden icons dating from 1868 and an old silver chalice with some of the old seal of the Năsturel family.
In the last decade, the Herasti Parish Church was found in a long process of restoration which consisted of rebuilding the roof and the interior, t he sanctuary was painted with great craftsmanship by the famous painter, Mr. Alexander Cont.
The Church bears two patrons, “Holy Trinity” and “Archangels Michael and Gabriel” and belongs to Herești Deanery, from the Giurgiu Eparchy.
Heresti last owners were Dinu Stolojan and his brother, Radu, sons of Anastasie Stolojan. They possessed the estate until 1949, when the entire field has passed into state ownership.
The last investigation in the church’s architecture took place in 1989 when the monument went through extensive restoration proposed by architect Sandu Miclescu, a professor at the Institute of Architecture “Ion Mincu” in Bucharest. The windows of the tower on the northern and southern facade were changed, niche ladder for access to the tower in its original form was rebuilt, the porch was opened, the original shape of the windows was restored, lateral access to the church was closed, and were restored the access steps to the porch.