In comparison to the Old Orthodox Church, which was built at the beginning of Ottoman rule in Bosnia, construction on the Saborna Church began at a time when the end of the Ottoman Empire was looming. Permission for construction was granted by Sultan Abdul Aziz who, in wanting to counter those who had been accusing the Ottomans of religious intolerance, donated 556 ducats.

The foundation-stone of the Church was laid on June 25, 1863 and construction was completed 11 years later, in 1874. The designer of this lovely structure was Andrija Damjanović, who hailed from Veles (Macedonia) and was a member of the reputable Renzovski family. They had designed and embellished churches all over the Balkans – from Macedonia to Bulgaria, and Turkey to Bosnia.

There is an anecdote that tells of how Andrija had a discussion with the Sarajevo Orthodox Church council about building the new church. When they asked him to show some plans or sketches, he told them that there were none, for they need only look to the churches in Niš or Smederevo – the same church would be built in Sarajevo, only more beautiful.

According to the quasi-historian, Mito Živković, Sarajevo Orthodox Christians deemed this Church cursed at the start, because a promise, which had been given to one mason by Church officials, was not kept. The story goes that not a single mason had wanted to work on the spire because it was too high. When they finally did find one who was willing to risk working 45 meters up, he did so only on the condition that, when he died, he be buried in the Church’s courtyard. After only a few days’ work, he fell from the scaffolding to his death, but they did not keep their promise.

The construction of the Church cost 38,185.18 ducats. In addition to the 556 from Sultan Abdul Aziz, other contributions were made by the Serbian Directorate in Belgrade (500); the Serbian prince, Mihailo Obrenović (150) and Jovo Marinović, President of the Serbian Council in Belgrade (52). Orthodox Christians from Belgrade, Vienna, Trst and Dubrovnik all contributed, but those in Sarajevo and other parts of BiH gave the most.

In 1872, two famous Sarajevans, Savo Kosanović and the merchant, Makso Despić, went to Russia and collected 1,870 ducats. The iconostasis (which cost over 2,000 ducats, even without any icons), was done by icon masters from Sergiev Monastery in St. Petersburg and the money for this work was provided by the Russian royal family and the aristocracy.

When the Church was consecrated on August 2, 1872 (St. Ilia’s Day), thousands of citizens were in attendance for the big event. Ottoman soldiers guarded the procession as it made its way from the Old Orthodox Church to the New Saborna Church. While it was being built, there had been some protests voiced by Muslims who objected to the fact that the Church’s spire was higher than the minaret of Bey’s Mosque. Despite this, however, there were many Muslims, as well as Catholics and Jews, who attended the official opening alongside the State officials.

To this day, it is not known whether Bey’s Mosque is a little higher or if both objects are 45 meters high.

The Saborna Church was greatly damaged during WWI and WWII but not so much so during the Siege of Sarajevo. During the postwar period, it continues to sparkle more beautifully than ever.