 The idea of building an Orthodox cathedral in Sibiu began with Metropolitan Andrei Şaguna, who in the autumn of 1857 asked Emperor Franz Joseph I for permission to send a circular to his diocese requesting that priests and laymen give donations.He sent the letter before Christmas that year, and the first donor was the Emperor himself, who gave 1000 gold coins, followed by the governor of Transylvania with 50, Şaguna with 2000 florins, and many others.Donations continued to come in following Şaguna's death in 1873; the cornerstone was laid on 18 August 1902, when Ioan Meţianu was Metropolitan.