 The head master for construction was Andreja Damjanov, a man from the Damjanovi-Renzovski family of master builders, masons, painters, carpenters, and stonecutters from the village of Papradište, near Veles.The construction of the church commenced in 1863 when Sarajevo was part of the Bosnia Vilayet, itself a subdivision within the Ottoman Empire.Most of the 36,000 dukat construction cost was covered by Sarajevo's Serb merchants, led by Manojlo Jeftanović who donated 2,000 dukats.