The Greeks of Braila mostly came from Cephalonia and Ithaca and identified this city with Argostoli, always in competition with the neighboring Galati, which is a short distance from Braila, which they considered as Lixouri.

This competition between the Greeks of Braila and Galati led the former to invite the architect Abraham Ioannidis from Bursa in 1863 and commission him to design a monumental church superior to any other ecclesiastical monument in the wider area.

The Braila church was completed in 1872, overseen by the archimandrite Gregorios Gogos from Lesbos, and was consecrated by the Bishop of Lower Danube Melchizedek.

The church has three Holy Altars: the central one in honor of the Annunciation of the Theotokos, the southern one in honor of Saint Nicholas (the protector of sailors), and the northern one in honor of Saint Gerasimos (the protector of the Cephalonians).