St. Hierarch Martyr Teodosie de la Brazi, Metropolitan of Moldova

Together with St. Antim, Metropolitan of Wallachia and Constantin Brâncoveanu, Voievod of the same country, St. Teodosie. Metropolitan of Moldova complete the group of the Romanian martyr saints of the late Middle Age.

Abbot and Bishop

Saint Teodosie was born in at the beginning of the 17th century in Vrancea, a county situated on the border between Moldova and Wallachia. There was quite usual at that time that the young boy to enter the monasteries and the fact that Teodosie was a monk since his childhood is indeed not a singular case. The privilege of being tonsured so young consisted sometimes in gaining a good culture, because at that time fast all the Romanian schools were patronized by the monasteries. Because of his culture, Teodosie was appointed secretary to the office of Bogdana monastery, one of the important convents in Moldova, situated near Suceava, at that time the capital of the country. Later he was appointed abbot of the same monastery and took care of rebuilding the facilities.

In 1670 Teodosie was ordained Bishop of Radauti, and in 1671, he was transferred to Roman, where he continued his mission as spiritual father, but also church administrator.

The 17^th century was a difficult period for Moldova, who was a disputed land between the Turks and the Poles, these being in a long war between 1672 and 1676. Although keeping its autonomy, Moldova was still under ottoman rule, which imposed many times the rulers, who usually changed very often, sometimes more than once in the year.  Because of a Turkish invasion, St. Metropolitan Dosoftei (1671-1673; 1675-1686), together with Prince Ştefan Petriceicu ( Aug. 1672 – Nov. 1673; Dec. 1673 – Feb. 1674; Dec. 1683 – Mar. 1684) and an important number of Moldavian noblemen were forced to flee to Poland in 1674.  The Turks completed soon the vacuum of power, imposing a new Prince, faithful to their politics, namely Dumitraşcu Cantacuzino (Nov. 1673-Nov. 1675 and 1684-1685). The new ruler enjoyed no popularity and resisted only by being helped by the Turkish and Tartar armies stationed on the Moldavian territory, this situation being very hard for the population, because of the many abuses these used to commit. In order to legitimize the rule, Dumitrasu named a new Metropolitan in the person of Theodosie, who was forced to accept the new position. The contemporary historian Ion Neculce writes in his Chronicle of Moldova that Dumitraşcu kept the Tartars in Moldova in order to stay as much on the throne, paying a high tribute, which came from the high taxes on Moldovans and the money collected from the monasteries. This situation couldn’t be accepted any longer and “Metropolitan Teodosie went to Prince Dumitraşcu Cantacuzino saying: What are these Your Highness, are you alike the Antichrist? And the Lord became angry and took him out of the office with dishonesty”, only one year after the appointment, and banished him at St. Sava Monastery in Iasi.

Dumitraşcu lost his throne not long after. In 1675 Ştefan Petriceicu and Metropolitan Dosoftei returned from Poland, freeing Teodosie from his prison. Because there couldn’t be two metropolitans at once and a “relegation” in the hierarchical rank is not possible, Teodosie retired in his homeland, living sometimes in Focsani, an important town in the region, and sometimes at Bogdana Monastery, where he used to be abbot.

St. Teodosie depicted as Monk

Taking care for the monasteries

As a retired bishop, he used his money and influence in order to reconstruct the monastery from Brazi, where there were built a new church and cells for the monks. In order to establish a special monastic rule, Teodosie brought there Zaharia, an old abbot, who lived for a while in Mount Athos.

 In 1688, while being in Focsani, Teodosie was kidnapped by the Greek friends of the former ruler Dumitraşcu Cantacuzino and taken to Wallachia. Here he was imprisoned and tortured, being investigated for treason. He managed to escape after 10 weeks and returned to Brazi. In the next years he planned in detail the construction of another three hermitages in the region, but he didn’t manage to finish his project.

Brazi monastery at the holiday of St. Teodosie

In the fall of 1694 the Tartars came again in Moldova, causing great damages in the south of the country, destroying several churches and taking people as slaves. The old bishop Teodosie foreknew his near end and therefore prepared himself for that. Soon there came a band of Tartars at Brazi, who had tortured him and asked for the treasures of the monastery. He refused to discover them, so the Tartars beheaded him. In the following night, some Christians buried him in hurry.

Brazi Monastery

The Relics of St. Teodosie

Saint Antipas from Calapodesti (1816-1882, commemorated on 10 January), was a novice at Brazi monastery in 1842, when the relics of Metropolitan Teodosie were discovered. He wrote that “Archimandrite Dimitrie, prior to be abbot of Brazi, lived a harsh ascetical life in a big forest, were he once found by chance a pot filled with gold coins. He found a note in the pot, which said that the money belongs to Metropolitan Teodosie, who hid them there, foreseeing his martyrical death by the hands the Turks ... who would have found this money was indebted to build up a convent and three hermitages ... and at the ending of the latter hermitage, he will find also my relics”. Archimandrite Dimitrie fulfilled the last wish of Metropolitan Teodosie, and in the courtyard of the third hermitage he ordered the digging of a grave for himself.

Abbot Dimitrie wrote himself about this event, on February 20, 1842: “I have wished to make my grave in the cemetery at Brazi, justin the middle of the place where it was once the old church. And digging deep six hands [...] I have found the place where, at the legs of the deceased Metropolitan Teodosie, the founder of Brazi Monastery, there was the head of my grave. And digging up further, I have found the whole body with the bones strung and the head I found upside down, put on a big brick in croissants, as it is known that he was cut by the Tartars and buried at night by some believers”. Saint Antipas noted also that, “I myself made me worthy to see and kiss the relics, from which it came out a very fragrant perfume”.

The relics of the Saint

On May 6, 1842, the relics of St. Teodosie were placed in a new tomb, built in the northern part of the underground chapel of Brazi monastery. Later, his head was taken out from the tomb and sat in order to be worship in that chapel. Here it remained until 1959, when it was put back in the tomb, in the year when the monastery was dissolved after a communist decree.

After reopening the monastery and the restoration that followed, Abbess Justina rediscovered the relics on March 20, 2000.

The official decision of the Romanian Holy Synod of Bishops, concerning canonization of the St. Hierarch Martyr Teodosie happened during the meeting from March 4-5, 2003. The Liturgy of proclaiming the canonization took place on October 5, 2003, at Brazi monastery, in Vrancea County.

Since then, St. Teodosie from Brazi is celebrated in Romania on September 22.

The Grave of St. Teodosie, under the church

Troparion of Holy Hierarch Martyr Teodosie from Brazi

“Hierarch Teodosie, you have shown yourself as an eternal bright candlestick and a big defender of the Church of Christ. You shone through ministry and martyrdom, as a pure sacrifice, bringing yourself to the Master of all; We glorify your remembrance, asking God to bestow peace and great mercy to our souls!”

Film about the monastery at Brazi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE4AdtDvZ3I&feature=player_embedded#!

Saint Joseph the New from Partoş, the Metropolitan of Timişoara (+ 1656)

Saint Joseph the New from Partoş was born in 1568 in Raguza, in Dalmatia (today Dubrovnik, Croatia), from a Wallachian Christian family, being baptized as Jacob. His father was a Venetian named Giovanni Fusco, and his mother, Ecaterina, was originally from Limnos, a Greek island. More precisely, she had a „Morlach” ancestry, which is another name for „Mavro-Vlachos” (black Wallachian), one of the different romanic populations spread in the entire Balcanic peninsula, south form Danube.

After his father's death, the young Jacob moved with his mother in Ochrid, an important Orthodox center in the region, also populated by Aromanians and black Wallachians. Here the young boy went in a monastery school, being 12 years old. Three years later, he entered in the congregation of the monastery of Our Lady of Ochrid, and remained here about 5 years.

Athonite monk

After 5 year of apprenticeship, he went to Mount Athos, at Pantokrator Monastery and he was tonsured monk, being named Joseph.

Here in the monastery he was known as Megaloschemos Joseph the “Vlach”, which means that he has received the great monastic schema (Great Schema, in difference to the Small, consists in a new tonsure, usual received only by hermits). Here he lived for many years along with the monks, in a harsh fasting life, all-night vigil, obedience and humility. Finally, he went as hermit in the woods nearby and it is said to have the “gift of tears”, a highly prized charisma in Eastern monasticism and “the incessant prayer”, because he “lowered the mind into the heart”, that means that he united his reason with his spiritual senses. This inner union is considered in the Orthodox monasticism, particularly after Gregory Palamas and the hesychast movement, as the ideal of the human perfection.

Because of the holiness of his life, Joseph could make miracles and cured many diseases, especially those crippled. Often he was called in several monasteries, where he healed the monks from their bodily sufferings.

After a long time, the monks invited him back into the congregation and he was ordained priest and confessor of the monks of Mount Athos. Soon he became known also by the Patriarch of Constantinople who appointed him abbot of the Monastery of Saint Stephen in Adrianople, where he remained about 6 years.  Coming back in Athos, Joseph became abbot in the monastery of Koutloumousiou, one of the oldest convents, basically built from the donations of the Wallachian voivods and noblemen.

Being more than 70 years old, he retired in silence near Vatopedi monastery. But his mission still didn’t come to its end.

Metropolitan

In 1552, the western Banat, hitherto included in the Kingdom of Hungary, fell under Turkish rule, being transformed into a “pashalic” (1552-1718) based in Timişoara. In this context, it seems that there was metropolitanate in this region, under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. It's hard to say what nationality were the Orthodox believers in Banat. The massive Serb migration north of the Danube began after the battle of Kossovopolje, in 1389, when Serbia was occupied by the Turks. Until then there were in Banat only Romanians (Vlachs), Hungarians and Germans.

A metropolitan of Timişoara died in 1650 and Joseph the Vlach was sent in his place, despite of his age, being about 80 years old. Maybe his nationality was important in the eyes of the Orthodox believers there. In any case, his ordination took place on July 20, 1650 and he served as Metropolitan only for three years. The tradition mentions several miracles of the saint, including fighting a fire that engulfed the west side of Timişoara. Apparently Joseph came out from the church with the Sacraments in the hands and, after he had prayed with tears, God have sent a heavy rain, so that the fire stopped.

old icon of the Saint

Being practically all his life long a simple monk, he might have liked the silence of the monastery more than the service as a hierarch. In 1653, Joseph retired definitively to the not-far-away Partoş monastery, where he lived for three years. This information came from a note, made in 1655, on a Menologion (all-day service book) that belonged to the monastery of St. George situated near the city: “This book belongs to the Lord Metropolitan Joseph of Timişoara, in 1655, who voluntarily left the diocese, withdrawing at Partoş monastery, where he lived several years and then moved to the eternal life, where the saints are resting”.

According to tradition, when his passing into eternity, the monastery bells began to beat by themselves.

Saint Joseph died being over 85 years old. He was buried in the monastery’s church nave, opposite to the entrance door.

The old and the new churches of Partoş Monastery

Worship

The popular tradition recorded soon the Metropolitan Joseph as a saint. In 1749, a pilgrim named Peica offered a Gospel-book to the monastery of Partoş, just before his trip to Jerusalem. On this book he wrote: “I, the sinner servant of God Hagi (=pilgrim) Peica, offer this holy book, the so-called Gospel, to the monastery of  Partoş convent, dedicated to St Michael - where is located the body of the Saint Lord Joseph - for our good and our happy journey to the great city Jerusalem”.

In 1782, the local priest Stephen Bogoslovici painted an icon, at the request of the Archpriest Ioan Şuboni, who donated it to the monastery, in order to be placed above the saint’s grave. On the icon there were written the name of “Our Father Saint Joseph the New” and the troparion (hymn of the saint) as follows: "In youth you entirely obeyed to God in prayers and labors and in fasting, being the icon of the goodness. Therefore God, seeing your good work, has put you bishop and shepherd of His church. Wherefore, your holy body has been preserved, after death, fair and incorrupted. Saint Joseph, pray to Christ our God, to bestow forgiveness to those who remember your holy memory, with faith and love”.

According to another tradition, the daughter of Mark Mutiu, the mayor of Timişoara in the middle of the 18^th century, was cured at the monastery of a disease that she has long suffered. In gratitude, the mayor built here a new church, near the old one, where St. Joseph once officiated the Liturgy.  This church still functions until today.

 In 1929 Bizerea, a local priest wrote also based on the local tradition, that St. Joseph “already during his life enjoyed the fame of a true saint, and after his death he has left a memory of a truly saint among the religious people and the monks”.

Romanian Orthodox Cathedral
in Timişoara

The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church decided soon the official proclamation of the Holy Hierarch Joseph the New. This act happened during a celebration on October 6-8, 1956, in the Metropolitan Cathedral in Timişoara, where his holy relics were placed. His commemoration occurs each year on September 15, the day of his enthronization as metropolitan.  The Akathist of St. Joseph and the other Holy Services were included in the service books of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

In 1965, the Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church decided the name of St. Joseph to be placed also in the church calendars from Serbia, as a witness of the worship that St. Joseph enjoyed throughout the Romanian and the Serbian parts of Banat.

Adăugaţi o legendă

The story about the firefighting remained very strong in the memory of the locals, so that, following a decision of the Romanian Ministry of Interior in 1997, Saint Joseph the New became the holy patron of the firefighters.

The Relics of the Saint

The relics and the icon of the Saint, in the Cathedral of Timişoara

The relics of the Saint

Troparion of St. Joseph the New of Partoş (after the hymn from 1782):

In youth you entirely obeyed to God in prayers and labors and in fasting. Therefore God, seeing your good work, has put you bishop and shepherd of His Church and you dwelt after your death in the heavenly hosts of the saints, o, Holy Father Joseph. Pray to Christ our God to bestow forgiveness to us,  who remember your holy memory, with faith and love!”

St. Varlaam, Metropolitan of Moldova

Saint Metropolitan Varlaam of Moldova served in the highest ecclesiastical position of the Principate of Moldova in the period between 1632-1653 and is recognized, because of his written works, as one of the founders of the modern Romanian language.

He was born in 1590 as Vasile Moţoc, in family of free men from the Village Borceşti, near Târgu Neamţ. In his time there was still practiced the serfdom in some regions in Moldova, so that being a free man it was already a special status. 

Still young, Vasile was familiar with the monastic life, because he used to spend a lot of time in the Hermitage Zosim, a small residence of the monks in Secu valley. Here he could learn old Slavonic and Greek, the languages used in the Church and in the official documents during his time. Not far away from here, in the same time the Vornic (internal and justice minister) Nestor Ureche and his wife Mitrofana have founded a monastery named Secu in 1602, and also a school in its dependencies. Here Vasile received the tonsure as monk, being named Varlaam and even still young he was elected as egumen (abbot) of the monastery, because of his high knowledge.

At Secu, Varaam translated Leastviţa (The Ladder of St. John Climacus), this being one the first writings of the Churchfathers available in Romanian. Shortly, the Metropolitan Anastasie Crimca (1608-1629) appointed him in the rank of archimandrite and since 1628 he became an important counselor of Voivod Miron Barnovschi (1626 - 1629 and 1633). From this position he was  sent to Kiev and Moscow to purchase some icons from the monasteries Dragomirna and Bârnova  and for Barnovschi church, built by the Voivod in Iaşi, the capital of Moldova.

On his way back home in 1629, Varlaam heard about the death of Metropolitan Anastasie and the removal of Miron Barnovschi, so he retired at Secu. The short retirement ended in 1632, when during the second reign of Alexandru Iliaş (1620 - 1621 and 1631 - 1633), he was elected to follow the position of the recently dead Metropolitan Athanasie (1629-1632).

Metropolitan

Metropolitan Varlaam understood his pastoration as a big responsibility as teacher, ruler and mediator in prayers for his community, and he had the chance to have together a very pious ruler in the person of Voivod Vasile Lupu (1634 - 1653), who helped him in the action of modernization of the educational system in the country.

During his pastoration years it happened a very important event for the Orthodox Church, namely the Synod form Iaşi (1642), this being the first council of the entire Orthodox Church after the Schism. At this Synod it was debated and approved the Confession of Faith written by Petru Movilă,  Metropolitan of Kiev in 1638. This work was at its time (and even today) very important, being built as the first Orthodox Catechism since the Age of St. John Damascene (7^th century), and useful as a handbook for the Orthodox clergy and laymen confronted with the action of Calvinization and Uniatism. Probably after this Synod, Metropolitan Varlaam became very popular even abroad, that he was the only Romanian hierarch among the candidates for the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. This happened in 1639, but the elected one was Parthenios I, the former Metropolitan of Adrianopolis.

Voivod Vasile Lupu

Another important event happened in this period was the moving of the relics of St. Parascheva at Iaşi, in 1641. The Voivod Vasile Lupu helped then the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople with a big amount of money, and in gratitude for the help offered, the Patriarch Parthenios offered for the Metropolis the relics of the Saint, who became very popular in Moldova until today. At that time, the relics stayed in the new monastery of the Three Hierarchs, until their moving in the new Metropolitan Cathedral, in 1889, where they can be found until today.

The church of "Trei Ierarhi" Monastery, Iaşi

The foundation at “Trei Ierarhi” Monastery

Metropolitan Varlaam together with the Voivod Vasile Lupu founded in Iaşi in 1639 a new monastery dedicated to the three Hierarchs, Basil the Great, Gregory form Nazianzen and John Chrysostomus. The church of the monastery is a masterpiece of art and architecture of the 17^th century, and one of the halls of the monastery, known today as “The Gothic Sall” was the place where the Synod reunited in 1642. Even from its foundation in 1639, the monastery hosted the first printing machine in Moldova. Here there were printed several liturgical but also apologetical books, namely Cazania, The seven Sacraments, Answer against the Calvinist Catechism and a book of religious and secular law, called Pravila.  

Cazania or Romanian Book for teaching in the Sundays all over the year, at the imperial feasts and the great saints’ days (Cazania sau Carte românească de învăţătură la duminicile de peste an, la praznice împărăteşti şi la sfinţi mari, 1643) is the first book printed in Romanian language in Moldova. Its importance consists in the fact that it was spread in all the Romanian provinces, especially in Transylvania, where the action of calvinization was very strong, imposed by the Hungarian rulers who adopted the Reform.  Another importance given by this book is the language used, which presents a step forward to the modern Romanian, after the translations realized in Transylvania by deacon Coresi, in the middle of the 16^th century. In the double preface of the book, the first written by Voivod Vasile and the second by Varlaam, there are some mentions of the national and linguistic unity between the Romanians in  Moldova, Wallachia and Transylvania. This might be one of the first signs of the national conscience among the Romanians.

In 1644 Varlaam publishes Seven Mysteries of the Church (Şapte Taine a Bisericii), another important catechetical book, written in the form of questions and answers. This systematization of the Orthodox teaching is one of the first statements about the seven Sacraments, but still not entirely original, being a compilation based of the work of Toma Teofan Eleavulkos (written in the same century).

Another important printed book for the period is a praying book, namely the Paraclis of the Theotokos (Paraclisul Maicii Domnului) a hymn similar to the western Rosarium, in 1645.

The Answer against the Calvinist Catechism (Răspunsul la catehismul Calvinesc, 1645) was probably printed in a double edition, at Iaşi in Moldova and at Dealu Monastery In Wallachia, as a joint action of Varlaam and Teofil of Wallachia (1636-1648) against the Calvinist missions. The Calvins printed a Catechism in Romanian at Alba Iulia in 1642, this being seen as an action to attract adepts among the Romanians especially from Transylvania but also from Moldova and Wallachia. Because of this possible danger, Varlaam convoked a synod of the hierarchs in Moldova and Wallachia about in 1644-1645, who approved the text of his work. The importance of the Answer of Varlaam consists in its originality and also in the quality of the language. Varlaam composed this work as a pamphlet against the teaching of Calvin, and even if full of resentments, the author tries to write into a civilized language. This book is the first apologetic Romanian work.  

The Answer against the Calvinist Catechism

Metropolitan Varlaam together with the Voivod Vasile Lupu founded in the Monastery of the Three Hierarchs also first high school in Moldova (1640) after the model of the Kievean Spiritual Academy, founded by St. Petru Movilă. The students learned here theology, Greek, Slavonic but also Romanian, together with some other matters such as, philosophy, rhetoric, poetics, dialectics, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, grammar and music. The first teachers of the school were sent here by the Metropolitan of Kiev Peter Movilă, who has shown for many times the affection of his homeland. Anyway, after the abdication of Vasile Lupu, the school decays.

Secu Monastery

Retirement

Voivod Vasile Lupu lost his throne in 1653, and shortly after, the Moldavian chronicler Miron  Costin attests that Metropolitan Varlaam decided to retire to his monastery, at Secu, where he lived the last four years of his life as a simple monk in humility and prayer. The decision may be influenced also by the fact that Varlaam suffered since 1653 of a paralysis of the hands. He died on December 19, 1657 and, according his Testament, he gave all he had to the monastery at Secu. He was buried in the exterior side of the church's south wall.

The Grave of the saint at Secu Monastery

The veneration of St. Varlaam

The canonization of Metropolitan Varlaam as a saint happened after a decision of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church from February 12, 2007. The canonization ceremony happened at Secu Monastery on August 29, when his relics were exhumed and put in a silver coffin in the church of the monastery. His memorial day is August 30, in the same day of the celebration of the Saints Alexander, John and Paul the New, Patriarchs of Constantinople.

Metropolitan Teofan of Moldova
at the Relics of St. Varlaam

Troparion (Hymn) of St. Varlaam

“Worthy servant of Christ and wise defender of the true faith, great worshiper of Saint Parascheva and faithful enlightener of the Romanian people, Holy Hierarch Varlaam, pray Christ-God to protect and save our souls!”

Martyr Saints Constantin Voivod Brâncoveanu, his sons Constantin, Radu, Ştefan and Matei and the counselor Ianache Văcărescu

 Together with Voivod Ştefan III The Great of Moldova (+1504), the Romanian Church celebrate another crowned local saint, in the person of Constantin Brâncoveanu , Voivod of Wallachia (1688-1714)

Constantin was born in 1654, in Brâncoveni (Olt County), from a noble Romanian family, as the son of Matthew Brâncoveanu and Stanca, the sister of the Voivod Şerban Cantacuzino (1678-1688).  His father died in 1655 and Constantine was raised by his uncle, Constantine Cantacuzino who was postelnic (chief of the Voivodal Office) at the Court in Bucharest, being one of the most representative humanists in the medieval Romanian culture. In this way the future Voivod of Wallachia received the best education of hi stime. He was fluent in Greek, Latin and Slavonic, and probably also in Turkish.

Constantin married Maria (popularly named Marica), the granddaughter of Voivod Antonie (1669-1672), and had together four sons: Constantin, Ștefan, Radu and Matei and seven daughters: Stanca, Maria, Ilinca, Safta, Anca, Bălașa and Smaranda. Together they reached an impressive wealth consisting in houses, lands, whole villages and sums of money deposited different banks in Western Europe.

Being 34 years old, Constantin was elected as Voivod of Wallachia, after the suddenly and mysterious death of his uncle. The political situation was very difficult for the small Romanian principalities who tried to keep further their identity, during the growth of the Russian power, who came into conflict with the Ottoman Empire and the Austrian Monarchy - already present in Transylvania since 1699.

The internal policy

Using a clever policy, Constantin reigned 26 years. Inside Wallachia, Constantin Brâncoveanu supported the economic and cultural progress, trying to modernize the state apparatus, reforming the tax system and increasing the Voivodal power, but the excessive taxation ruined the low class. This was not directly due his wish to be even richer, but because of the ever increasing demands of the Ottoman Porte, to whom Wallachia used to pay a tribute even since the beginning of the 15th century.

Constantin Brâncoveanu supported the development of the Romanian culture, so that his reign may be called “the Romanian Renaissance”. His „fingerprint” is considered to be the church and the buildings complex of the Monastery Horezu (or “Hurezi”), dedicated to Saints Constantine and Helen, in 1690. As a very pious Voivod, he built also a lot of other churches or monasteries, but also secular institutions after a totally new architectural style that combined the mural painting and sculpture local tradition with the neo-Byzantine style and Italian Renaissance. This combination was called the „Brâncovenesc” style, which could be considered as the first typically Romanian current for architecture and painting. 

Constantin Brâncoveanu supported also the printing activity and the schools in Wallachia, but also in Transylvania, and tried to give a more important role to the Romanian language, until then only used as a vernacular language. He surrounded himself with great personalities of culture from the country and abroad, brought especially in order to prepare the young generation after the European model.

Mogoşoaia Palace

In 1689 he brought from Istanbul a Georgian scholar and monk called Antim, later Metropolitan of Wallachia and also a saint martyred by the Turks (1716). Under his guidance, there were printed many books, especially religious, in Romanian, Greek, Slavic, and even Arabic, Turkish and Georgian, so that Wallachia became a cultural Centre for the whole Christian culture in the Eastern Europe and in the Ottoman Empire.

In 1694 the Voivod Constantin founded the Princial Academy in Bucharest, also known as the College from St. Sava, the first high school in Wallachia. The teaching language was still ancient Greek, and the teachers were usually Greeks from Istanbul. Parallel, he opened some other schools, within the monasteries in Bucharest, having as teaching language Slavonic and Romanian. He also founded some libraries such as the one in Mărgineni and Horezu monastery, purchasing many books from Western Europe.

The foreign policy

In foreign policy, Constantin Brâncoveanu  tried to maintain the balance between the Ottoman Empire, to whom he paid so much every year, and Austria, with whom he concluded a secret agreement, receiving in exchange for certain services some noble estates and titles of the Holy Roman Empire. The fragile equilibrium broke in 1709, when the third political power came in the game. King Charles XII of Sweden lost the battle with Peter the Great at Poltava. Shortly after, the powerful Russian troops entered in Moldova, in order to fight with the Sultan. In that moment, Brâncoveanu made the mistake to ally with the Russians, considering that this might be the future. So, he wrote a letter to Peter the Great, in which he promised to help him with military supplies. Peter sent to Brâncoveanu his thanks and 300 bags of gold. In the meanwhile, the Turks installed Dimitrie Cantemir, as prince in the other Romanian Principality, Moldova. He was also known as one of the highest qualified intellectuals if the whole Europe, but he happened to be an enemy of the Brâncoveanu family. The first thing Cantemir did was to ally also with the Tsar. Being a proud leader, in this situation, Brâncoveanu tried to play on both sides and helost. In waiting a confrontation between the Russian and the Ottoman troops, he gathered his army at Urlaţi, near the border with Moldova and, in case that the Russians wanted to enter in Wallachia, he planned to ally with them, but if the Turks would have been faster, he intended to remain on the Turkish side. During this time his cousin, Toma Cantacuzino fled with a part of the army to the Tsar, telling him the plans of the Voivod. Scared about the situation, Brâncoveanu sent back to Peter the Great his 300 bags of gold and supplied the Turks. The battle between the two great powers happened in Moldova, near the Prut River, at Stănileşti, in 1711, and the Russians have lost.

The end of his reign

Even since 1711, the sultan Ahmed III (1703-1730) planned to put someone else on the throne of Wallachia, because of the lack of loyalty of Brâncoveanu and because he tried to fortify his position against the Austrian Monarchy. But even if he usually did this without any problems before, Constantin was too powerful, had too many connections among the Western powers, so that the „revenge” was planned in a few years.

Horezu Monastery

In 1714 Constantin was planning the marriage of his son Radu with the daughter of Antioh Cantemir, former Voivod of Moldova (1695 – 1700; 1705 – 1707). For she was in Istanbul, Brâncoveanu tried to improve his relations with the Sultan and sent him a letter and 4000 golden coins. Even if first the Sultan communicated to him that he has nothing against this marriage, he sent Ali Pasha to Bucharest to arrest Brâncoveanu. The Voivod didn’t know that all his relatives were already against him and no one tried at least to help him. That is why, on March 25, 1714, the Turks came in Bucharest and removed Constantine from the throne of Wallachia. The reason invoked was, according to Mehmed Rashid, a contemporary Turkish chronicler, that he gathered too much wealth and weapons and prepared a rebellion against the Porte, waiting the moment to reign absolutely independently.  He was taken to Istanbul together with his family and imprisoned at the fortress of Yedikule („the Seven Towers”). Of course, all their possessions were confiscated, and he was tortured by the Turks, who hoped to locate his other possessions. His fabulous wealth became somehow legendary, and the Turks used to call him „Altin Bey” (the Prince of Gold). Finally, he was obliged under torture to sign for the gold deposited in Venice.

The Martyrdom

The execution of Constantin and his family happened on 15 August 1714, at Ialy Kisc („the kiosk at the sea”), on the day of the Dormition of Our Lady, the very day when he turned 60 years and his wife celebrating her namesday.

Sultan Ahmed III commanded a „grandiose ceremony” in order to humiliate his adversaries. Together with him were present also the ambassadors of France, England, Austria and Russia, who were invited to see his manifestation of power. Constantin was brought here not alone, but with his four sons Constantin, Radu, Ştefan and Matei and his confident Ianache Văcărescu. The sultan permitted them a last prayer and offered them one more chance to convert to Islam. The Italian chronicler Antonio Del Chiaro noted the answer of Constantine: „Your majesty, you have taken my fortune, but I don’t abandon my Christian law.  I was born and lived in it and I want to die in it (=as Christian). I filled the earth of my country with Christian churches and, now, attaining an old age, should I bow to your Turkish mosques? No, your Highness! I defended my land, I kept my faith I want to close my eyes in my faith and my sons together with me”. After that, he encouraged his sons „My children, have courage! I lost everything I had on this earthly world. We have left only our souls, we shall not lose them too, but we shall get them clean before our Savior Jesus Christ. Let’s wash our sins with our blood!”

After the beheading of Ianache Văcărescu, the executioners took the four sons. Even if Matei, the youngest protested and asked his father to let him convert to Islam, because he didn’t live his life, Constantine was radical and forbade him such a thing. His son accepted his father’s decision and finally chose to die too. He was only 11 years old. Finally Voivod Constantine was also beheaded.

The bodies of the martyrs were thrown into the waters of Bosphorus and their heads were worn in spears through the streets of Constantinople and hanged for 3 days at the gates of the Seray. Later they were also thrown into the waters o the sea. Some Christians have „fished” the bodies and buried them secretly in the Assumption Church from Halki island, during their heads were brought in Wallachia by Lady Mary in 1720 and secretly buried in the new church of St. Gheorghe from Bucharest. The tomb was covered by a white marble plate, without any name or identification. The discovery of the fact that the head of the Voivod is buried here, happened only in 1914, because of an inscription on a silver lamp until then remained unobserved: „This lamp, which was given to [the church of] St. George the New, lights where are resting the bones of the blessed Lord Voivode Io Constantin Brâncoveanu Basarab and was made by her Excellency Mrs. Maria, who hopes for the resting of her bones also here. July, 12 days, year 7228 (= 1720)” Her wish was fulfilled in 1745, when she died and was buried there.

On June 20, 1992 the Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church canonized the martyrs Brâncoveanu, setting their memorial not on August 15,because of the great Feast of Our Lady, but the second day, on August 16 memorial day.

The Tomb in St. George Church, Bucharest

Troparion (hymn) of the saints

St. George Church in Bucharest
and the monument of St. Constantine

Being worthy to suffer a martyrical death for the right faith and for your people together with his sons Constantin, Ştefan, Radu, Matei and with the counselor Ianache, Oh, right-faithful Voievod Constantin, pray to Christ God to save our souls!

„Nimeni din cei ce aleargă la tine nu iese ruşinat...“

În tradiţia ortodoxă, se obişnuieşte ca orice lucrare să se înceapă numai după ce ne închinăm cu semnul Sfintei Cruci şi spunem: "Doamne, ajută!" Acest obicei străbun ţine cont de faptul că nimic din faptele noastre - chiar şi dintre cele vădit bune, de exemplu milostenia sau ajutorarea aproapelui - nu se face fără a avea în minte pe Cel Care face roditoare faptele, anume Bunul Dumnezeu. Alte dăţi, plecând de acasă, mama şi tata ne petrec la drum, urându-ne din inimă: "să-ţi ajute Dumnezeu şi Maica Domnului!", iar spunând aceasta, ştiu ce spun. Nimeni nu cunoaşte mai bine decât părinţii cât de importantă este rugăciunea mijlocitoare a Maicii Domnului. 
Paraclisul Maicii Domnului este una dintre numeroasele slujbe de rugăciune către Fecioara Maria, care se cântă sau se citeşte mai ales în momente de necaz şi în nevoi. Tocmai de aici şi numele ei, care înseamnă "mângâiere". Într-unul din imne citim: "Nimeni din cei ce aleargă la tine nu iese ruşinat, Născătoare de Dumnezeu Fecioară; ci cerând dar bun, primeşte dăruirea către cererea cea de folos". 

Articolul întreg în Ziarul Lumina, 10 august 2012

„Cu buze de tină, cântăm: Aliluia!“

Comentariu la condacul al 9-lea al Acatistului Domnului

"Toată firea îngerească, Iisuse, fără de încetare slăveşte preasfânt numele Tău în ceruri, strigând: Sfânt, Sfânt, Sfânt; iar noi păcătoşii pe pământ, cu buze de tină, cântăm: Aliluia!"

Una dintre cererile pe care le rostim zilnic în rugăciunea "Tatăl nostru" este aceea ca să se facă cele de pe pământ asemenea celor din cer. Îndeplinirea acestui lucru nu este neapărat un deziderat viitor, până acum străin. De marele praznic al Schimbării la Faţă a Domnului sărbătorim momentul minunat în care Iisus Hristos, aflat pe muntele Taborului, S-a arătat Ucenicilor în slava Sa dumnezeiască "pe cât li se putea" acestora să vadă şi să înţeleagă. Pe de o parte se aflau marii profeţi ai Vechiului Testament - Moise, cel care a primit Legea, şi Ilie, "cel ce a fost înger în trup" şi a fost urcat din timpul vieţii la ceruri -, aceştia având sfat cu Domnul întru lumina cea de nedescris, iar pe de altă parte, culcaţi la pământ şi înspăimântaţi de vederea minunată, Apostolii Petru, Ioan şi Iacov, rămaşi fără cuvinte. Într-un final, în acea stare mai presus de înţeles, Petru propunea Domnului să facă acolo trei colibe. Poate că dorea să spună astfel că nu mai vrea să se mai coboare de pe munte, înapoi la cele obişnuite. Lumea cerească şi cea pământească se uniseră pentru o vreme, prevestind împlinirea Împărăţiei lui Dumnezeu între oameni.

întregul articol în Ziarul Lumina de luni, 6 august 2012

Saints Symeon “the fool for Christ” and John the hermit

Saints Symeon, John and Parthenios,
celebrated on July 21

 The lives of the Monks John and Symeon, born in Edessa, are interesting examples of how a monk can understand his relationship with God and with the neighbors. The tradition situates the existence of the two saints at the ending of the 6th century.

The “specific” of these saints is the fact that the love for God can reach the madness, and that is literally meant. There are a lot of “fools for Christ”. Even in the Desert of Egypt, at the end of the 4^th century there is reported a saint nun called Isidora in a monastery near Tabenna, who “faked” madness in order to humble herself. The modern world knows better the popular Vassili Blazhennyi, the patron saint of the beautiful cathedral in the centre of Moscow. This saint was mocking the terrible Tsar Ivan IV of Russia without being harmed. But the “classic” fool for Christ, the one who despised his human honor in order to save other Christians, is St. Symeon, usually associated with his friend, John the hermit.

Although there are many „lives” of these saints, written shortly after their death, the most comprising biographical source is The life and behavior of Symeon the one called crazy for Christ, written by the very pious bishop Leontios of Neapolis in island of Cyprus. Leontios wrote about in 641 a Life of St. John the Merciful, Patriarch of Alexandria and the scholars believe that he has written the Life of Symeon later, but not after 649, when an Arab invasion occurred in Cyprus.

The work of Leontios combines a classical biography of a monk with a collection of anecdotes, similar to the ones from the older story regarding the life of the Greek philosopher Diogenes, also known for his “foolish” or at least surprising sayings.

Bishop Leontios,
the author of the saint's biography

The young Symeon and his friend John

Even from the beginning of the biography, Leontios  try to explain to his readers how a life of a „fool for Christ” may be an exemplary life for a Christian, making an allusion of the Pauline understanding of the Christian mission (1 Corinthians 4,10). Only after this argumentation, he starts speaking about the young Symeon from Edessa (Syria), who went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem together with his friend John. Along the way, passing near the monastery of Saint Gerasimos, they decide to stay there for a while, listening to teachings of abba Nikon. Soon after, they decide to become monks, but after only one week, they leave the convent and start a life in the wilderness of the desert, with the consent of the abbot, who had a vision and understood their special situation.

In the desert lands somewhere Jerusalem, „because of devilish temptations”, the two feel certain sadness to those left behind: Symeon had left home his old mother who was widow and had no other children, and John even more scandalous, left home in Edessa his young wife. Strangely the two pray God to take those women to Him. This happens after a while, and the two monks continue their solitary life for another 29 years. Here Leontios ends the first part of his story, which presents a classic biography of holy hermits.

The foolishness for Christ

The second part of this story consists in 39 “anecdotes”. After a long period of working on their own “angelic life”, Symeon suggested  one day to John that they should go together in the world, in order to save other souls, citing the example of 1 Corinthians 10,24, “each shall think not only about himself but also for the other”. But John, being afraid to return to the world, tries to persuade Symeon about the danger of living in the city. Finally, realizing that his friend is strengthened by God, he agrees with Symeon’s decision, though John remains further into the wilderness, feeling himself still not strong enough in his faith.

Shortly after, Symeon went first to Jerusalem, where he remained for three days, then went to Emessa, an important city not far away from Antioch. In a so-called “Christian city”, he starts life acting as a crazy, entering the town carrying a corpse of a dog, tied to a rope he used as a belt for the ascetic clothing. Even the “innocent” kids, running after him, make a big fuss, beat him and call him salos, which means, “crazy”.

The next day being a Sunday, Symeon goes to the church and starts provoking the pious Christians gathered at worship, throwing with nuts to them and quenching the candles. He is thrown away quickly and beaten again, this time by the adults. Symeon is saying to himself, that if he continues like that, he will be dead in a week. But he doesn’t stop. Further, a trader hires him to sell vegetables in the market. Symeon is acting strangely, eating beans and provoking a pestilential smell around. Instead of selling, he gives all the products to the poor and the passersby, he even spreads the money and for these things, of course, he is beaten again and chased. Other time he starts to undress himself on the road and enters naked in the public bath reserved to the women, defying decency. Meanwhile he does miracles or prophecies and casts away a devil from a young who committed adultery. He predicts an earthquake playing strangely: by beating with a stick some columns of the school-building, saying “you will fall”, and to others: “you will stay”. Moreover, he kisses the kids coming from the school: not all of them, but the ones who will die shortly because of the plague. Symeon makes secretly acts of charity and refuse any form of self-glory, making mute those who recognize the truth.

In order not to scandalize his readers too much, the biographer is combining the foolish stories with the miracles and mentions the fact that the foolishness of Symeon was just a fake. In reality, the saint acted like that in order to shock the ones too conformist, and to show them that their piety is just a fake piety and the profound Christian sense is far away to be realized. Some other times, after a miracle or a healing, Symeon makes quickly something so stupid, so that the seers don’t realize the truth and look upon him further as to a lunatic and not as to a saint.

Symeon is not only a wondermaker and a saint disguised in a harlequin, but also a fighter for the faith. Two monks from a monastery near Emessa, who wanted to settle a theological dispute, go into the wilderness to find John and Symeon. They reach John who guides them to the city, to Symeon, but he explains the orthodox position against the origenist one in a clever way, hitting and insulting one of them. Later he dances with the prostitutes, showing that he is passionless. He even gives money to some of them, trying to persuade them to abandon their practices. He often called the prostitutes his “girlfriends”, provoking the indignation to the townspeople.

Under the guise of his insanity,  he stops people on the street, slaps some of them, throws with stones to them, insults the religious precepts (e.g., the fasting times), all in order to save the souls of the neighbor, without being glorified by the others. After he miraculously saves the deacon John, who was almost killed because of some false accusations of murder, this deacon becomes his only confidant, the only one who knows the wisdom hidden under the mask of foolishness.

Symeon later finds the money stolen by some thieves, heals some possessed, discovers the lies of some perjurers, and deprives a woman of her witchcraft power. In order to include in the stories also the others “unbelievers”, Leontios mentions also the Jew who was the glazier of the town. Symeon goes to him and starts to break his bottles by word. Finally, he tells to this Jew that all bottles made will break, until it decides to Christianize. That, of course, happens.

The days of Symeon in the city of Emessa are’t too many. His way of living, on the streets, with the prostitutes and the homeless surely made him sick. Anyway, while living on the streets during the days, he spent the nights in his hut, which was rather a bundle of sticks, situated in the garbage zone of the town, praying incessantly with tears. In his last days he rarely speaks with the deacon John but finally he tells his whole life, just before he dies.

Feeling his end near, Symeon remains hidden in his hut, where he dies in his sleep. The poor people (who were checking through the garbage) find him and remember about the “fool of the town”. They take and bury him in the cemetery for foreigners, without ceremony. But along the way, passing by the house of the converted Jew, this hears the voices of angels singing hymns of praise for Symeon’s funeral. The deacon John knows very late about what happened and go to the cemetery, trying to make a decent funeral sermon for Symeon, but when his hired men dig for the body, they find the tomb empty: God have taken him. This is a topos presented in many lives of the saints “fools for Christ”, but not only. We may compare it with the story about the funeral of Our Lady Mother of Our Lord.

At the end of the biography, Leontios concludes by stating that these mentioned were just some of the works of Symeon, who lived like an unknown. His life was told to him only by chance by John, the deacon from Emessa. Leontios urges his readers to take the example of Symeon and stop judging the neighbor, because the real deeds are known only by God.

Saint Symeon is celebrated in the calendar of the Western Church on July 1, during the Eastern Church marked his feast on July 21 (August 3 according to the Old Calendar), the day of his death. He is jointly celebrated with John, his friend who remained in the wilderness of the desert.

The deeds of Symeon, according to other sources

The way how Leontios explains the lifestyle of Symeon differ from the interpretations of this biography during the centuries. The later paraphrases, the short hagiographies, but especially the texts for the liturgical services have “soften” the language about the “madness” of Symeon. In an anonymous Byzantine Menologion from the 10^th century, the compiler reduces the life of Symeon about to one sixth of the original, especially for practical reasons. There is renounced especially to some formulas of Leontios who appear to be too colloquial. The second part of the life of the saint is merely a listing of the wonders. The omissions of that paraphrase are instructive: explicitly scandalous episodes are not mentioned, such as Symeons defecation in public, or his tangle with prostitutes. Instead of this, the compiler simply says that Symeon has converted many prostitutes. The Armenian text renounces also to some of these episodes.

The later compilers have a tendency to “theologize” and “moralize” the text. There is known that the liturgical texts were made for the daily service in the church, so their moralizing content was very important. A saint having a scandalous life could hardly be honored in the official calendar.

The Synaxarion of Constantinople, also from the 10^th century, covers the lives of Symeon”tou dia Hriston salou” and his friend John to only 47 lines, and that is how they appear in the modern menologies, such as the Romanian, in use today.  Focusing on how the martyrs and saints died, the author states only that Symeon pretended to be crazy, and mentions that the truth about his life came miraculously to light only after his death.

It is difficult to say that the Byzantine liturgists would be truncated only the life of Symeon. Rather we might say that the text has been reduced so much for practical reasons and only secondly for moral purposes. But whatever it may be, these later texts miss the lack of shame of Symeon and the shock capability of the story.

The author of the later life of Andrew Salos, the most popular Greek “fool for Christ”, who lived in 10^th century in Constantinople, borrows many elements from the biography written by Leontios. Later, the Russian biographers of the new saints “fools for Christ” (called here jurodivyi, that meaning “aborted fetus”) make use of the biography of St. Symeon too.

Hymn (troparion) of St. Symeon

“Having heard the voice of Your Apostle Paul: “We are fools for Christ's sake!”, your servant Symeon, O Christ God, lived the life of a fool here on earth for Your sake. Therefore as we venerate his memory, we entreat You, O Lord, to save our souls!”

Another hymn (kontakion) of both Sts. Symeon and John

“Let us praise with fervent love, this man who lived in the flesh as an angel, adorning his soul with the most radiant virtues! Symeon, the equal to the Apostles and the Bearer of God. Together with him, let us honor his companion John, for they both ever stand before God, interceding for us all!”