On October 28, 1688, Șerban Cantacuzino, the ruler (hospodar) of Wallachia, reposed in the Lord. During his reign many holy monasteries were built and the printing of the first complete edition of the Bible in the Romanian language was begun. On that same day the Wallachian boyars raised to the throne the nephew of the late ruler, the logothete Constantin Brâncoveanu, a highly educated man who knew Greek, Latin, and Church Slavonic.
His reign began in difficult times, when the Turks were at war with the Austrians. The new ruler, endowed with diplomatic gifts, was able to maintain friendly relations with all the opposing sides, thus saving the country from the devastations of war. The 26 years of his rule became a time of flourishing for the Orthodox Church, as well as for the culture and art of the country. New churches and monasteries were built, schools were opened, and books were printed in different languages.
Brâncoveanu was one of the greatest founders and benefactors of monasteries and churches. In the summer of 1690 the Hurezi Monastery, with a church dedicated to the holy emperors Constantine and Helen, was founded. He also built a monastery at Râmnicu Sărat and partially rebuilt the churches of many other monasteries. In Bucharest three churches were erected at his command, of which only the church of the Monastery of St George the New has survived to this day. The ruler supported churches and monastic communities in the Balkans and the Near East, providing assistance to all four Orthodox patriarchates of the East.
This era of flourishing came to an end with the deposition of Brâncoveanu. The intrigues of his enemies and the defection of one of the boyars to the Russian army aroused the suspicions of the Ottoman Porte.
He was summoned together with his family to Constantinople. Upon their arrival there, during Holy Week in March 1714, they were all imprisoned in the fortress of Yedikule (the Seven Towers). The prisoners were promised their lives would be spared, but only on condition that they embrace Islam. The pious ruler firmly rejected this proposal.
On August 15, 1714, the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, when the ruler had just turned sixty, he was led out together with the others to the place of execution. In the presence of the sultan, the envoys of foreign states, and his wife and daughters, who had been brought to witness this cruel spectacle, the ruler and his four sons were beheaded. First to be executed was Ianache Văcărescu, the ruler’s closest counsellor; after that the heads of the four sons — Constantin, Ștefan, Radu, and Matei — were cut off. Only then, after the ruler had witnessed the passion of his sons, came his own turn. The heads of the holy martyrs were placed on spears and carried through Constantinople, while their bodies were thrown into the Bosphorus the following day. Christian fishermen recovered the saints’ bodies from the sea and buried them in a Greek monastery on the island of Halki.
By his martyr’s death he became an example of self-sacrifice for the sake of the Christian faith. On June 20, 1992, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church glorified Constantin Brâncoveanu, his sons, and his counsellor Ianache among the choir of martyrs.
