The martyrdom of Saint Constantine Brâncoveanu represents one of the most beautiful pages of history in the great book of Romanians, said His Grace Assistant Bishop Timotei of Prahova on Monday at the New Saint George Church in Bucharest.
“We have had great rulers who loved their country. Such were Saint Stephen, Matthew Basarab, the Corvins, Michael the Brave and others, but none like him,” the Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Bucharest underlined on August 16.
“None so devoted to his Church and country, none so devoted to his subjects, who preferred peace than see the country laid waste and men dying in wars. His love for the Principality of Wallachia was boundless. That’s why the Church honours him. That’s why people consider him, if not the greatest, among the greatest rulers that the Romanian land has had.”
“The Church considers him one of the great founders, a supporter of Orthodoxy and, above all, a confessor, a martyr, who did not place anything above love for God, not even wealth, country, family,” the hierarch said.
Assistant Bishop Timotei stressed the value of the Brancovan foundations, noting that many of them are known worldwide and represent “the most beautiful business cards that Romania has today.”
One of these foundations is the New Saint George Church at Bucharest’s Kilometre 0. The place of worship keeps the honourable relics of Saint Constantine Brâncoveanu.
This year marked 30 years since the canonization of the Brâncoveanu Martyrs. On this occasion, the relics of Saint Anthony of Iezerul Valcii, a Romanian ascetic canonized in 1992, were brought for veneration from Iezer Monastery to Bucharest.
Photography courtesy of Basilica.ro / Raluca Emanuela Ene
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