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Constantin Brancoveanu

Sometime back I was on a Photography Visit to Romania when my host, an Orthodox Christian Priest offered to show me Brâncoveanu Monastery built on an old church (1654) by Constantin Brâncoveanu in 1696. The church is also the birthplace of Constantin. I was excited by the offer because I had heard a lot about Constantin Brâncoveanu who has a remarkable significance to the circumstances in which Guru Tegh Bhadur was assassinated by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. I will leave that story of Tegh Bhadur for some other time. The Monastery itself is located 20 Kilometers out of the industrial city of Slatina. Constantin Brâncoveanu (1688-1714), the ruler of Wallachia built this monastery in 1696, on the site of a church from 1654; to ensure that orthodoxy survives Roman catholicity. Therefore, he settled monks here, founded a school, a printing house and an icon-painting workshop. Despite the fact that more than 150 monasteries and churches were demolished during the reign of the Austro-Hungarians, this remained untouched. After Brâncoveanu’s decapitation and the decree, which laid down the proscription of these monastic orders, the Court of Wien sent general Preiss to tear down the monastery in 1785. The tower is octagonal outside, and cylindrical inside. On the Western wall of the parvis, there is a fresco of the founder. The healing spring, from the XVI century, was renovated. In the museum one can see icons painted on glass or wood from the XVIII-XIX century, as well as old books and church objects. The famous icon-painting workshop is one of the most prominent painting workshops in the country. The monastery is always open for visitors; the museum can be visited according to a schedule. 


ASSASSINATION OF CONSTANTIN BRÂNCOVEANU:

The circumstances and facts of Constantin’s death are recorded in history, and his sanctification is recognized by all The Eastern Orthodox Churches. Brâncoveanu was canonized for his and his sons’ martyrdom, just like the Christians martyrdom in ancient Rome, killed for their faith in Christ. And just like other Christian martyrs, Brâncoveanu had to choose between his and his sons’ death and the denial of Christ, (in their case, by converting to Islam). His character, the nature of his relations with the others, the unexpected events of life brought, against his will, in this strange, even shocking situation for the year 1714. On 15 August 1714, the Feast of the Dormition, when Constantin Brâncoveanu was also celebrating his 60th birthday, he and his four sons and his advisor Ianache were brought before Sultan Ahmed III Ottoman Sultan of Turkey. Diplomatic representatives of Austria, Russia, France and England were also present. After all of his fortune had been seized, in exchange for the life of his family he was asked to renounce the Orthodox Christian faith. He reportedly said: ''Behold, all my fortunes and all I had, I have lost! Let us not lose our souls. Be brave and manly, my beloved! Ignore death. Look at how much Christ, our Savior, has endured for us and with what shameful death he died. Firmly believe in this and do not move, nor leave your faith for this life and this world.″ After this, his four sons, Constantin, Ștefan, Radu and Matei and advisor Ianache were beheaded in front of their father.


History also states that the smallest child, Matei (12 years old) was so frightened after seeing the bloodbath and the heads of his three brothers that he started crying and asking his father to let him renounce Christianity and convert to Islam as Sultan Ahmed III had demanded. At that moment, Constantin Brâncoveanu said: “Of our kind none have lost their faith. It is better to die a thousand times than to leave your ancient faith just to live a few more years on earth.” Matei listened and offered his head. After Brâncoveanu himself was decapitated, their heads were impaled on javelins and displayed in a procession. Their bodies were left before the gate and later on thrown into the waters of the Bosphorus.

In June 1992, the Sinode of the Romanian Orthodox Church decreed the sanctification of Constantin Brâncoveanu, his sons Constantin, Radu, Stefan and Matei, and vornic Ianache Vacarescu. When I was at the monastery I remembered Guru Arjan Singh and Guru Tegh Bhadur’s assassinations by Mughal Kings and thought how different our history would have been if these assassinations hadn’t taken place. Perhaps Turkey’s history would also have been different if Ahmed III would have chosen otherwise.