New Martyr 18th century

Martyr Constantine Brancoveanu and those with him

1654 – 1714

Also known as Constantine Brâncoveanu · Constantine · Stephen · Radu · Matthew · Ianache

Prince of Wallachia martyred at Constantinople in 1714 with his four sons and his counselor Ianache after all refused to renounce Christ under Ottoman pressure.

Feast Day

August 16

Draft

Draft — pending review. Not yet verified for publication.

Hymn / Apolytikion Icon gallery Video / Media

Commemorated as

The Holy Martyr Constantine Brancoveanu, Prince of Wallachia, and Those With Him

Life

Constantine Brancoveanu was Prince of Wallachia from 1688 until 1714 who, together with his four sons and his counselor, was put to death at Constantinople in 1714 after refusing to renounce the Christian faith under Ottoman pressure. The five who died with him are commemorated as a single group of martyrs: his sons Constantine the Younger, Stephen (Stefan), Radu, and Matthew (Matei), and his counselor Ianache Vacarescu. They are commemorated on August 16.

Born in 1654 at Brancoveni in Wallachia, Constantine belonged to a leading boyar family; through his mother, Stanca, he was connected to the Greek Cantacuzino line. He succeeded his uncle as prince in 1688 and ruled for twenty-five years, governing a tributary principality caught between the Ottoman, Habsburg, and Russian powers. His long reign is remembered for its cultural and ecclesiastical patronage as much as for its political balancing, and for the manner of its end.

In 1714 Constantine was deposed by Sultan Ahmed III, arrested with his sons and sons-in-law, and taken to Constantinople, where, according to the tradition, they were held and tortured over a period of about four months as the authorities pressed both for his reputed wealth and for his apostasy. He and his companions refused to convert to Islam. On August 15, 1714 — by tradition his sixtieth birthday, and the Feast of the Dormition — the prince watched his four sons and his counselor beheaded before him, after which he too was put to death.

Timeline 6 moments Read Hide

1654 Birth Constantine Brancoveanu is born at Brancoveni in Wallachia into a leading boyar family.
1688 Becomes Prince of Wallachia He succeeds his uncle as ruler of Wallachia, beginning a reign of twenty-five years.
1694 Founds the Royal Academy He establishes the Royal Academy of Bucharest and supports printing and translation.
1714 Deposition and arrest Sultan Ahmed III deposes Constantine; he is arrested with his sons and taken to Constantinople.
Aug 15, 1714 Martyrdom Constantine, his four sons, and his counselor Ianache are beheaded at Constantinople after refusing to renounce Christ.
1992 Glorification The Romanian Orthodox Church glorifies Constantine, his sons, and Ianache as martyrs.

Contributions & Legacy

3 contributions Read Hide

Reign and Patronage

Constantine's reign is associated with a distinctive flowering of Wallachian art and architecture later named the Brancovenesc style, which combined local tradition with Neo-Byzantine and Italian Renaissance influences. He constructed and restored numerous churches and monasteries across Wallachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia; the monastery of Hurezi, which exemplifies the style, is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

He also fostered learning and printing: he established a printing press in Bucharest, founded the Royal Academy of Bucharest in 1694, and sponsored translations of classical works. Among the churches he founded was the Church of Saint George the New in Bucharest, which would later receive his relics.

Downfall and Martyrdom

The sources relate that Constantine's diplomacy among the great powers — including contact with Russian forces under Peter the Great around 1710 — and his reputed fortune drew the suspicion of the Porte, and that his maneuvering was eventually reported to the Ottoman court. In 1714 Sultan Ahmed III deposed and arrested him, and he was imprisoned at the fortress of Yedikule, the Seven Towers, in Constantinople.

By tradition, when the prince and his sons were offered their lives in exchange for renouncing Christianity, Constantine urged his sons to hold to their faith rather than apostatize. The youngest son, Matthew, is described in the tradition as a child; he too was put to death with the others. Their bodies were cast into the sea but recovered by Orthodox Christians and taken to the Monastery of the Theotokos on the island of Chalki. His widow, Marica, afterward returned the relics to the Church of Saint George the New in Bucharest.

Veneration

Constantine was honored as a martyr in the Orthodox world soon after his death. The Romanian Orthodox Church formally glorified him, his four sons, and his counselor Ianache as saints and martyrs in 1992; the Russian Orthodox Church later added him to its calendar. Their shared commemoration is kept on August 16.

Notes

Named family group kept as one row.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints