TABOR - Tradition and Contemporaneity in the Romanian Orthodox Church
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Saint Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu, "luminary of the orthodox faith" and "true Patron" of the Transylvanian Orthodoxy


 

The name of the martyr prince Constantin Brâncoveanu was and still is, as seen, closely connected to Transylvania, towards whose people, romanian and not romanian, he showed a constant benevolence, being preoccupied, mainly through building churches, to keep the tradition of his predecessors on the throne of Wallachia, thus manifesting his patronage over the transilvanian institution, the orthodox hierarcs, clerics and laymen which he encouraged, supported and protected in preserving their romanian orthodox and cultural identity. Through his foundations from Sâmbăta de Sus, Făgăraș, Ocna Sibiului and Poiana Mărului, jewels of the romanian art and architecture of a time that bears his name, through his gifts of money, books and precious religious items generously offered especially to the people of Brasov and Fagaras, through his intercessions at the Viennese imperial Court to grant the Orthodox their freedom to remain in their ancestral law, and especially through the financial support he provided to the publication of tens of religious and dogmatic books, that have circulated and have spread heavily in the Transylvanian area, the saint prince Constantin Brâncoveanu has rightfully won the nickname "luminary of the orthodox faith" and "true Patron" of the Transylvanian Orthodox Church which placed his name among those of the saints.

Keiwords: Connstantin Brâncoveanu, Transylvania, foundations, donations, support, patronage


 

Mircea Gheorghe Abrudan