Saint Stephen The Great - The Christ Loving King

“The Romanian people found in him the true icon of their soul: honest and hardworking, patient without overlooking and brave without being cruel, terrible in anger and gracious in forgiving, outright and measured in speech, a good manager and a lover of beautiful things, with no trace of haughtiness in his actions, which seemed to him to have come from elsewhere and from far above. And the clearer this icon is, the deeper it is understood, the more it is loved, the more the future holds promise to be better, because the people walk in the footsteps of their wise ancestor”(Nicolae Iorga)

Saint Stephen the Great is for the Romanians a confessor of the Christian faith and a defender of his people’s freedom. The love with which he ruled over his people earned him in the people’s hearts the surnames: the Great, the Holy and the Good. The Romanian Orthodox Church canonized him in the year 1992, establishing his feast day on July 2nd.

The King. Stephen was the son of King Bogdan II and of Maria Oltea. In 1457, at Doljesti, he defeated Petru Aron, the murderer of his father, and was anointed King of Moldavia by Metropolitan Teoctist. His reign was marked by numerous battles, most of them against the Turks, who had become a threat for Europe and for the entire Christianity. Stephen’s most important victory was the one against the Turks at Podul Inalt, near Vaslui, on January 10th, 1475. Even though Stephen won the battle with an army three times smaller that of the invader’s, the Chronicle of Moldavia records that “he was not overtaken by price, but fasted for four days eating only bread and water and proclaimed throughout the country that no one should boast on account of this victory, but should ascribe it to God and only Him should be praised.”

According to his own testimony, Stephen the Great fought 36 battles, of which he won 34. The glorious victories against the Kings of Hungary(Baia, 1467) and Poland (Codrii Cosminului, 1497) brought about a new status que beetwen Moldavia and these states. The only defeats were the ones at Chilia (1462) and Razboieni – Valea Alba (1476). Even when suffering a defeat, Stephen the Great showed a profound spiritual conscience: “it was God’s will to punish me for sins and may His name be praised”.

The first part of his reign was marked by battles. The only monastery he built in this period was Putna (1466-1469). A critical moment of his reign was the battle at Scheia (1486), when the king fell off his horse and laid down among the dead for half a day. This moment and maybe also his understanding that the Ottoman invasion cannot be stopped only by earthly weapons led to a transformation in his activity.