The Figures
SAINT CONSTANTIN BRÂNCOVEANU, Prince of Wallachia
SAINT ANTIM IVIREANUL, Metropolitan of Wallachia
SAINT MATEI BRÂNCOVEANU, the youngest son of the Prince of Wallachia
SAINT IANACHE VĂCĂRESCU, advisor and treasurer to the Prince of Wallachia
PRIEST IOAN
GIOVANNI II CORNER, Doge of Venice
ANDREEA MEMNO, the Doge’s envoy to Constantinople
AHMED, Sultan of the Ottoman
Empire MEHMET, the eunuch
MARCO, steward
NUN PLATONIDA of the Dintr-un Lemn
Monastery NUN PAVELINA, disciple of Mother Platonida
THE ASSEMBLY OF PRIESTS
THE CHOIR
Act I: The Prophecy
Scene 1
The year 1714 at the Holy Monastery of Hurezi, on Maundy Thursday. Antim Ivireanul, Metropolitan of Wallachia, delivers a spiritual address to the congregation attending the Divine Liturgy:
METROPOLITAN ANTIM: Faith, my sons and daughters, faith is the most precious treasure of this long-suffering nation; and if anyone were to renounce it, they would incur the curse of their forefathers and swiftly find themselves in hell. ‘Who is a God as great as our God? You are the God who works wonders!’ For the sake of faith, brothers and sisters, and for the love of Christ, the martyrs were crowned and received eternal life. They loved the Lord, and the Lord showed them mercy with love; and from His love we all nourish our souls for swift salvation. Let us hold fast to this faith, brothers, as our support in our trials and temptations, for it makes us partakers of salvation and allows us to rejoice for ever in the unity of the Spirit of our people. Worthy of holiness is he who suffers for its sake, for the Lord says, ‘Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you, and speak all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake.’ In these days of remembrance and mourning, when pagans and blasphemers defile the blessings of our people, let us not lose hope that, by shedding our blood for Christ, we too shall receive the crown. Just as the Lord went forth to His Passion today, so let us joyfully take up our cross and follow Him in faith. Let us have no fear, nor be troubled, my children; for where there is faith, there is no sorrow, nor sighing, but holiness from the Lord of Hosts.
The voice of an elderly nun interrupts the silence in the church; she foretells the martyrdom that is to come, obsessively recounting a strange dream she had:
SISTER PLATONIDA: Alas… alas…, blood, blood, Your Grace, royal blood will be shed, alas…, alas…, alas…!!!
NUN PAVELINA: Mother Platonida, for God’s sake, behave yourself and do not distress the Bishop!
NUN PLATONIDA: Alas, aaaah, and how bitter, how bitter it is for me, Your Grace, for this grim dream will not leave me, a dream I have had three times, drenched in cold sweat!
NUN PAVELINA: Mother Platonida (says the iconographer), now is not the time for storytelling!
HIS GRACE METROPOLITAN ANTIM: Let her speak! Tell us, reverend Mother, of this dream, with our blessing and through the prayers of our Holy Fathers!
NUN PLATONIDA: I had a dream in which our Prince Constantine, in tears, anointed his children—whose heads had been shorn—seven times with myrrh, and the Ever-Virgin Mary crowned them with green wreaths radiant with divine light. In my dream, Your Grace was also incensing them with two golden censers and wearing two omophorions, one across your shoulders and the other upon your head, holding, in place of a pectoral cross, a beautiful green wreath bathed in divine light! Alas… my sins, Mother, I am not worthy of this sign from on high, but alas… what sorrow has overcome me ever since this strange dream!!! Christ, protect our lord and keep him in Your care, for he has done so much good for the Romanian spirit, and how joyful I was, Mother, 25 years ago when I saw him anointed to the princely throne by His Eminence Metropolitan Teodosie. Your Eminence, let us pray for world peace and for the salvation of our souls...!!!
Deeply moved by what he had heard, Saint Metropolitan Antim Ivireanul made the sign of the cross and turned his gaze towards Mother Platonida, who (being 96 years old) was being supported by her cell-mate, a disciple named Pavelina. He said to her:
METROPOLITAN ANTIM: May the Lord God grant you peace, most reverend Mother, and may we pray in peace for Prince Constantine and the salvation of this valiant people, tried and tested through the ages!!!
NUN PLATONIDA: Soon I shall go to the Lord, Your Eminence, and may my shamelessness be forgiven, for I do not wish to hear this grim dream come to pass with my old ears. Let us go now, Mother Pavelina; the bell will still herald my sorrow, for as Job once said: ‘The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!’
CHORUS: (The Ballad of the Holy Martyrs of Brâncoveanu)
One Thursday morning, the day his life
was cut short, Brâncoveanu rose; he washed
his gentle face, combed his white beard, and bowed
before the icons. He looked out of the window, and was filled with bitter dread...
(the finale is sung on a sustained note, and the singers reprise the theme in a silent chorus)
Scene 2
Bucharest, in a cell at Văcărești Monastery. Saint Constantine, kneeling in prayer on Maundy Thursday during the Passion Week of our Lord Jesus Christ:
ST CONSTANTINE BRÂNCOVEANU: Lord, God of my salvation, I have cried out by day and by night; may my prayer, as a sinner, reach You; incline Your ear to my plea, Lord... (continues quietly with tears, then again in a loud voice) Hear me quickly, O Lord, for my spirit is faint; do not turn Your face away from me, a sinner (sighs and weeps again, then once more aloud) …for strangers have risen up against me, and the mighty seek to destroy my soul. Hear me, O Lord, in Your righteousness, and deliver my soul from trouble; show Your kindness by destroying my enemies and bringing to ruin those who afflict my soul, for I am Your servant. (He sighs and weeps again, and again in a loud voice) Hear me, O Lord, in Your righteousness, and do not bring Your servant to judgement; may Your Holy Spirit guide me to the land of righteousness.
Suddenly, without announcing himself or knocking on the cell door, the treasurer Ianache, his faithful counsellor, enters in despair, saying:
ST IANACHE: Disaster, disasterrrr… Your Highness, disaster and woe!!! The beacon tower to the north reports that the Turks will be here in three hours! What shall we do?
ST CONSTANTIN BRÂNCOVEANU: How are we doing with the army?
ST. IANACHE: The army… the army is only half a full strength; the Hungarians haven’t had time to arrive, and we haven’t finished the escape tunnel to the Dâmbovița! They are as numerous as the leaves and the grass; they are coming to shake the earth, trampling this holy ground with their pagan feet! Give the order to flee; perhaps we may save our lives if we set off right now, heading north and losing ourselves amongst the hamlets of Țara Loviștei!
ST CONSTANTIN BRÂNCOVEANU: Stay alert and do not be afraid; they are looking for us, we have no reason to flee, for that would mean everything perishing in their path as they come towards us, wherever we may be, so it is not the country that must suffer by burning in pagan fire. We surrender, just so that Ahmed’s wrath may be put to an end once and for all!
ST JANACHE: Very well, but it was not Your Highness who led last year’s resistance by Dimitrie Cantemir of Moldavia and Tsar Peter of Russia! It was not Your Highness who sheltered Toma Cantacuzino during his flight to Russia! Our envoys in Constantinople have given no word of any displeasure on the part of the Sultan!
HIS HOLINESS CONSTANTIN BRÂNCOVEANU: Now I understand, Ianache! No, it was not the hour of death that made my daughter Stanca see with her own fading eyes the Turks mourning Wallachia! Now I understand...! It must have been the Lord’s will! Behold, His call!
HIS HOLINESS IANACHE: But, Your Highness, we know from our correspondence with the Emperor of Austria, and we know from Poland, Moscow and Venice, that the Sultan has said nothing about any displeasure!
HIS HOLINESS CONSTANTIN BRÂNCOVEANU: The Sultan, but not my own people!... I realise that the Greek was right who, some time ago, twice relayed to me the words of that doctor who had heard of my imminent dismissal!
HIS HOLINESS IANACHE: He was a madman in need of money!
SF. CONSTANTIN BRÂNCOVEANU: No! He had my best interests at heart, but I sent him away! And come to think of it, not even that black hen which suddenly landed on my arm after my eldest daughter’s funeral was a sign of things to come!
ST IANACHE: Your Highness!
HIS HIGHLINESS CONSTANTIN BRÂNCOVEANU: Where are the children?
ST IANACHE: In their cells, Your Highness!
HIS HOLINESS CONSTANTIN BRÂNCOVEANU: I shall go and tell them to get ready for the feast today and to have no fear, for the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!
He went to the children who were in the adjoining cells.
ST CONSTANTINE BRÂNCOVEANU: My dearest, beloved little ones, Christ went to His Passion like a lamb, and just as a sacrificial sheep before those who shear it, so He did not open His mouth! Who is a God as great as our God? You are the God who works miracles!
The children, embracing their tearful father, began to get ready, but little Mateiaș, the youngest of the family, suddenly said without hesitation:
ST MATTHEW: But what about Mum? What will become of our mother? When will we see her again?
ST CONSTANTINE BRÂNCOVEANU: Your mother is now praying for you, Mateiaș, to the Most Merciful God, and she will always be with you, saved because she gave life to you and your brothers! She is with us through our prayer, so let us pray: (all kneel) “God is the Lord, and He has revealed Himself to us; blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, … (raising his head from the prayer book, the saint adds) and may he who comes sent by Satan be lost for ever!!!”
CHORUS:
No sooner had the words ended than the Turks stormed
the house; they seized all four of them, and carried them off to be imprisoned
in Istanbul’s Great Tower, which stands by the sea
, where princely figures and great imperial
envoys lie. He did not remain there long, for the Sultan brought him
to his pavilion on the banks of the Bosphorus (repeat in silent chorus...)
Scene 3
January 1715, at the Doge’s Palace in Venice: the Venetian plenipotentiary Andreea Memno returns from her visit to the Sublime Porte to convey the Venetian Doge’s wishes regarding the tribute paid to the Porte.
The arrival of the plenipotentiary Andreea Memno is announced at the palace.
MARCO: Your Most Serene Highness, the envoy to the Sublime Porte, Duke Andreea Memno, stands before you!
GIOVANNI II CORNER: Let her enter! Faithful Commissioner Andreea, I am glad to see you return safely to our realm! I imagine you have plenty of news from this Ahmed, who believes the crescent encompasses all!
ANDREEA MEMNO: Quite so, Your Serene Highness; nothing gives me greater pleasure than to inform you that the Sultan wishes to convey his agreement regarding the haraj, with the understanding that double payment will be made in the coming year!
GIOVANNI II CORNER: Please take a seat beside us! I am glad to hear that sending you in our stead to the Sublime Porte was not in vain!
ANDREEA MEMNO: Our joy lies in serving the needs of our Doge!
GIOVANNI II CORNER: What my heart longs to hear, however, is the remarkable story of the Prince of Wallachia, Constantin Brâncoveanu. You mentioned it in your brief letter last year.
ANDREEA MEMNO: Yes, Your Serene Highness, as we are all Christians, we have seen an example of dignity and faith to follow!
GIOVANNI II CORNER: It must have been very hard to witness such defiance of God on the part of this pagan! With the sword he made himself known as a tyrant, the lawless one, and by the edge of the crescent moon he shall perish, along with his name steeped in Christian curses. But please, your eyes have witnessed this folly of Ahmed’s; tell me, tell me everything, everything you saw…!
Andreea bursts into tears and, whilst she weeps, the choir recalls, in silent unison, the first theme of the ballad of the martyrs...
ANDREEA MEMNO: Heh...!!! Grief overwhelms me, Your Serene Highness, when I think of what happened on that Sunday, in the middle of July. When I think that, through the cruelty of a pagan and mindless Turk, today the garden of Christian princely crowns has been deprived of a dignified voivode with a fervent faith in God.
GIOVANNI II CORNER: Constantin Brâncoveanu, the great lover of God and Country!
ANDREEA MEMNO: I do not know how to begin, nor how to end my story, for my heart is sorely tried when I look back on the past and see how four, four young men, indeed, one of them a mere youth, breathed their last before our very eyes with the name of Jesus in their hearts and on their lips.
GIOVANNI II CORNER: An act of holiness through the blood of martyrdom!
ANDREEA MEMNO: I saw how their father, deprived one by one of his dearly beloved sons, did not take the path of the crescent moon but breathed his last beside them, embracing them with his own faith, unfazed by any words of the pagans and unafraid of losing his earthly life.
GIOVANNI II CORNER: Yes, Constandin Brâncoveanu was a true voivode, just as Emperor Leopold stated in the Diploma of Vienna, a true Prince of the Holy Roman Empire!
ANDREEA MEMNO: Your Serene Highness, his eyes shone with heavenly light and his words were like thunder, like the patter of rain, as though the Holy Spirit were speaking through him. We all saw a true man of Christ who, had he been so, would have given everything, renouncing this fleeting life and gaining immortality through his words of confession. I know I am filled with sorrow, yet I cannot find the words with which to begin my account of this marvellous sight!
GIOVANNI II CORNER: He was much envied for the wealth he had amassed. A true warrior with the sword of the mind and of faith! A man of culture and a good steward! We, too, have sent books for his renowned library at Hurezi, the only one of its kind in Europe! All books published by foreign presses are soon to be found at Hurezi as well! A treasure of the highest order! A man to be praised!
ANDREEA MEMNO: I knew of him from the chronicles, I was familiar with him through the high praise of those close to Your Highness, but I must confess that my own eyes have never witnessed such a marvellous event, which I shall endeavour—perhaps with humble words and eyes dry of tears—to describe to you.
GIOVANNI II CORNER: Indeed, such an event, an example to all nations, must be inscribed in our hearts with the letters of eternity!
ANDREEA MEMNO: I have arrived, as per your command, on Friday the 13th, at Sultan Ahmed’s palace in Tsarigrad, together with the plenipotentiaries of Germany, Russia and England, where, after a brief wait, the Sultan hosted a banquet in our honour, for those who had arrived to reach an agreement.
GIOVANNI II CORNER: Ah…! So Russia too, after defeating the Turks at Brăila?!
ANDREEA MEMNO: Precisely, Your Serene Highness! Here he proved very gracious and understanding regarding our request to defer the tribute, provided we assist him with troops in his policy of imperial expansion. His cunning did not succeed, for we all remained silent and refused to fight in support of the Crescent.
GIOVANNI II CORNER: Who would have agreed to such madness?!
ANDREEA MEMNO: Seeing that we were uninterested in his poisonous sweet talk, he began to frighten us and threaten us with occupation, and even with the scorching of our territories. Seeing that even this would not succeed, he hatched a diabolical plan to terrify us even more.
The lights gradually dim on Stage 1
On Sunday the 15th, Gustar’s day, wishing to mock the Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, first thing in the morning, claiming he had another party to attend, Sultan Ahmed took his place in an imperial carriage and brought us all to the seraglio known as Ialilaicos’s pavilion, on the Sea of Marmara canal, in front of which was a square, where he brought six men in chains, who had been imprisoned for four months, along with other sons of nobles, in the Great Tower of Istanbul. After a moment’s silence, we learnt that the tall man with a full beard, silvery hair and hazel eyes was celebrating, on that day, his 60th birthday and 25 years on the throne of Wallachia. He was Constandin Brâncoveanu, a relative on his father’s side of Mateiu Basarab, and on his mother’s side the nephew of the scholar Șerban Cantacuzino, whose throne he had succeeded to. The Sultan, saying that he had heard of his birthday and that he wished to offer him a most precious gift, pointed to the entire land of the crescent moon, which he would bestow upon him, provided only that he submit to him and become a Turk. As was to be expected, Brâncoveanu refused, greatly angering the sultan, who roared like a lion before its prey. It is as if I can still picture it vividly in my mind, as if it were happening right now...
The two characters remain in their places, frozen by the evocation of the past. The lights fade and come up from the side, in the second plane.
Act II: The Martyrdom
Scene 1
Constantinople, 15 August 1714, on the banks of the Bosphorus at Ialilaicos’s pavilion, before a multitude of Turkish troops, the Sultan, the Grand Vizier, Saint Constantine, his sons and the treasurer Ianache Văcărescu.
AHMED: Brâncovene Constantin, have I heard correctly that you, the ruler of Wallachia, wished to sever your rule from the Almighty Crescent? What on earth were you thinking? Ghiaure (angrily), you and your treacherous kin—did you really think you could do as you pleased in Wallachia? You refused the tribute imposed by my highness, believing you could appease me with your insincere pretences?
ST CONSTANTIN BRÂNCOVEANU: Ahmed, we both have the same bodies of flesh, yet different hearts! Even if the Wallachian spirit holds the whole earth beneath its feet, it is guided by another spirit—the Spirit of God!
AHMED: Ghiaure, from the vast wealth you have so shamefully amassed, you have struck gold coins without fearing me and without any intention of giving account before the mighty Crescent! Well then, the great Allah has brought you here today! I want your punishment to serve as a warning to those who will continue to oppose my illustrious rule.
ST CONSTANTINE BRÂNCOVEANU: Yes, you may do many things to my body, for it will return to the earth from which it was taken; but you can do nothing to my free soul, which belongs only to God, the One who bestowed it upon me; so I am not afraid to die! Whether I have been good or bad during my reign, there is One, the Sole and Great Judge who will judge; and if I was great on this earth, look now and see what remains of the grandeur of this earthly life?
AHMED: Brâncovene, do not be cunning! You build palaces throughout Transylvania, and deposit vast sums in Venice and Vienna! You shall no longer hear your own trumpets and silver kettledrums welcoming you to court! Are you not afraid? I am the ruler of the world, judge of the whole earth, giaour; what do you think?
ST CONSTANTINE BRÂNCOVEANU: I believe you were born, by divine providence, into a sultan’s lineage; nothing would be yours if the Lord in Heaven had not shown you mercy!
AHMED: Listen to this!!! What impudence, giaour… you of all people to speak thus to my highness? I could crush you in an instant, don’t you think? You and your whims have caused me far too much trouble. You’re secretly corresponding with other allies, gathering weapons and an army to rebel! Traitor! Should my wrath be unleashed upon your reign, Allah the Warrior knows I shall not be able to restrain myself!
ST CONSTANTINE BRÂNCOVEANU: The Holy God created us free, Ahmed, independent, and in His eternal love we are all equal! He who raises the sword to conquer a foreign land shall die by the sword! It is not death that I fear, Ahmed; my duty is to endure hardship and bear misfortune, and even to shed my blood in the name of Christ and our Lord God, for the faith, for the One, Holy, Orthodox and Apostolic Church, and likewise for our country!
AHMED: The scorpion… let the scorpion come…!!!
A fearsome Gâdele appears, holding a curved yatagan in his hand, laughing and carrying a tree stump under his arm
MEHMET: As you command, Your Highness!!!
AHMED: I’ll teach you a lesson! Behead them!!!
The Gâdele, approaching Constantin Brâncoveanu and about to strike him, the treasurer Ianache leaps forward to save his master and is fatally struck by another Gâdele, being beheaded whilst still standing. Screams, commotion, the cry of pain from Ianache, who is first stabbed and then beheaded by another executioner. Gazing at the head rolling on the ground, Constantin, moved to tears by the loss of his friend, rebuked the sultan even more fiercely for his recklessness.
ST CONSTANTIN BRÂNCOVEANU: Ahmed..., Ahmed..., you madman and envious wretch, I pity your sinful soul! May the Lord God place the soul of my late counsellor and treasurer Ianache amongst the righteous! This is not the way to rule—not through terror, you mad sultan who have known nothing but blood! But the blood you have spilled cries out after you, Ahmed, and you shall meet a cursed end! Your years of reign shall be erased from the annals, for it was not Saladin’s mercy and wisdom that guided you, but devilish hatred and envy! Just as you have made yourself a man of wrath and a shedder of innocent blood, so shall you give account before the Lord, who, I pray, will have mercy on your sinful soul!
AHMED: Hear this!!! Hear this, O moon, O sun, and O shining stars, Heeeear this!!! Allah Akbar! I, who through my most enlightened wisdom and will have conquered so many lands for this empire, who have shown such mercy to all peoples—you, of all people, giaour? Is it you who has mercy on me? Behold, you fool, I shall give you one more chance, to see who has mercy here! If you have mercy on your children and wish to continue living, submit to Turkish law, you and your kin, and seven generations of your descendants shall rule by our most enlightened mercy!
Brâncoveanu’s voice, choked with faith, resounds and says, terrified by this insult:
ST CONSTANTIN BRÂNCOVEANU: May God do with us as He wills, but I shall not forsake the Christian law in which I was raised, even if you were to cut us all down! (Turning to his sons, he said) My sons, behold, I have lost all my possessions and everything I ever had; let us not, however, lose our souls! Stand firm and be men, my dears, and pay no heed to death! Look to Christ, our Saviour, at what He endured for us and the shameful death He suffered! Believe firmly in this and do not waver or falter in the Orthodox faith, for the sake of this life and this world!
AHMED: Merhamet! You will implore mercy for each of your children!!!
Scene 2
ANDREEA MEMNO: Upon hearing these words, Ahmed became like a raging lion and ordered their heads to be cut off. The terrifying executioner raised his axe and the head of Brâncoveanu’s eldest son, Constantin, rolled onto the ground. He then went on to kill the other children, Ștefan, Radu and Matei. Brâncoveanu, his heart shattered by the gruesome sight, raised his eyes to the heavens, crying out through his tears (Brâncoveanu’s voice is heard in the background, crying out:) Lord, Thy will be done!
CHORUS:
From the gazebo, the Sultan signalled to Imbrohor
. Two guards soon arrived, swords flashing
. And as they approached the slaves, from among them they chose
the tallest and most handsome, and seated him on a low
stool. And as the sword swung, it swiftly severed
his head. Brâncoveanu sighed heavily: ‘Lord, Thy will be done!’
The guards moved on again and from the two they chose
The slender one in the middle, with smooth, fair
hair And they placed him on the stool and severed
his head Brâncoveanu sighed heavily: ‘Lord, Thy will be done!’
Andreea Memno addresses the Doge of Venice
ANDREEA MEMNO: When the executioner raised his axe to the head of the youngest of the children, Beizadea Mateiaș, aged just 16, he was overcome with terror. The poor boy, seeing so much blood from his brothers and from Văcărescu, begged the sultan to spare him, promising to become a Turk.
Scene 3
SF. MATEI: Oh my God...!!! No!!! I don’t want to die!!! Have mercy, great Sultan Ahmed, have mercy, I want to go to my mother, I want you to let me live and I’ll become a Turk, if you wish, but I don’t want to die!!! I’ll become a Turk!!! I want to live!!! Oh, my little brothers!!! My poor little brothers!!! Leave us in peace!!! Father, I want to become a Turk!!!
ST CONSTANTIN BRÂNCOVEANU: Hush, my dear, and stop weeping, for my heart is breaking within my breast with grief and sorrow! It is better to die within the Christian faith than to become a pagan, renouncing Jesus Christ, just to live a few more years on earth. Rather than gaining this fleeting world, let us win heaven for all eternity!!! Take heart, my son, Christ is waiting for us!!!
ST MATTHEW: If that is so, then I truly wish to die a Christian! Strike!
CHORUS:
The executioner frowned, the guards advanced,
And the gentle little child, his father’s dear son,
They cast him to the ground and took
his life. Brâncoveanu sighed heavily and spoke from the depths of his soul: ‘Lord, Thy will be done!’
Then he grew dark, his heart was torn asunder,
He threw himself upon his children, wept over them, kissed
them And, in a frenzy, he cried out:
Brâncoveanu, torn apart and driven mad by suffering.
ST CONSTANTINE BRÂNCOVEANU: Ahmeeeeeeed!!! Ahmeeeeed!!! Be damned, heartless heathen!!! Woe to youuuuu!!! Woe to youuuu!!! Heathen thieves!!! Woe to you, sons of bitches!!! I had four sons; you have lost all four of them!!! (He kneels, making the sign of the cross) May the Lord God grant my wish, that you be wiped from the face of the earth as clouds are swept away by the wind, that you have no place to be buried, nor children to kiss!!! Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!
CHORUS: (the same harmonic recitative)
The cruel Turks raged and raged against him, and his days were numbered.
The moment of martyrdom is marked by three tolls of the bell.
Act III: Canonisation
Scene 1
Andreea Memno, with her face in her hands, begins to weep; the Doge of Venice is also moved by this.
ANDREEA MEMNO: Do you now understand, Your Most Serene Highness, why I asked to stay on the Bosphorus for another four months? Taking advantage of this opportunity, I told the Sultan that I wished to experience Turkish culture and way of life at first hand, and, pleased by my words, the Sultan granted me a few months’ stay on the island of Halchi. There, accompanied by two devout Greek families, and with faith in God, through paid Turkish spies, I found the martyred bodies that had been cast into the waters of the Bosphorus, which I immediately buried as was fitting, in the porch of the Church of the Mother of God situated on this island. This was the least I could do for these fearless defenders of Christianity, and now I realise that on the Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos they received their crown, and the Mother of God herself welcomed them to rest.
GIOVANNI II CORNER: An inspired thought, Comite Memno! But for this act of bearing witness to the Christian faith, we must also record and praise this valiant deed in writing, so that it may serve as an example for the history yet to come.
ANDREEA MEMNO: I can take Brâncoveanu’s body to Wallachia, to eternal joy. This land, ruled by fearless princes, deserves to be an eternal resting place for the martyred defenders of the Christian people.
GIOVANNI II CORNER: Certainly, we shall promptly draw up two letters: one to his wife Marica, of whom we have heard is said to be in hiding in a monastery in Wallachia, and another to the Metropolitan of Wallachia, to enrich the pantheon of saints of Eastern Christianity.
ANDREEA MEMNO: Oh, Lord! Lord, my heart still trembles even now, as I look back on the execution I witnessed, and I ask myself, Your Serene Highness: could anyone have been present and not wept at the sight of the head of the innocent Matei, a young, very young lad, rolling on the ground beside his father’s head, which had drawn close to the child’s, as if to embrace him? Seeing us with tears in our eyes, the Sultan said he regretted what he had done. Ahmed showed no mercy, and he too shall face mercilessness in his final days; and I shudder to think that the Lord God will not leave such a defiance of heaven and earth unpunished!
The Doge withdraws to draw up the documents. Left alone and in tears at these memories, Andreea Memno exclaims aloud:
ANDREEA MEMNO: Mad dogs, Turks, wicked wretch! You might as well have eaten my flesh too! Know this: Brâncoveanu Constantin died a Christian!
CHORUS:
Mad dogs, Turks, wicked
witch! If only you’d eaten my flesh too,
Know this: Constantin Brâncoveanu died a Christian,
Know this: Constantin Brâncoveanu died a Christian.
The stage empties and suddenly a group of priests enters the frame—who may well be the choir wearing cassocks—from among whom one steps forward and reads the Tomos of canonisation.
Scene 2
20 June 1992, Bucharest, the Church of St George the New, the resting place of Saint Constantin Brâncoveanu since 1720
PRIEST IOAN: To the Beloved Clergy and the Faithful Christians throughout the Romanian Patriarchate, grace, mercy and peace from God, the Father of Lights, and from us, Patriarchal Blessings. Bearing in mind the virtuous deeds of the Faithful Voivode Constantine Brâncoveanu, who ruled Wallachia with Christian wisdom for 25 years, a founder of Romanian art and culture, building, renovating or endowing many churches, monasteries and other institutions, showing mercy to the poor, generously aiding the Holy Orthodox Churches, both near and far, and above all, being deemed worthyto receive a martyr’s death for the true faith, together with his four sons: Constantin, Ștefan, Radu and Matei, and his counsellor Ianache; we hereby decree that from this day forward and for all eternity, the Faithful Voivode Constantin Brâncoveanu, together with his sons Constantin, Ștefan, Radu and Matei, and his Counsellor Ianache, shall be honoured alongside the saints, in the company of the martyrs of Orthodoxy, commemorating them with services and acts of praise, on 16 August, to be recorded in the Synaxarion, the liturgical books, and in the Calendar of our Church. May the lives, services and icons of these Holy Martyrs be received with reverence by the faithful Christians, and may their images be painted and placed in a prominent position, alongside those of other saints of Romanian descent, in the churches to be built or renovated from now on. To ensure the full validity of what we have decreed in a canonical manner, we hereby confirm with our signatures this document as a Patriarchal and Synodal Tomos of canonisation, that is, of the inclusion of those now commemorated among the Holy Martyrs, so as to bring them to the attention of the devout clergy and the faithful Christians throughout the Romanian Orthodox Church.
The scene concludes with the Troparion of the Holy Martyrs.
CHORUS:
You who, for the sake of the true faith and for your people, were deemed worthy to suffer a martyr’s death, together with your sons: Constantine, Stephen, Radu and Matthew, and with the Counsellor Ianache, O faithful Voivode Constantine, pray to Christ our God to save our souls.
