Saint Voivode Neagoe learned from Saint Hierarch Niphon the mystery of hesychast prayer, piety and vigilance of the soul, the teaching and wisdom of Christ, achieving high spiritual growth.

 

Saint Voivode Neagoe Basarab – The pious voivode Neagoe Basarab was born in the last quarter of the 15th century, probably in 1481 or 1482. His father was from the Basarab family, and his mother was from the Craiovești family. Upon his accession to the throne in 1512, he claimed descent from the ruler of Wallachia Basarab the Younger (November 1477 - September 1481, second reign in November 1481 - April 1482, when he was killed by boyars at Glogova) son of Basarab II (December 1442-spring 1443) and grandson of Dan II (1420-1431). Neagoe was one of his parents' four children. Influenced by his mother's faith, he learned the saving teachings and Christian virtues from an early age. The Bistrita Monastery in Oltenia, founded by his great-grandparents, became a spiritual school for the pious Neagoe. The will of God caused that at that time the great patriarch, Niphon of Constantinople, was withdrawn to the Bistrita Monastery, called to Wallachia around 1502 by the voivode Radu the Great to reorganize and strengthen church life.

 

From the Holy Hierarch Niphon, Neagoe learned the mystery of hesychast prayer, piety and vigilance of the soul, the teaching and wisdom of Christ, achieving high spiritual growth. Endowed with special intellectual gifts, he acquired almost all the science and theological culture of his time. Therefore, through the providence of God, the Christ-loving Neagoe, in 1512, was called to the dignity of Ruler and Voivode of Wallachia. In this capacity, he encouraged the development of trade and crafts, and on the diplomatic level, he tried to maintain friendly relations with Hungary. He tried to establish diplomatic relations with Venice and Rome and even mediate the conflict between Orthodox and Catholic Christians. Continuing the vision and political objectives initiated by Stephen the Great, he tried to achieve a coalition of Eastern states against Turkish expansion. In 1517, he requested and obtained from the Ecumenical Patriarchate the canonization of his former teacher, Patriarch Niphon. On the reliquary in which the relics were placed and which is kept at Dionisiu, the Romanian prince is represented worshiping the saint. In 1519, Neagoe Basarab together with Stephen IV of Moldavia (Stephen Vodă) sent an ambassador to the Vatican through whom "Basarab and his chosen sons Theodosie and Peter and his successors and Stephen and his sons" promised to participate alongside the other Christian princes and the pope in the "holy expedition against Selim, the tyrant of the Turks". However, Wallachia remained a vassal of the Ottoman Empire during his reign.

 

Neagoe Basarab made generous donations to Orthodox monasteries in Wallachia and all the Balkan countries. During his reign, the Curtea de Argeș Monastery was built, where the holy relics of the voivode also rest. In the working session of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, convened at the Patriarchal Residence in Bucharest, on July 8-9, 2008, it was decided to canonize the Holy Voivode Neagoe Basarab, the ruler of Wallachia. The Chancellery of the Holy Synod edited the Tomos proclaiming the canonization of the Holy Voivode Neagoe Basarab, "who remained in the memory of the Romanian people and the Orthodox tradition through his work entitled The Teachings of Neagoe Basarab to his son Theodosie, the first creation of universal value in Romanian literature, a true spiritual, pedagogical, philosophical and encyclopedic testament". The official proclamation of the canonization took place on October 26, 2008, at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest.