Studia Theologica No. II (IV) / 2017
Was Saint Maxim Brancovici the first bishop of Râmnic?
Rev. Dr. Laurențiu Rădoi Saint Maxim Brancovici (1461/1462–1516), a hierarch of Serbian origin from the family of Despot Ștefan Brancovici, served as Bishop of Râmnic and Metropolitan of Wallachia during the reigns of Radu the Great and Neagoe Basarab, playing a key role in the reorganisation of the Church of Ungrovlahia, in brokering peace between Radu the Great and Bogdan III of Moldavia (1507), and in numerous diplomatic missions. The article reconstructs his life, his spiritual struggles and his spiritual and cultural work on Romanian soil, drawing on chronicles, liturgical services, genealogies and Romanian and Serbian historiography, and advocates for his inclusion in the synaxarion of the Romanian Orthodox Church.