Greatest Christian Warrior-King? St. Stephen the Great the Lion of Moldavia (Sponsored Stream)

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
All right, welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. This is doctor
David Patrick Harry with Church of the Eternal Logos and
today we have another very interesting stream. Major shout out
to Tara for sponsoring another stream. If you guys remember
last week or yeah, was it last week? I'm losing
track of time, Tara and her sons sponsored the Bail

(00:39):
and Moloch the History of Human Sacrifice stream. Well, today,
I'm actually really excited for this topic. This is gonna
be more of a historical deep dive because we're gonna
be analyzing the important saint and I'm gonna make the
case you could argue, I genuinely think you can make
the case this is one of the if not the

(00:59):
great atest Christian warrior king in history. And I would argue,
because he's the voy vote of Moldovia that it's a
smaller territory. It's kind of overlooked in history. And doing
today's research reminded me of two previous streams I've done.
One was a deep dive on Alfred the Great and

(01:22):
the Anglo Saxons. The other one was Saint Constantine the
Great in Saint Constantine. Upon doing deeper research for today,
Saint Stephen the Great voi Vote of Moldovia, often referred
to as not only the Great but the Holy, is
one of the greatest warrior saints, and he in fact

(01:45):
chose Constantine as a sort of archetype for who he
wanted to be and who he wanted to become. And
so today we're going to be diving into the incredible
reign of Saint Stephan the Great, which lasted forty seven years,
and I found an incredible video. So the way that
today's stream is going to be structured is I have

(02:06):
a little bit of an introduction. In fact, I want
to draw some parallels that I put together between King
David and Saint Stephan the Great. I also want to
give a little bit of a background and information. I
put together a study guide that kind of introduces. Again,
much of this information is going to be repeated as
I have a battle hour long video covering the reign

(02:29):
of Saint Stephan the Great and all his military conquests,
because that's one of the things that is so central
to today's topic is how successful he was in battle
and unlike and even a familiar name that's going to
appear in today is Vlad tepis Vlad Dracula Vladdam Paler.
He's actually the cousin of Saint Stephan the Great, and

(02:51):
even though there's a bit of a going back and
forth between the two, at one point they are brothers
in arms in battle. Then all of a sudden there's
a bit of a question regarding Vallachia and Vlad's attempt
to take one of the ports of Moldavia, and eventually
Vlad then is imprisoned over in Hungary. They kind of

(03:11):
have a falling out, but it's then Saint Stephen later
that actually convinces the King of Hungary to release Lad
and help him retake Vilakia, and unfortunately for Vlad, he
then is betrayed and dies relatively soon later. But we've
talked to it a little bit about Vlad. We haven't
dove in directly, but we did cover some of the

(03:33):
things that he did, and he is another He's not
a saint, but he's another a great Orthodox warrior for sure,
And the similarity here is going to be Saint Stephen
resisting the encroachment of the juggernaut in the minutes of
the time. The Ottoman Empire Amendment, the second now Unfortunately

(03:57):
for Saint Stephanu, the one of the ports that is
going to be so crucial to today's story, he dies with
that in Ottoman control. But again we're going to get
into the names and the dates and all that stuff
leading leading up to this. But Saint Stephen, you know
a few things that I put together just try to

(04:17):
give an introduction to who he is. He unlike Vlad,
he is an incredible Orthodox Christian. I mean, one of
the things that I found is upon military victories, every
victory he had, he believed that it was the will
of God, and that like David, he attributed God's will

(04:39):
to all his military success and built churches and monasteries,
so many of the monasteries and churches in Moldavia and
Romania because essentially parts of his empire is now part
of Romania, so he is considered a Romanian saint. But
he would cut He would have consultation with monks and

(05:01):
one in particular Saint Daniel, the Heseicists. He would consult
him after defeat, mostly victories, and at one point he
goes to Saint Daniel and says, look, the Ottomans are coming.
I don't think we can win I don't think we
can win, should I just submit? And Saint Daniel says, no,
God is with you. God will help you protect Moldovia.

(05:24):
And so again you can see the connection between Saint
Constantine the Great and the founding of the Christian Roman Empire,
because it is Saint Stephen was inspired by Saint Constantine
going into battle under the banner of the Christian cross
and defeating Pagans in battle, and of course that's what
they viewed the Ottoman Muslims as. So this man was deeply,

(05:51):
deeply faithful. And there's stories that I was reading about
after points of victory where all his soldiers they would
have these huge tent parties. There'd be lots of drinking celebration.
He would actually retreat two monasteries to cold again consult
with monks and holy men. And so this is one
of the things about us Orthodox Christians and how we
view saints, is that you know, Saint Stephen was not perfect,

(06:16):
and like King David, one of his weaknesses was women,
and he had multiple children out of adultery. He had
multiple girlfriends. Hey, I think he had three official marriages.
So he had the same sort of predilection and temptation
that somebody like King David have, but he was aware

(06:38):
of this, and he actually confessed these sins to Saint Daniel.
And so this is one of the things that comes
up over and over in his story is how humble
and pious he was as a king. And in fact,
what was another interesting thing that I found is at
the boyars, the nobles of the time, they did not
like him that much. You could get considered them the
sort of the aristocrats, but the the common folk, the peasants,

(07:02):
and even the lesser nobles absolutely loved him and viewed
him as a protector and a savior of their nation
and a defender of the Orthodox faith. And so you know,
I'm gonna talk about maybe a few other potential you know,
I mean, you think of great Christian warriors again, my

(07:24):
personal favorites, as we've talked about Alfred the Great for
the Anglo Saxon, Saint Constantine the Great, and I'd have
to say Saint Stephen maybe my new favorite warrior king.
And I have to confess, and I'm sure most of
the people watching the stream is I didn't know that
much about him. I was aware of him, I was
aware of sort of his importance regarding Romanian and Moldovia.

(07:47):
But I didn't know the details of his story. And
so as we go through and especially the last half
of today's stream, we're gonna be watching this video. It's
an animated video, but it is the best one I
could find covering his life in his military legacy. Is
he's an incredible inspiration. He's a man with flaws, He's
a man that's devoted to his faith. He's a man

(08:08):
that's devoted to his people. He's a man in an
incredible and wait till we get into the historical context
of the time in which he's living. I mean, he's
surrounded by the Hungarians and the Polish Lithuanian empires, who
they themselves will align one day with the Ottomans now
and they're against the Ottomans, both of those territories, wanting
to take over his territory. He's backstabbed and betrayed by

(08:31):
his own cousins, Vlad and his brothers and some of
the successors afterwards, and yet he continued to persevere, he
continued to never budge on making his claim on his
territory being an Orthodox Christian nation. And so I would

(08:52):
say that, at least in my opinion, I'm going to
place him at number one, giving the historical context of
his situation. Obviously talked about Alfred the Great and the
vikings and what was going on in that time period
in England, and obviously Constantine the Great, I mean, battling
the Pagan half of the Roman Empire to sort of

(09:15):
establish dominance. But it's it's Stephan the Great who goes
to battle at this Louis outnumbered. He has forty we
believe around forty thousand, is certainly not more than that,
and he has forty thousand soldiers and he's up against
what we know for sure is eighty thousand to one

(09:35):
hundred thousand Ottoman soldiers, so he's doubled outnumbered. I read
one account that believed that it was upwards to one
hundred and twenty thousand. So we'll, you know, we'll go
at the high end of a general consensus. We'll say
it's a one hundred thousand Ottoman soldiers coming to his
territory to do battle and he ends up defeating them.
An incredible use of guerrilla tactics. Again, we're going to

(09:58):
see all this in the military of you to guerrilla tactics,
military tactics. One of the things that they played music
to confound them. So during the battle, we're gonna see
that it's a snowy, fog filled valley and swampy area
that he already chose because him and Lad Tepis Vlad Dracula,
Lad the Impaler, about twenty years earlier, had won a

(10:20):
battle at that spot at Vis Louis, and so he
chose the location for the battle. And there's so much
fog the Ottomans couldn't tell where they were at or
where they were, and once they started to get close,
they started to play drums and music and really just
scared the shit out of the Ottomans and then slaughtered
them on the battlefield, forced Mement the second to retreat

(10:41):
and they killed They killed forty thousand Ottomans, So forty
thousand Moldavians under Saint Stephen the Great killed up to
forty thousand Ottomans, so that would be give you somewhere
around sixty thousand that fled, if not more that. Again,
the numbers are rough there. So this guy was incredible

(11:03):
and again he reigned for forty seven years. He has
I think thirty seven official military battle of victories, every
one of which, again he built a church or a
monastery for so just an incredible, credible figure, and you know,
you can compare it to somebody like Richard the Lionheart. Again,

(11:25):
these aren't Orthodox, as I said, when I think of
Orthodox great military leaders, I think of Alfred the Great
or Constantine or some of the Byzantine emperors military generals.
But his legacy is one of building all these monasteries
and contributing to the Orthodox culture. And one of the
things that is different from other emperors or kings, Christian kings,

(11:48):
is that he totally submitted to the Church. He'd never
tried to influence the Church through his political power or
his military prowess. He always submitted to the monastics as
guides for his military conquests, and he viewed his work
as somebody who was you know. Again, he confessed his

(12:09):
sins to Saint Daniel de Hessechus, about all his adultery,
about his predilection for women, about you know, the temptation
he struggled with through his life. But Daniel said, the
fact that you're repenting, you're the king. The fact that
you're you're the voivode. You're coming here and repenting this stuff,
when again all your soldiers are out here celebrating. You're

(12:31):
chosen this, This is a sign of humility. God can
use you as a vessel. And that's exactly how he
viewed his entire career. And really again, much of the
Orthodox heritage in that region of the Bulkans is attributed
to Saint Stephan the Great as being the last frontier.
And again in fourteen seventy five, when he at the

(12:52):
Battle of Vasluis against the Ottomans, the Lithuanian Polish Empire,
the hung Ungarians, uh, the Violakians already went ahead and said, okay,
we'll be a vassal state. Yeah, well, we'll pay our
money to the Ottomans. It was only Stephan that said hell, no, no,
we're gonna fight, and all the surrounding nations thought, there's

(13:14):
no way in hell this guy is going to win,
Like he can't beat the Ottomans. And so this is
you could argue, I could make the case. I think
I think you could. Anybody could if they wanted to
make the case that Saint Stephan the Great's victory at
the Battle of Veslui may be one of the if
not the greatest Christian military battle in history. I think

(13:36):
another one could be Michael the Brave Romanian and that
comes in the following century, in the sixteenth century, and
that might be an interesting stream in the future to
dive into Michael the Brave if you guys aren't familiar.
But but against all odds, Sat Stephen came out victorious.
And so I had a few different points that I

(13:59):
wrote regarding I was just comparing, like what archetype, what
does Saint Stephan remind me of? And I came to
the conclusion of King David, and here's a few points
that I wrote down. So obviously they shared, you know,
a a sinful desire for women. This was Saint Stephen's weakness.
He had multiple wives, numerous illegitimate children. He was noted

(14:26):
for his ruthlessness in battle, his military prowess, his incredible
tactics of deceiving and outwitting his enemies. He had very
harsh justice, so he executed multiple treacherous boyers. Again, these
are the nobles of his country. And they would go
back and forth with some of the surrounding nations. They
would make secret agreements with the Ottomans to maybe be

(14:48):
subversive towards Saint Stephan the Great, and that's one of
the reasons why the common people beloved him even during
his life. And this one of the few examples of
a of a warrior king that even during his lifetime
people were referring to him as the Holy He was
already being viewed as a saint in the making during

(15:10):
his life. And so some of the parallels though that
I want to have with King David is one they're
chosen by God. I truly believe. If you dive into
his story and some of his military conquests, you know,
David was anointed by Samuel. Stephan wasn't thrown by the
Church's blessing. Both saw their rule as graced by the

(15:31):
divine providence. And it's again one of the incredible things
about Saint Stephen is that he was not he was
a great He was Orthodox Christian. He was a great king,
you know, kind of like vlad Vladdan Paler. You know,
the devotion towards Orthodoxy. It's hard to kind of put
your finger on was he really a devotional, pious Orthodox Christian.

(15:53):
Certainly he defended Orthodoxy against Islam there's you know, from
my reading, there's some going back and forth between Lad
and the Hungarians of maybe, you know, softening up towards Catholicism.
We don't know how, sincere of Lad's religious beliefs were
his convictions. But one thing you can say about Saint

(16:13):
Stephan is that he was absolutely, first and foremost an
Orthodox Christian, and he constantly referred back to the tradition
of the Church, the tradition of the Holy Fathers, and
always consulted for wisdom by the monastics. In otherwise, he's
the defender of people. You know, David fought the Philistines.
Stephan defended Moldavia and Orthodoxy against the Hungarians, the Poles,

(16:37):
the Lithuanians, and the Ottomans. Both were remembered as warrior
kings who safeguarded God's people, and both of them, as
I said, were sinners of lust, something that against a
lot of young men struggle today. And I think because
of that struggle, if if a masculine Orthodox role model

(16:57):
is something you're looking for, I think Saint Stephen is
an incredible potential patron saint for many people entering the church,
because one he is a man's man. You know just fact,
there's no questioning that. But he was an incredibly pious man,
and he struggled with the same thing that so many
young men are struggling with today, which is lust. So

(17:20):
David famously sinned, you know, desiring Bestsheba and then arranging
for her husband's death. Stevensen wasn't exactly a murder for
lust like David, but his strong desire for women and
his indulgence in relationships outside marriage certainly draw a parallel
between these two. And then repentance. David wrote psalms of repentance,

(17:45):
and Stephen after every victory on the battlefield, built churches
and monasteries as acts of thanksgiving and repentance. And I say,
you know, maybe this is a little bit of a stretch,
but for me, each foundation then that he built church
a monastery was kind of like a psalmon stone, acknowledging
both human weakness and divine mercy, and always giving credit

(18:07):
to God for his military victories. And then a pious legacy.
Despite their flaws, David is remembered as a prophet and
ancestor of Christ despite his sin. Stephan is remembered as
a saint, not because he was flawless, but because he
fought for his people and continually returned to God in humility.
And then another one is you know, his his consulting

(18:33):
of with Saint Daniel. You know, David consults the prophet
Nathan and and for Saint Stephan it's the same sort
of archetype that he goes and consults the monastics, Saint Daniel,
the HeSE cast in regards to what to do next,
you know, what should we do as a nation? You know,
imagine that today, a ruler of a nation the you know,

(18:56):
let's just say, pick a small country or a small
you know, yeah, a small country that's up against you know, China,
Russia or the United States, and they're getting ready to
invade your country, and you don't know if you can
to win this battle. Everybody around you thinks you're gonna
lose the battle. And you go to the monk and like,
what am I supposed to do? And he's like, oh,
God's on your side. You just have to have faith,

(19:18):
you know, make sure make sure you you know, you
hold up your your orthodox emblems, make sure you go
to battle in the name of Christ, and things are
gonna work out. Imagine a ruler today saying yeah, I
decided to stand up against the United States because one
of the monastics that I'm really close to told me
that we're gonna win. You know, he just just went.
It shows you the difference between the medieval the pre modern,

(19:40):
the medieval mindset, uh, where religion and mysticism are totally
embedded within politics, society. You know, this is pre Enlightenment,
this is pre rational secularism, all this different stuff. So
just an incredible figure. I don't want to spend too
much time on the monologue. I really want to get
into then the stuff guide going over some of the

(20:01):
details of these things, and anybody who's Romanian, forgive me.
I'm going to butcher all these Romanian names of places,
so just forgive me on the outset. I know, anybody
who's a Romanian speaker listen to me pronounced some of
this stuff's probably rolling their eyes, you know, have a
little bit of grace. I'm just a dumb American, So

(20:24):
smash that light, guys. We're going to be getting into
again some great, great stuff regarding Saint Stephan the Great,
and a major thank you to Tara for sponsoring today's stream.
So it looks like some people sending some stuff. Let
me see. Major thank you to Christopher Scott for the
five dollars super check. God bless you, brother. Thank you
for the support. Chair throwing Italian throws in fives as based.

(20:49):
Thank you very much. Chair throwing Italian Red Fox throws
Inten says not to derail you, because this is an
awesome topic. Are you attending Debatecon fifteen in Nash Well, No,
probably not. I hadn't even heard of it until right now,
Red Fox. I will be speaking at the Orthodox event
in Palm Coast, Florida, November twentieth through the twenty first,

(21:12):
I believe, or twenty first through the twenty second, with
Jay Dyer, FDA, Metropolitan Jonah and a handful of other
I think Father Vladimir in Florida. So that's gonna be
a fun one. That's on Athens in Jerusalem talking about
Orthodox art, aesthetics, philosophy. So I'm going to put together

(21:33):
a topic, a speech, topics for a speech for that.
But no, I don't have any plans of attending Debate
Con fifteen. I was not familiar with it. Is that
what modern day debate does debate kN I'm not positive,
and then theo made Ray Throws in three forty nine says, yes,

(21:55):
my favorite saint. I agree that Saint Stephen the Great
is one of the most incredible saints, and I'm fortunately
us Western Orthodox converts. I think that he's kind of
overshadowed or just kind of forgotten. A lot of people
don't talk about him, and me included. I look back
now on all different topics we've done, on military stuff

(22:16):
and battles, and I wish I would have known more
about Sat. Stephen the Great before then. But anyways, great
great stuff you guys are going to enjoy. I promise
you you're going to enjoy the second half of today's stream.
To do some quick housekeeping before we get things going. First, actually,

(22:36):
I need to give a special thank you to a
friend from Greece, Charlesanis. He's a member of the Logos Academy,
has been a longtime member of my website, and my godson.
Some people you may know, Doctor Michael Moehler, just got
back from al Davia in an Orthodox pilgrimage all through
the Balkans and then spent three days on Mount Athos,

(22:59):
and so I made sure to hook him up with
my buddy Charzanis who lives in just outside Thesala, and
Nikki and they were able to spend time together on
the Holy Mountain. And major thank you to doctor Michael
Moler for getting me the Holy Hierarch's icon here Saint
Gregory Nazianzis, Saint Basil the Great and Saint John christosom

(23:22):
a beautiful, beautiful icon. And then a major thank you
to Charzanas who got this one in Greece. This is
an incredible This is a literal metal plated, gold plated
icon of Saint Catherine the Great made in Greece, and
I would assume made up the monastery because it doesn't
even have a sticker for sale, so it's not like

(23:43):
somebody planned on selling it. But shout out to you,
Charsanis God bless you brother, Thank you so much for this.
This is such a beautiful, beautiful icon. And I had
my wife look up things about Saint Catherine the Great
and she found it really inspiring. So major thank you
to doctor Michael Moler and Charsanas for gifting my wife
and I with some incredible Orthodox memorabilia, some icons from

(24:06):
their trip to the Holy Mountain there in Greece, So
God bless you guys. Thank you for that and some
quick housekeeping here, guys, if you really want to support
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(24:27):
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(24:49):
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now let's get into our document today, because there's a
lot to go over, including where did it go? Here

(27:40):
we go, including the historical context of everything going on.
I really want to paint the scene for when we
watch all his military battles and Saint Stephen the Great
defending his people, understanding what exactly was going on and
why this is so significant. So a little bit on
his origin. So he's the son of Bogden the Second,

(28:04):
he is the Prince of Moldavia. His mother we'll get
into is actually the connection between him and Vlad tepis
in that entire gene pool, that line of the Vilachian
leaders ascension to powers fourteen fifty seven. So his victory
is over Petru Aaron, who actually assassinates his father. So

(28:29):
his father is actually betrayed and assassinated, and then he
kills him in battle and executes him and becomes Voivode
of Maldavia, king of Maldavia, if you will. And so
his reign, as I said, was forty seven years. These
are some of his historic points. So Killia here the port.

(28:54):
This is one of the really important things that he
conquers early in his reign. He actually this is the
point where Vlad Tepees actually had some type of an
agreement with the Hungarians and they took over the port.
It's Stephan that has to go to battle and actually
reclaim this port, and he's actually injured, and that injury

(29:15):
never heals. It's actually with him for the rest of
his life. But towards the end of his life, this
port is actually taken over by the Ottomans, and you
could say that's probably the greatest regret of his life
because he maintains the sovereignty of his nation, he keeps
it intact, and it really isn't until the end of
his reign where he's weakened. He's old. He's trying to

(29:38):
get his son Bogden in place so that he can
then take over and reiin but they do end up
losing the two ports of the Black Sea, allowing the
Ottomans to have total control and sovereignty around the Black Sea.
You could say that's probably probably his most his biggest
regret in his reign. We're going to go over some

(30:01):
of the battles here, and I really don't want to
focus too much on the battles because we're going to
be seeing a video that covers all this stuff. But
culture and religious achievements. Like I said, church and monastery foundations.
Tradition credits him with building or restoring up to forty
churches and monasteries. You know, the Putnam Monastery, considered the
Jerusalem of the Romanians, is his burial place in Royal

(30:23):
Necropolis for his family. The Varnet Monastery known for later frescoes.
You may have seen that. Back when I had stream
labs actually working the video and I could do it
here on stream yard. I used to play the music
videos tied with the Orthodox chants that I have, and
you'd see churches that have all this the icons painted
on the outside that goes back to Saint Stephan, the

(30:46):
Great archetype architectural style. I thought this was interesting is
that they they had a fusion between the Byzantine style
in the Gothic European style to create a unique Moldavian style.
Mount Athol patronage. He supported such monasteries as Zograffu and
donated a lot of money. I have an article. We're

(31:09):
not going to read the whole article. I'll give you
guys the link. But sent quite a bit of money
to Mount Athos again because he thought it was his
religious duty for because God was granting him these victories
in battle, he was constantly doing things for the church
in return. Famous battle banner of Saint George. Saint George

(31:29):
is a you could say probably the I mean, Saint
Constantine is the emperor that he models himself after, and
then Saint George is his warrior inspiration. He's constantly invoking
and referring back to Saint George. And I'll actually show
you his military banner and the prayer to Saint George
that they had on it. Let's see historical contact. So

(31:54):
again got to remember the Fall of Constantinople's fourteen fifty
three three now fourteen fifty seven to the Great Battle
of Vas Louis. Fourteen fifty seven is when Saint Stephen
the Great actually takes over as a voivode of Moldavia.
So he lived during the fall of Constantinople. The Ottoman

(32:16):
Turks under memd the Second Conquered captured Constantinople, transforming the
Byzantine capital into Istanbul. This event marked the collapse of
the Byzantium as protector of Orthodoxy. Moldavian other Orthodox principalities Bulakia, Serbia, Montenegro,
now stood as frontline defenders of the Orthodox faith. And
as we'll see here, we'll talk about the Muscovites, and

(32:37):
even the third they Russia, and the Muscovites had not
fully risen to their dominance as Russia being the Third
Rome yet And so in that intercession period where Byzantium
has fallen, Russia's not yet the Third Rome. It's Saint
Stephen who's literally holding the front line against the autumn

(33:00):
invasions again. And this is this would be like defeating
America or China or Russia. I mean this is the
Ottomans were a military menace. They were a juggernaut. And
so at the time Christendam was divided, you had Catholic
Hungary Poland, and the papacy sought to extend influence eastward,
often demanding Moldavia's felity. The Ottoman Empire pushed northwards he

(33:24):
can control of the Danube basin and Black Sea trade routes.
And then Russia was rising under Muscovie, but too distant
in this time to protect the Bulkans. Moldovian Wallakia were
therefore essential buffer states. So and then down here I
wanted to get in some of the military and threats

(33:45):
and strategies. Obviously the Ottoman advance Hungarian ambition, so Matthias.
As we'll see King Matthias h constantly constantly going behind
his back, wanting to take his land from him the
Hungry Hungary. The Hungarian considered Moldavia a vassal state, while
Stephen insisted on independence. Again, he was successful in all

(34:06):
this stuff. He outlives all these competing competing kings wanting
to divide and take over his land, Polish ambitions. Poland
aim to dominate Moldovia through sozerinity and especially under John Albert.
And then the population was somewhere between five hundred thousand

(34:26):
and six hundred thousand. The core of the army was
a peasant infantry supported by noble cavalry, mercenaries and light troops.
Fortifications obviously very important tactics relied on Ambush's scorched earth,
use of terrain, psychological warfare to offset numerical inferiority. And
you're going to see this at the Battle of Vasluis. Again,
as I said, at most he has forty thousand soldiers

(34:50):
and he doesn't have a huge cavalry, right. I think
the Ottomans had a cavalry of thirty thousand horses men
on horses, so they they had a cavalry almost the
entire size of Saint Stephen's army. And of course, as
I said, they had somewhere in the ballpark to an
eighty to one hundred thousand troops, I saw some estimates

(35:10):
up to one hundred and twenty thousand Ottoman troops. So
he used every tactic he could and scorched shirts. Was
a huge reason why they were successful because as the
Ottomans came into Moldovia, he would destroy any potential food resources.
He poisoned wells, he would burn any goods that they
couldn't carry with them. So as the Ottomans came in,

(35:33):
they had no resources to rely on, and they were
already tired from the long trek through the Bulkan to
get up there. And then once they get to the
battlefield again, call it providence or luck or coincidence, there's
so much fog on the battlefield. The Automans are moving forward,
knowing they're somewhere over there, but they can't see them,
and as soon as they get close, just a cacophony

(35:55):
of bells and drums and noises and screams just totally
can fuse them. And you know, as you'll see in
the video, at one point they had archers ringing bells
and doing drums in the trees, and because the Ottomans
can't see, they just start moving towards the noise. Well,
that was a tactical that had a tactical purpose for

(36:15):
Saint Stephen, because the army wanted to maintain its hidden
this so while the Ottomans start going up in the
woods towards the trees to find these noises, which again
is just a handful of archery archers then allowed him
to come out of the woods with his smaller cavalry
and get them from behind, get them from their flanks,

(36:36):
and just slaughter them on the battlefield. Again defensive Orthodoxy.
He was a bashing of Orthodoxy that he's a patronage
of the Church. Automan advance kind of again, to give
you contact, Serbia fell in fourteen fifty nine, they became
a vassal. Bosnia fell in fourteen sixty three. Albania resisted

(36:58):
until it collapsed in fourteen seventy nine. So literally the
only resistance, I mean, you have the Hungarian Empire, which
is Catholic, but in regards the Orthodoxy, all you have
is Vilachia, which we consider modern day Romania. And then
Saint Stephan in Maldovia. So King Matthias Corvinus, King of

(37:21):
Hungary was a brilliant Renaissance monarch. He centralized power, reformed
the army, the Black Army, and sought influence in Bohemia,
Austria and the Balkans. Polish Lithuanian Union was a powerful
Catholic state to Moldovia's north. Maldovia often leaned on Poland
for protection, but Poland also sought to make Moldovia a
vassal and again climax in the invasion of fourteen ninety seven,

(37:46):
which Stephan crushed at the Battle of Cosmon Forest. And
then the Basarab princes. So Basarab is the family of
the dynastic family that Vlad Tepis comes from. So Stephan's
cousins Vladim Paler and Radu, the fair Radu. You guys
aren't gonna have a good opinion of Radu. He was

(38:07):
basically the brother of Vlad and he was a total
sellout to the Ottomans, just total total sellout and you'll
see eventually he gets killed. But they alternated power in Violakia,
often as rivals backed by Hungary and the Ottomans, and
then Vlakia's instability meant Maldovia was often exposed, forcing Stephan

(38:29):
to intervene in southern politics. And you'll see this is
the common trope throughout the entire reign of Saint Stephen
is trying to get somebody he can trust on the
throne in Violakia. The last person he could was vlad
Tepis after they had their own falling out, but then
Vlad gets betrayed and killed the Muscovie Rising. So what's
going on in Russia. What we would consider Russia in

(38:52):
the future is that during Stephan's reign, Muscovie under Ivan
the Third was consolidating Russian lands and rejecting Tatar dominance.
In fourteen seventy two, Ivan married Sophia Palio Logina, niece
of the Byzantine Last Byzantine Emperor, giving Moscow the claim
as the Third Rome. Though distant, Muscovie Rise gave hope

(39:14):
that Orthodox he would find a new protector, Stephans. Moldavia
was in a sense holding the line until Muscovie could emerge.
And then what was going on in Western Europe at
the time, the Renaissance, So fourteen fifties, you know, you
get the Gutenberg Press, you get the first printing press,
revolutionized learning, book literacy, the spreading of information at that time.

(39:38):
Fourteen seventies, Florence, Venice and Rome or cultural centers of
art and humanism. You know, again we've talked about the
translating of Plato and the Hermetic Corpus and Mrsilio Ficino
and Cosmo de Medici. All that stuff is going on
in Italy at this time, and again during the life
of Saint Stephen, you have the voyage of Christopher Columbus

(39:59):
to the New World in fourteen ninety two. So this
contrast is striking. Maldovia's painted monasteries representing this my idea,
represented a parallel Orthodox Renaissance, responding not with secular humanism,
but with sacral art and theology. And then other things
going on in the West, with the Hussite wars in Bohemia,

(40:20):
Holy Roman Empire was weak and fragmented, more concerned with
its internal conflicts. The papacy popes called for crusades against
the Ottomans but Western kings were divided distracted by dynastic ambitions.
Stephen's victory at vas Lewis was celebrated by Pope Sixtus
as a triumph of all Christendom, Yet in practice Western

(40:40):
ad never fully materialized. And that's kind of the story.
He always had to work with the little bit that
he had major battles. Again, we're going to go over
some of this stuff. It's all this going is going
to be reiterated in the video that we're going to watch.
I wanted to talk a little bit about because everybody's
interest did in Vlad Dracula, right, and so what is

(41:02):
what was the relationship between Saint Stephen and Vlad tepps
family ties. Stephan's mother, Oltiya Maria was related by blood
or marriage to the Bassarap dynasty of Velakia. This made
Stephan a cousin who v Lad the third and Radu,
both sons of Vlad the second. Dracool, The bogden Must

(41:26):
dynasty and the Basarab dynasty were interlinked by marriages and
alliances and betrayals across the fifteenth century. Family ties, however,
did not guarantee loyalty. As we will see, Saint Stephan
have Lad the Impaler earlier in their alliance. After his
father's murder in fourteen fifty one, Stephan fought refuge in

(41:46):
assaught refuge in Vilachia, Vlad the Third, known as Tepis,
sheltered and supported him, and fourteen fifty seven Vlad helped
Stephan raise troops to overthrow Petrue Aaron, the man who
murdered his dad, to secure then of Moldavia. Thus, Stephan
owned his initial ascension partly to Vlad's aid shared Orthodox

(42:07):
warrior ethos. Both all themselves as defenders of Christadom against
the Ottomans. Vlad's campaigns against Ottoman tribute were parallel to
Stephan's later resistance. Both drew from Orthodox traditions of sacral
rulership and just war against infidels, cooling relationships. Despite this bond,
their relationship was never simple. Vlad's brutal policies, especially mass

(42:29):
executions of Bowyers, and Saxon's unsettled regional diplomacy. Stephan had
to walk a careful line between Poland Hungary and the Ottomans.
Vlad's radical anti Ottoman stance sometimes endanger in Moldovia's strategic
balance and After Vlad's fall in fourteen sixty two, Stephan
did not intervene to save him, showing that political realities
outweighed family loyalty, and again that had to do with

(42:52):
the Achillea port, and that Vlad he wanted it for
himself as well, and kind of partnered with the Hungarians
and forced Stephen to go to battle to get that back.
Radu again, you guys are going to learn about Radu.
The fair dude is a total punk, total sellout to
the Ottomans. And so Radu, Vlad's younger brother, had been

(43:15):
a hostage of the Ottomans in his youth. He converted
to Islam and became a sultan's favored candidate for Vilakia.
In fourteen sixty two, when Memed the second invaded Vlakia,
Radu replaced Vlad with Ottoman support. Radu's reign overlapped with
Stephan's early rule in Moldavia. The relationship was marked by
rivalry and suspicion. Radu was pro Ottoman, while Stephan increasingly

(43:38):
defined himself as a defender of Orthodoxy. Lakia's alignment under
Radu threatened Moldavia's southern border, and Stefan fought to secure
a Killia, a port that Wallachia and Hungary also claimed
that strained Moldovian Wolakian relationships further. And then the triangular
dynamic Stephan, Vlad and Radu again interesting to say the least.

(44:03):
Stephan and vladd show shared moments of alliance but diverged
in method. Stefan and Radu were definitely rivals. There was
no friendly relationship until again he needed somebody with strength
to uphold Violaki in his southern border, and that's when
he actually goes in commissions. I don't we don't know
the exact terms. But Stefan, we don't know if he

(44:25):
paid the Hungarian king, we don't know what he gave
up in exchange. But he essentially got Vlad out of jail,
which he had been in for a while and was
being forcibly educated under Catholic doctrines and stuff. Again, there's
some speculation did Vlad convert to Catholicism Anyways, Once he
gets out of prison and he gets back with Stephan,

(44:45):
he's Orthodox. But Stephan then helps Vlad get back to
the throne in Vilakia. Unfortunately, like I said, he dies
fairly quickly. And then here's some stuff on him, being
a defender of Orthodox the Orthodox kingship and acred legitimacy
divinely sanctioned rule. When Stephan took the throne in fourteen

(45:06):
fifty seven, his enthronement was marked by anointing and blessing
for Metropolitan Theaotis of Moldovia. This underscored the traditional Orthodox
idea that political authority flows from God mediated through the Church.
Stephan styled himself by the grace of God Voivode of Moldavia,
a standard Orthodox formula signify sacred legitimacy, and his reign

(45:28):
embodied the Byzantine and Slavic Orthodox model of pious prince
whose duty was both political and spiritual, defending the faith,
building churches and safeguarding the Christian people. Like I said,
he built tons of monasteries and churches. Here's a few,
and I have some photos of these on one of

(45:48):
the browsers that we'll pull up with the videos in
But in Orthodox thought, such foundations were not only political monuments,
but also acts of repentance, thanksgiving, and intercession for the rulers,
soul and his people. Integration into the wider Orthodox world.
His patronage of Mount athos. Stephen issued charters and donations

(46:08):
and monasteries such as again I'm butchering this, but Zograffu
dedicated to Saint George, a famous battle banner of Saint George.
I'm going to show you this before we get into
the video. And support for Bulcans and Russian Orthodoxy. He
gave alms and endowments to monasteries in Constantinople, Jerusalem, and
the Slavic world, emphasizing Moldovia's role as a protector of
Orthodoxy at a time when many Orthodox lands were under

(46:31):
Ottoman rule. Liturgical and cultural patronage Slavonic liturgy. Stephen promoted
the use of church Slavonic in liturgical life and chancery documents,
strengthening the cultural religious bond with the Slavic Orthodox world.
Monastic sinners under his patronage produced chronicles that presented his
reign in sacred terms, often describing victories as the work

(46:54):
of God. That's how we have. Actually most of the
history regarding him comes from the monastics, and then his
monasteries became centers of Orthodox sacred art, blending Byzantine tradition
with local Moldovian style, notably in Frescoes Personal Piety. We
talked a little bit about that recognition, canonization. One of

(47:14):
the surprising things once you dive into him is how
popular he is and how important he is to Moldavia
in Romania. Yet he was not officially recognized as a
saint until July second of nineteen ninety two. His canonization
wasn't until July second, nineteen ninety two. Incredible, incredible that

(47:39):
it took that long, when again, even during his life
people referring to him as the Holy and viewing him
as a sort of Orthodox hero, a potential saint in
the making. And then I've tried to really dive in
on his relationship with Saint Daniel the Hesekiss right, and
so Sat Daniel was a Moldovian monk and hermit practicing Hesechism,

(48:03):
the spiritual tradition of deep prayer, silence and or stillness.
You guys know it, You know I'm talking about. He
was known for holists and prophetic insight and miracles. Lived
first as a monk at Nept Monastery and later as
a hermit in the cave near Putna, and he was
glorified as a saint by the Romanian Orthodox Church as
well with Saint Stephen in nineteen ninety two. Their first

(48:28):
encounter was the defeat by the Ottomans and Valeya Alba
in fourteen seventy six. Stephan, discouraged and seeking guidance, is
said to have gone to Saint Daniel's hermitage. According to tradition,
Stephan confessed his sins to Daniel and asked whether he
should continue to resist or submit to the Ottomans. Saint
Daniel's council was he urged Stephan to keep fighting, reassuring

(48:48):
that God had not abandoned Moldovia. He also exhorted Stephan
to repent of his sins, do justice, and give thanks
to God. In both victory and defeat, Saint Daniel functioned
almost like a spiritual other and a prophet to the prince.
He counseled Stephan to combine political courage with spiritual humility.
Tradition holds that Saint Daniel blessed the building of the
Putnam Monastery and encouraged Stephan to dedicate his victories and

(49:11):
his reign to God. Does Daniel embodied the Orthodox ideal
of synergy between ruler and ascetic. The prince wields the sword,
but the monk wields the prayer. Together they defended the
people again. As I pointed out earlier, another parallel with
King David and Nathan the Prophet. Just as David turned
to Nathan after sin and defeat, Stephan turned to Daniel.

(49:33):
Both figures remind rulers that victory comes from God and
sin must be repented from And so anyways, that whole
document that'll be up at the Logos Academy if anybody
wants that little study guide for people. And so with that,
we're going to get into some of the meat and

(49:53):
potatoes of today's stream. So let me pull up some
of the stuff that I got. Great article that I found.
This was the best English article I could find that
really talked to it, really viewed him from an Orthodox perspective.
This is written by Romanians. A lot of stuff, you know,
I was finding with secular stuff talking about military battles

(50:17):
and such. This was a great Orthodox view of his importance.
THEO made Ray says, it'll be cool if they sell
Saint Stephen jim Merch. He is a good for motivational
because he risked his life to protect his people. Absolutely,
I'm gonna. I'm gonna. I need to find somebody to

(50:37):
help me create new merch. So if you're if somebody
out there is watching the stream now or in the future,
if you're good at creating graphics, Uh, if you're Orthodox
and you want to help me create some super cool
based masculine maybe all black shirts, I'm not sure with
Orthodox seen stuff, reach out to me. I need somebody

(50:59):
to help me make incredible based merch. Stuff that you
can wear out, stuff that you can wear to the gym,
stuff that you know other guy would be like, dude,
what is that? That looks sick? So if they're if
you're one of those people out there, reach out to me.
I'd love to work with somebody. But yeah, that's a
great point. THEO and then Testicular Tactics again one of

(51:20):
the best names on the internet throws in two says,
how about that Vlad the Impaler. Yeah, he's gonna he's
gonna play an important role in today's in today's video,
so he's gonna come up multiple times. Let me just
check see if we had any questions or comments on
stream labs or dono chat. Okay, doesn't look like so well, guys, Uh,

(51:47):
to do a little bit of grifting. We need to,
you know, help me reach my goal. I've been I've
been told by the audience I got to get better
at grifting. That I really need to take a page
out of Andrew Will's send in Jim Bob's book on
how to grift. So if you want to help me
get my twenty my twenty super chat goal for the stream,

(52:08):
we're at four, I'd greatly appreciate that. And what I
can promise you is I will yell goal and hold
it for as long as I can. I think I
can break a minute. I think I can almost break
a minute. So if you guys help me get reached
my goal, you will get that, I promise. So anyways,
I'm not great at grifting because I like to move

(52:30):
on with the content. But if you can see that
I at least gave an effort to grift, you know,
help me out. Anyways. This article again, it talks about
the Chronicles of the Land of Moldovia, written by Georgi Eureki.
This is one of the sources that we get a
lot of the history from about Saint Stephen. This is

(52:52):
his icon you can see and the video we Watch
actually must have used this icon because this is the
face that they use to represent Saint Stephen. But the
Troparian of Holy Voivode Stephan, the great, fearless defender of
the faith and our country, great founder of sanctuaries. Oh
Prince Stephan, pray Christ the God to deliver us from

(53:13):
troubles and needs opposing the expansion of Islam and Europe.
Saint Stephan the Great made Maldobia a gate of Christianity,
where many of the ungodly ones often had bowed down
their heads. Quote, we, with all our power, which was
given to us from above by the Almighty God, are
always ready, with all our strength and all our zeal
of our heart to fight for Christianity. Thus spoke the

(53:36):
ruler of Maldovia on the twenty ninth of November in
fourteen seventy four. That's again, just before the Great Battle
of Vasluis. You could argue the greatest Christian victory in
European history. You can make that claim. You may disagree,
you may have other battles. That's fine, it's certainly up.
It's a subjective thing, but it has to be in

(53:58):
the top five. Whether you think that Saint Stephan and
his victory is you know, is the best or not questionable,
but it's got to be in the top five. Average
YouTube enthusiast throws intent, thank you so much, average YouTube
enthusiasts for the support. Truly appreciate that. And Austin Detulio
throws intent, thank you so much, Austin says for the goal, Austin,

(54:21):
thanks for all your support, rather really appreciate it. The
Turks greatly fear this ruler, wrote Venetian Matteo Muriano in
fifteen oh two. Quote, he is a very wise man,
worthy of much praise, much beloved by his people, because
he is merciful and right, always ready and generous. In
my opinion, wrote another contemporary of Saint Stephan the Great,

(54:43):
the important Polish chronicler Jan dougals, he is worthy to
be entrusted with the leadership and reign over the whole world,
and most of all, with the leading position against the Turks,
with the constant consent of all Christians. Considering that the others,
the Roman Catholic king and rulers, spend their time only
in idleness and civil wars. Christianity, Saul in his ruler,

(55:08):
I hope to combat the chaos that was about to
be installed in Europe through the expansion of the Crescent Moon.
The insignia of the Ottoman Empire to the Danube. Quote,
your works against the ungodly Turks are common enemies, accomplished
until now wisely and courageously, wrote Pope SIXUS to Saint
Stephen the Great on the twentieth of March fourteen seventy six.

(55:29):
Brought so much glory to your name that it is
now on the lips of everyone, and you are greatly
praised by everyone with one heart for the work you
have accomplished, you are still accomplishing with godliness and glory.
We should indeed thank you. And this was a comment
by Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Although there

(55:50):
were other rulers who also built churches and monasteries, none
of them were so honored by the people as Saint
Stephan the Great and the Holy, because nobody else put
himself so often in a state of sacris, some sacrificial
love for the faith and his people. His victories came
from God, and he received them as a gift, just
as a candle receives its light and all rejoice in it.

(56:11):
And much praise giver of light. The power of Saint
Stephan the Great came through the grace of God that
dwelt in his heart. He could say, together with the
Apostle Paul that quote, we have this treasure and jars
of clay to show that this all conquering power is
from God and not from us. Aware of the nothingness
of human nature and its power, and at the same

(56:32):
time being grateful for the grace of God, Saint Stephan
the Great understood that the key for conquering every evil
seen and unseen, personal or common, is a humble heart
which attracts the grace of God and the help of
his saints. Stephan did not become arrogant after his victory,
writes chronicler Jan Douglas. That's the Polish guy. After his
victory at Vas Louis, he fasted forty days with only

(56:55):
bread and water, and gave orders in all the country
that no one should dare to attribute the victory to him,
but only to God. Again, what can you imagine a
contemporary ruler that actually talks like that and does something
like that? Just an incredible This is a statue of him,
and I believe at Vas Louis again signifying his victory

(57:18):
in battle. Here is Stephan's the great legacy. Stephan was
great because he was humble. The more he humbled himself
so that God could see him united with his people forever.
To get to a nation's heart the narrowest of gates.
If you are not sacrificed in their tears, you cannot

(57:41):
reach eternity. And this is the statue of Saint Stephan
the Great in Kishnev's Great National Assembly Square, and was
installed between the two World Wars, when the historic Romanian
region of Bessarabia was part of the Greater Romania, just
as it had been part of Stephan the Great Smaldovia.

(58:03):
To help the military saints was constantly invoked by the
Great Prince of Maldovia. To ensure their help. He fought
some of the battles exactly on their feast days. The
Battle of Romnik from fourteen eighty one was started on
Saint Procopius's feast, the eighth of July. The Battle of
Corti started on Saint Demetrius's day of the twenty sixth

(58:24):
of October. The fourteen seventy three campaign in Vilakia was
on the eighth of November, the feast day of the
archangel Michael. About the first battle mentioned above, chronicler Georgi
confessed quote. They say that Holy Martyr Procopius was seen
above the army of Stephen, coming to his help and
giving courage to his army. This account is worthy to believe,

(58:44):
because once the army returned with Stephen, who received great
honor as a conqueror at the seat of Scuvea. Stephan
founded a church dedicated to the Holy Martyr Procopius in
the village of Badutti, which to this day, and here's
a little picture of it. This is a Romanian historian.

(59:08):
The reign of Stephan the Great occupies in a predominant
place in the history of Romanian people. This perception is
not a late creation, a myth forged by a circle
of scholars or a political regime. This is the banner
that they would fly. So we talked about Stephan the
Great's banner and his tribute to Saint George, Oh, Holy

(59:30):
Martyr George, who are patient and torments and bearer of victories,
quick defender and warm helper in our needs and troubles,
unspeakable joy to the afflicted receive this prayer from your
humble servant, Low Stephen voiveid Stephan Voived, by the grace
of God, Prince of Moldovia, and preserve him unharmed in

(59:51):
this age and then the one to come, for the
prayers of those who honor you, so we can glorify
you forever an eternity. Amen. And this is the banner
of Stephan the Great was donated by the Prince oh
the Zografu Monastery on Mount Athews around the year fifteen hundred.
Now it is displayed at Romania's National Museum of History

(01:00:12):
in Bucharest. This talks a little bit about Saint George
and his importance. This was an icon that Saint Stephen
actually had made, which shows Saint George offering the monasteries
that Saint Stephen had built to Christ, demonstrating that he
wanted to dedicate all his victories and be blessed by Christ.

(01:00:32):
Also talks about his relationship to the Mother of God,
the Holy Theo Tokos and many of the different saints
that he appealed to in his various battles and military conquest.
And fourteen sixty three, Stephan the Great made a reliquary
of the head of Saint Simeon the Stylite from the
Wonderful Mountain, which he kept to this day at Nemet Monastery.

(01:00:54):
This saint lived in the sixth century near Antioch and
reposed to the Lord on the twenty fourth of May
five ninety six. On the first of May four eighty eight,
the voivode placed in a relic read the relics of
a holy arch, Hierarch Jannatius, and brought them to put
in a monastery. Saint Stephan the Great was closely involved
with the fate of the monasteries of Mount Athos, providing

(01:01:16):
material support to them. Among them, the monastery which received
the most gifts was Zografu Monastery. We mentioned that, and
so anyways, I'll read this last section here and then
if you guys want to already to share this link
if you guys want to read the rest of this
is probably one of the better articles. As I said,
I found in English, so you guys can check that

(01:01:39):
out there. I just want to read this last section.
Documentary sources from the fifteenth century certify that even in
his lifetime, people attached the attributes of a saint to
Stephan the Great's name. Thus, the anonymous Chronicle of the
Land of Moldovia, describing the events between fourteen seventy five
and fourteen eighty one, mentions that the ruler of Moldovia

(01:02:01):
returned to Skojeva as a trophy bearer and a tribute
of Saint George's and Demetrius, but also of Constantine the Great.
The latter was very likely the foremost life model of
Stephan the Great, meaning Constantine the Great was the model
that he tried to strive to. A pole passing through
Moldovian fifteen seventy five noted that Stephan quote because of

(01:02:22):
his undefeated bravery, is considered a saint by the Moldovians.
The Polish chronicler Belski also wrote in his Chronica Polska,
for those great victories, even if he had a small country,
even if history even let me restart, for those great victories,
even if he had a small country, every history book

(01:02:43):
could play Stephan next to the greatest and most important
army leaders. This is why even the Maldovians call him
Kara Bukdan, meaning cherished Bogden, And for this bravery beyond
all measure, they consider him to be a saint. And
this is from King Ferdinand, the Unifier of Romania. Stephan
of Moldovia. You have lived for centuries and the souls

(01:03:05):
of Romanians and you will live forever. Inspire our hearts
with the spirit of Holy Union, so we can carry
forward the heavy burden of our united sacrifice. So anyways,
you guys can check that out there. I again went
through the Wikipedia stuff for today's stream, went through the
Orthodox Wiki. This is a nice little Osia article kind

(01:03:26):
of covers everything that we've already said, but I'll share
that with you guys if you want. And then let's see.
This is the video that we're going to be watching today.
We're gonna watch all fifty one minutes of it. This
is a movie that I was actually watching a little
bit of. This is a Romanian film on Stephan the

(01:03:46):
Great and the Battle of Vesluis in fourteen seventy five.
I'll share this is a free movie on YouTube. So
it must be because it's Romanian or something, but you
guys can actually watch this for free on YouTube if
you like. So all right with that being said, now
let's get into Let's get into this video because we're

(01:04:10):
gonna let me slow it down too, because I always
speed everything up, and this is gonna cover the incredible
life and military success of this man. So all right,
without further ado, we're gonna and I'll be clicking and
stopping as we move through this. But this was again,
I watched a bunch of different stuff. A lot of

(01:04:30):
it was boring. It's kind of somebody sounds like somebody
reading something. This was by far the most engaging video
I could find. And I love these military videos. So
when they when they show how they go in battle
and how they defict they won in battle. I told you, guys,
I watched these stuff all the time. Kings in Generals.
You know this is from uh Nalegia, So shout out

(01:04:52):
to them, big YouTube channel, two point one million subscribers,
real real quality content and it came out two months ago,
so it's perfect timing for our stream today. Great here,
let me start from the very beginning.

Speaker 2 (01:05:11):
Stefan the Great, the champion of Christ, cousin of the
notorious of Vlads, the Impaler, nemesis of the mighty Memads,
the conqueror. Stefan the Third of Moldavia is remember today
by those across more Dota.

Speaker 1 (01:05:29):
We got a couple of super chats that just came in.
Snagglebee says, we have to get that that goal. Shout folks,
get to it. Yeah, that's exactly right, Thank you very much.
Snagobast and Brady Harvey throws in five says dang, I'm
late l YouTube for no notification. Yeah, that seems to
be a common theme for people subscribe to my YouTube channels.
They don't get notifications. Oh uh, FDA says I've been there. Oh,

(01:05:55):
very cool. Shout out to FDA. God bless you in
the family. Brother. Okay, let's get into Let's get into
our video.

Speaker 2 (01:06:03):
Va Andromania. As a national hur and a canonized saint,
this is his story. The exact year of the Mighty
Stefan's birth is unknown, with estimates ranging from fourteen thirty
three to fourteen forty, although one could guess that the

(01:06:24):
date would fall closer to the earlier years given the
prince's closeness in timeline. Tommed the second and Vlad the Third,
both born in the early fourteen thirties. Stefan was the
grandson of Alexander the Good of Moldavia and the son
of Bogdan the second and Maria Altaya. Historians speculate that

(01:06:47):
Stefan likely had around five siblings, although with the great
commonality of illegitimate offspring in Steffan and his father's time,
that number may be quite different. In reality, Stefan himself
is also believed to have fathered a handful of legitimate
and possibly many more illegitimate children between his multiple wives

(01:07:11):
and affairs.

Speaker 3 (01:07:13):
It's assumed that.

Speaker 2 (01:07:14):
The Great Moldavian father two or three sons named Alexandru alone,
with one having been from a woman by the name
of Marushka or Marika that some claim to have been
his first wife, though the legitimacy of this is scrutinized.
Stefan's later wives included the likes of Evdokia of Kiev,

(01:07:37):
Maria of Manga, and Maria Voikitsa, with all three women
and other mistresses birthing multiple heirs for the prince. But
in spite of Stefan's colorful record when it came to
his marital and familial relations, he was and continues to
be viewed as a Christian hero. This is in large

(01:08:01):
parts due to him being the mastermind of one of
the greatest European victories against the Ottoman Empire in all
of history, but with additional credit to his insistence on
building dozens of new churches throughout his reign. Pope Sixtus
the Fourth would award the prince with the title of

(01:08:21):
Adlita Christi for his efforts, and historians notes that many
Moldavians began to regard Stefan as a saint almost immediately
after his death, though he would not be canonized until
June of nineteen ninety two. Nevertheless, a man such as
Stefan boasts far more to his story than wives, heirs

(01:08:44):
and titles. Stefan was a prince, a military commander, and
a friend or enemy to some of history's most famous faces,
and it all started with the aid and death of
his father. Young Stefan's first taste of princeton came when
his father named him co ruler and heir to the

(01:09:07):
Moldavian throne before he'd even reached adulthood. It was also
around this time that Stefan's cousin, Vlad the third Dracula,
had come to seek refuge under Bonkdan's protection after being
ousted from the Vilakian throne. At the end of fourteen
forty eight. The relationship between the boys is assumed to

(01:09:27):
have been good, and when Bokdan was murdered by his
own brother, Peter the third Aaron, Stefan and vlad escaped
together and found their way to John Hunyadi of Hungary
and Transylvania. The details of what happened over the next
few years are murky, but eventually vlad would garner enough

(01:09:48):
support from Hunyadi to invade Vilakia, violently oust another cousin
of his, Vladislav the second, and retake his rightful throne
by the end of fourteen fifteen. During this period, Stefan
had either joined Lad on the military expedition or made
his way to his relative's court. Following the victory. The

(01:10:11):
next year, vladd would do Steffan the same favor he
had received from Humiati himself, and Stefan was successfully crowned
Voivode of Moldavia this men's dethroning his uncle Peter Aaron,
who subsequently fled to nearby Poland.

Speaker 1 (01:10:28):
In hopes of you guys want it sped up. I
see a couple of people asking me to speed it up.
Everybody complains when I speed it up that they want
it normal is do you guys want normal or one
point twenty five? Let me know in the chat do
you want normal speed one point twenty five? I'm open
for either. I listened to stuff at like one point

(01:10:50):
five one point seven five, So let me know what's
what's the consensus. Uh, okay, now it's fine with me.
Moldy says one point two five. The slow boy says
one point two five. They can slow it down later
if they won't. That's true. Uh so we got three

(01:11:14):
one point two fives too fine, Okay, yeah, we'll do
one point two five. Okay, let's do one point two five.
That should be fine. I watched stuff. I don't know
how I do. I just listen. I listened to stuff
on like super speed just to get through and try

(01:11:36):
to take in information. So all right, let's do one
point two five. That helped get through it a little
bit quicker.

Speaker 2 (01:11:42):
Slipping from Stefan's vengeful wrath without a scratch. This may
have worked at first, but the new Moldavian prince wasn't
quick to forgive and forget, nor would he risk another
betrayal by his father's brother and killer. Thus, Stefan launched
an attack against Poland with the hope of determ ring
King Kazimir the Fourth from backing the Pretender. The results

(01:12:03):
of the fourteen fifty eight campaign was hopeful for the
spirited Moldavian. Stefan and Kazimir came to an agreement, signing
a treaty in the spring of fourteen fifty nine, with
the former promising to aid the Polls and their conflicts
with the Tartars, while Kazimir, who was now confirmed as
suzerain over Moldavia, would prevent Peter Aaron from returning to
Stefan's princedom. With that, Peter was on the move again

(01:12:27):
and Stefan's ability to forgive was no more present than
it had been before. Peter's attempts to settle in Transylvania
were challenged by Stefan's repeated and forced incursions on the
Siki lands, and the Pretender eventually gave up once more.
With John Hiyati's son now on the Hungarian throne, Peter
fled next to Buddha, where he was given support and protection.

(01:12:47):
The Moldavian prince would give his uncle a momentary break
from being on the run, but this would not be
their last encounter just yet. Nevertheless, Stefan had more to
focus on than just his enemies. He was strategically looking
to reduce the number of those he had, and thus
he now sought to implement friendly relations with both his
allies in Poland, and with the Ottoman Empire having agreed

(01:13:11):
to pay a yearly tribute to the latter, the Moldavian
would begin to see the Sultan as more of a
friend than his own blood over in Vilakia, in an
unusual shift of allegiances. For reasons we cannot exactly pin down,
the bonds between Stefan and vlad was suddenly on a
downhill spiral. This trust was creeping up on both ends,

(01:13:32):
and it seems that both felt a military clash was
soon inevitable. It's possible that the motive, at least on
Stefan's end, came from the facts that Khalia, which had
previously been a Moldavian possession, was now under the guardianship
of the Hungarians and their Vlakian allies. Stefan had long
wanted to retake the territory, and it seems that its
new owners would not give it up without a fight,

(01:13:54):
a fights that the wily Prince of Maldavia was willing
to start, even if it meant going to war with
the cousin who'd helped him take his crown to begin with.
By mid fourteen sixty two, Vlakia was at war with
the Ottoman Empire, and Moldavia decided to join in. Steffan,
with the help of his Ottoman allies, laid siege to Killia.

(01:14:15):
Despite the military prowess and numerical capabilities. Eight days after
the siege had begun, the Ottoman Moldavian coalition was forced
to accept defeat. Steffan himself had in fact received such
a severe leg injury that it would never fully heal,
a painful reminder of one of the great Prince's few failures,
and in the face of a former friend.

Speaker 3 (01:14:35):
Nonetheless, three years later.

Speaker 2 (01:14:38):
Steffan's determination to seize his principality's former lands was as
strong as ever. With vlad Dracula now imprisoned by his
alleged allies in Hungary, his little brother Radu was on
the Vilakian throne at the behest of the Ottomans, whom
Steffan no longer felt a generously cordial toward. As a result,
in fourteen sixty five, Steffan began a new siege on Khalia.

(01:15:01):
This time, the campaign would last for only two intense days,
and it would end to the Moldavian's successful capture of
the fortress he had yearned for for so long. The
fallout from this victorious endeavor would be that Stefan had
now alienated all who laid claim to Khalia, the Velachians,
Ottomans and Hungarians. The latter was particularly angered by Stefan's

(01:15:23):
voracious expedition, and Matthias Corvinus quickly gathered his own force
to retaliate, and thus carried out an invasion of Moldavia.
The Hungarian king managed to seize the Moldavian possession of Baya,
but would later scarcely escape with his life intact as
the war effort collapsed as Stefan retook the Camphor of Land.

(01:15:47):
If anything important had come from this, it was the
fact that it only solidified Stefan's loyalty to Casimir has
opposed the Corvenus. Stefan knew that warfare had been and
still was a constant during his dynamic reign, and having
strong allies was crucial if one was to protect his
own territory. Thus, as the Moldavians restarted their raids into

(01:16:08):
the Hungary allianed region of Transylvania, Steffan swore fealty to
the Poles once again. If he was now to face
his neighbors in Vilakia, the Hungarians and the Ottomans, he
needed someone at his side when Judy called. But the
Polish Moldavian alliance had required Stefan to make new enemies
in the form of the Tartars, and in fourteen seventeen

(01:16:29):
those of the Golden Horde launched an incursion into Moldavian lands.
After initially wreaking Havoc through Poland, an occasion that Kasimir
had failed to prevent nor put an end to, the
Tartars made their way to Moldavia in hopes of doing
the same. Here it would be Steffan who would reign
on their parade and to route the invaders in multiple

(01:16:50):
face offs, finally giving the death blow near Nistor to
no in surprise. The Vilachians were next to try their
hand at defeating Stefan, sing a hopeful campaign to retake Kilia,
but this too would fallow, and.

Speaker 1 (01:17:04):
This is Radu the third. This is Vlad Tepis, Vlad
Dracula Ladi Impale. This is his younger brother, the guy
who again it's speculated, but many people believe that he
converted to Islam. Again, he was in the pocket of Mehmed.
He was a huge crony of the the Ottoman Empire,
and he basically just no resistance at all, just was

(01:17:26):
totally okay with being a vassal state. And so that
you know these incursions. This battle is going to go
on for a while here between Radu and Stephan. But again,
just think of the historical situation here. We're talking about
Saint Stephan the Great. His father is killed by his
father's brother, Stephan's uncle. Stephan was being groomed to become

(01:17:47):
the next Voivo, the next king. Then he loses the
crown again Vlad. Then his cousin helps him get the
crown back. His uncle's on the run, who eventually he's
going to defeat in battle and he's gonna x him.
You're going to see here in a bit. Then his
cousin Vlad, who helped him get the crown, partners with
the Hungarians and tries to take Khalia. The port to

(01:18:09):
the Black the Black Sea an incredibly important port port
for Moldavia. And then eventually he takes that over, but
has a wound in his leg that's going to be
with him for the rest of his life. And now
he's again. You just saw how he defeated the Tatars,
you know, the Golden Horde coming couldn't be stopped by

(01:18:30):
the Lithuanians, and the Polish, a bigger empire than Stefan,
because of his military expertise, routes them immediately in battle,
multiple battles, and so it's just an incredible when you
look at the historical context, it's an incredible dynamic. Would
I would argue that Stefan's greatest ally is actually even

(01:18:51):
the third in Moscow of the Muscovies, but he's too
far away to actually help him. He sends a few
troops at different point point, but really they had a
very very cordial relationship, and that's because they're both pious Orthodox.
But you look at Stefan, he's surrounded by the Hungarians
who won his land. The Polish Lithuanian Empire wants his land.

(01:19:13):
Vilakia is ruled by essentially a stooge of the Ottoman
Empire working with the Ottomans to take his land. I mean,
the dude is surrounded by threats and he reigns successfully
for forty seven years as boy vote. I mean, it's
really incredible when you start thinking of the historical context
and the amount of pressure he had, Like he could

(01:19:36):
have just submitted and been a vassal state and pay
the money to the Ottomans like some of these other
territories do. But he does do that a couple of
times towards the end, but then always goes back to
battle and tries to establish some type of independence. Towards
the end of his life, they actually are a sort

(01:19:56):
of vassal and that's because we'll see that the Ottomans
actually take all the ports to the Black Sea. But
just incredible, Like the context of all this is just
absolutely incredible to think what this man went through and
then think about all the building projects that he was
undergoing in Moldovia. It's incredible. Scoopy throws in five says

(01:20:20):
thanks for the stream, but well, thank you very much
for the support. Brother, God bless you and the family.
Keenan Beat shout out to Keenan Beat throws in five.
No comment. Shout out to Keenan all the all the
creative works that he's a part of. God bless you, brother. Tara,
who sponsored today's stream. Shout out to you, Tara, thank
you again again for sponsoring a second stream. She sponsored
this one and the Bail and Moloch stream. She says,

(01:20:43):
great stream. I found it easier to pronounce Romanian if
I pretend I'm reading Italian. Don't tell my h Okay,
all right, well maybe that would Maybe that's a good
tip for me because I feel like I'm just butchering
some of these Romanian words and places. Slow Boy Whiteboard
throws in five says, let's get this goal. Guys, Well,

(01:21:03):
thank you so much. Slow Boy really appreciate it. And
Nick throws in five says, these videos make me want
to play Total War, great historical strategy games I know
you're talking about, and Darth Grumpy Dad throws in two
bucks just gives a salute. Well, God bless you, brother,
thank you for the support. Okay, let's get back to

(01:21:26):
I just wanted to make a quick little comment about,
you know, what's going on here in the historical context
and why this is so significant, and just to think
about being surrounded by essentially enemies we part.

Speaker 2 (01:21:41):
The ensuing months would see Stefan preoccupied with repeated clashes
against his neighbors in Vilakia, giving the princes much forgots
An uncle and rival, a chance to weasel his way
back into the picture. While his nephew was busy defending
his border, Peter began rallying support among the sea keys
of Transylvania, convincing himself and them that with their aid

(01:22:01):
he could retake the Moldavian throne. While Peter would ultimately
succeed at gathering troops and invading his homeland, it had
been wrong about everything else. Steffan crushed his challengers and
took his uncle captive, naturally having him executed and ridding
himself of the nuisance once and for all.

Speaker 3 (01:22:19):
And then it was back to war with Radhu and
the Blachians.

Speaker 2 (01:22:23):
As this rivalry carried on, Stefan's relationship with both the
Poles and Ottomans was rapidly deteriorating, vickering over who didn't
do enough for who with Kazimir echoed debates with Mehment
about who should possess Khalia. Knowing that he may be
on the verge of turning two once allies into enemies,
Stefan opted to send envoys to his Hungarian counterpars, with

(01:22:44):
the goal of at least winning over Corvenus. By the
end of fourteen seventy three, the Prince of Moldavia had
had enough of the Sultan and his puppet next door.
Having ceased paying his yearly tribute to the Ottomans, Stefan
kicked off a new invasion of Vlakia, this time aimed
at ousting his little cousin in favor of a new protege, Basarab,

(01:23:05):
the third Loayota. A week of battle and overpowering the
Vlakians saw Stefan victoriously seize the neighboring throne and crowned
Basarab Layota in Redu's place, though this would be short lived.
It would have been long before the Ottoman back to
Rediu came marching back and deposed the newly placed voivode.
Basarab then returned, and the exchange happened again. More repetitions

(01:23:28):
would play out before Adu finally fled, letting Basarab at
last establish a real reign over the Vilakian principality.

Speaker 3 (01:23:37):
But this was far from the end. Of Stefan's troubles
with the Ottomans. In fact, it was only the beginning.

Speaker 2 (01:23:43):
While the whiplash over who at rule Volakia had been occurring,
the Ottomans, Vilakians, Poles, Hungarians and Moldavians had all been
preparing for war and engaging in it. In January, Stefan's
only accomplishment wasn't reseating his protegee on the ville Lachian throne.
His greatest accomplishment was winning one of the greatest military

(01:24:06):
victories in European history. As Bassara, p Laota, and Radun
fought for control over Vilakia, the relationship between the heads
of Moldavia and the Ottoman Empire was utterly falling apart.
To make the situation even more complicated, in the chaos,
Basarab had turned his back on his biggest supporter in Stefan.

(01:24:26):
Once established on the Vlakian throne, Basarab had caved under
the pressure of the Ottoman Sultan, essentially agreeing to vassalship
under Mahmed as opposed to Stefan and his ally.

Speaker 1 (01:24:37):
Which is the running theme throughout Stephen's You Know Reign
in Life is that whoever gets on the throne in
Vilakia ends up just you know, conceding to be a
vassal of the Ottomans.

Speaker 2 (01:24:50):
Tensions were building and war was nearing. Stefan, knowing that
it was only a matter of time before he would
again be facing off with the Ottomans and bo Alachians,
began to enlist support from his fellow Christians.

Speaker 3 (01:25:03):
His effort reached.

Speaker 2 (01:25:04):
All the way to the Pope himself, but the aid
he actually received was less impressive than he had aimed.

Speaker 1 (01:25:10):
For.

Speaker 2 (01:25:11):
Both Hungary and Poland, very likely due to their proximity
to Moldavia and the dangers they would face if Stefan
were to lose offered support in the form of troops.
The kings of both neighboring countries gave around two thousand
men to assist the Moldavian cause, in great contrast the
five thousand Siki men that Stefan himself was able to
win over. The Moldavian army alone numbered around forty thousand men,

(01:25:35):
showing clearly the reluctance with which Sefan's Hungarian and Polish
allies wished to truly join his fight, and with this
the Moldavians would thus be greatly outnumbered the Ottoman cavalrymen
numbered around thirty thousand, with the entirety of the invading
force coming to at least sixty thousand. Furthermore, Vassar ab Laota,

(01:25:56):
had now fully invested himself in his new found alliance
with Mehmed, had subsequently offered another seventeen thousand soldiers to
join those under Hadem Suliman Pasha at Mehmed's orders. With
each army established, the claw ticked ever closer to the
moment of battle. By the time Suliman Pasha's force had
arrived in Moldavia, Stefan had already been preparing for their arrival.

(01:26:19):
Much like other military geniuses of his time, the Moldavian
prince enacted a combined policy of scorched earth and tactical sabotage.
Wells were poisoned and any potential food or supplies left
behind were burned and destroyed, leaving the already tired Ottomans,
after their long journey, in an even more difficult position.
Guerrilla attacks followed, and it seems that Steffan and his

(01:26:41):
men were off to a good start. The goal was
to lower the Ottoman forces near Vasluis, an area where
an innocent teenage Steffan had stood his ground alongside his
older cousin, vlad Dracula. He knew this battlefields like the
back of his hand and was certain that it would
prove advantageous for his own men. The marshy Valley of
Voivode aims to utilize was engulfed by forested hills, and

(01:27:04):
the worn out invaders would struggle to march through the
unideal terrain. Even just to reach the full extent of
the Moldavian truths, the Ottomans would have to cross the
brittle poldul Inault over the bar Lad River, a bridge
that could scarcely support the crossing of an army. Nevertheless,
Suliman Pasha led his men forth and Stefan readied his

(01:27:25):
Thick fog blanketed the valley and its surroundings. Moldavian archers,
cavalry and cannons were peppered throughout it. The Ottomans were close,
but caught no sight of the defenders moving through nearly
non existent visibility. A portion of the Moldavian army and
its Siki allies were accompanied by a handful of musicians

(01:27:45):
as they marched toward the center of the wet valley
on queue, the musicians began to play their instruments, the
sound of drums and bugles startling suli Manpasha and his
men as they scrambled to catch a glimpse of their
enemies through the thick fog. Unable to do so, the
Ottomans assumes that in the direction of the instruments they
would find the whole of Steffan's forces.

Speaker 3 (01:28:06):
This was, of course not the case at all.

Speaker 2 (01:28:10):
Stefan was more competent than to throw all of his
eggs in one basket, and he in fact has quite
a different plan in mind. As the Ottoman forces neared,
Moldavian archery and artillery fire began. Cavalrymen came face to
face and did a short amount of time the battle
was in full swing. At some point the bridge crumbled

(01:28:31):
under the weight of Ottoman cavalry, as the rest of
Suleiman's efforts weren't faring much better. By now, Stefan was
ordering the engagement of his remaining forces, and the valley
was suddenly flooded with Moldavian defenders. Chaos erupted on the
Ottoman side, and it wasn't long before Suliman Pasha.

Speaker 1 (01:28:56):
Based preacher says, demons do hate bells. I love that.
I love that Babie quit the racket. Yeah, techno graphics
as muzzies were probably crying out haram to the music
being played. Probably true, but again you get you can

(01:29:17):
imagine how the cacophony of noises and drums and in
the lack of visibility totally confused the Ottomans and just
sent them in disarray. Again, and imagine this is this
is the pre eminent military at the time. I mean,
you have the Teutonic Knights, you have some of the
Western Nights. You could say that those were the best
individual soldiers, like their cavalry, their armed horses. But as

(01:29:42):
a military power, the Ottomans were a juggernaut and just
the whole strategic plan here to get them into this valley,
hide people in the woods, create an auditorial distraction, and
then go to battle with them. You know, he had
a handful of Polish soldiers, that's the red there in
the center. But then he's you know, even with them,

(01:30:05):
he's massively outnumbered, and then chose the right time to
attack the flank and come out of the woods with
his own cavalry just again. It reminds me of the
battle with Michael the Brave and his defeat of the Ottomans.
Just incredible battle against the odds.

Speaker 2 (01:30:23):
Ordered his men into a hurry to retreat, Stefan and
his defenders chased. They're fleeing invaders for days, racking up
the total Ottoman casualties by thousands, the end result reaching
over forty thousand. The Vlachian troops, who had been alleged
allies of suley Man Passa's side, left the battlefield without
a single engagement, with Bassa rabb Layota abruptly deciding to

(01:30:44):
switch alliances yet again. Bassaab Laota furthermore shunned and he
remaining Ottomans from his own lands, and with that the
Battle of vass Luis had ended. This victory would be
viewed as one of the greatest triumphs in European history.
Steffan had been wildly outnumbered and with limited external support,
and yet through ingenuity and military aptitude, he had won. Nevertheless,

(01:31:09):
despite withholding actual support forced Stefan, Pope Sixtus named him
an Etlita of christ in response to his fearless efforts
against the Ottomans. Still, the Poles and Hungarians too failed
to provide further aid. In spite of Stefan's ability to
prove his skill set against their shared enemy, and with
a furious Mehmed now plotting his revenge, Steffan would likely

(01:31:30):
need it. Amassing minimal assistance from those who could provide
the most, Steffan decided to try a new strategy. Having
become aware of bassaab Laota's early endorsement of the Ottoman
war efforts, the Prince of Moldavia was ready yet again
to make a swamp under the Vlakian throne. But this
time he was going back to an old friend, a

(01:31:51):
cousin to be precise, Vlad the Third Dracula, whose life
had deteriorated quite tragically after he was forced to face Stefan.
The Ottomans at once had been in prison following a
betrayal by Matthias Corvinus back in fourteen sixty two. Now
thirteen years later, Stefan reached out to the Hungarian king.

Speaker 3 (01:32:11):
With an unusual request. He wanted Vlad freed.

Speaker 2 (01:32:16):
With no one left he could comfortably rely on, Steffan
knew that his cousin was his only hope of retaking
Vilachia and standing up to the Ottoman Empire.

Speaker 3 (01:32:25):
Vlad, in his.

Speaker 2 (01:32:26):
Own life, had been riotously unwavering in his opposition to
Sultan Ahmed, and if Stefan could win his forgiveness, the
pair would be a formidable defense unit for the whole
of Eastern Europe. And though Corvinus at first refused to
support the cousins invading Villachia together, he did agree to
let his prisoner go. How they got back on the

(01:32:47):
same page has been lost to history, But after his
return to society, Vlad rapidly restored his relationship with Stefan.
The duo agreed to stand by one another and to
unify the efforts of their principalities, making more Davia and
Vlakia friendly neighbors once more. All that was left now
was the kick basarab Laota, Voivode of Vlakia to the curb. Unfortunately,

(01:33:10):
still lacking support from the Hungarian king for a war
with Volakia, Stefan was forced to put his plan with
Lad on pause. In the meantime, the Ottomans had been
busy wreaking havoc in Crimea and the Principality of Theodoro.
Something the Moldavian ruler was staunchly opposed to, and thus
earned himself further support from the Venetians. Mehmed himself, at

(01:33:31):
this time was also preparing for another invasion of Moldavia,
which he launched in short order with the help of
Laota yet again and Crimerian tartars. The Sultan came back
with a spirit of retribution, hoping to once and for
all settle the score after his defeat in vess Louis.
By the summer of fourteen seventy six, Stefan and Mehmed

(01:33:52):
were locked in battle at Valia Alba, and while home
field advantage seemed to at first aid the Moldavian's favor,
quickly turned. The Ottomans, rallied by their leader, brutally massacres
Stefan's defenders. Before the battle was over. It said that
the ground was littered with dead bodies, and even Mahmed's
army lost many good men. Stefan himself was soon forced

(01:34:13):
to retreat if he wished not to join his men
on the grounds beneath his feet.

Speaker 1 (01:34:17):
Now, remember when I was talking about Saint Daniel, the
HeSE a cast. It's after this defeat that he goes
back to Saint Daniel, remember when we talked about going
over the study guide, and says, you know, essentially, look,
I just lost to Memed. You know, obviously the big
win in the slewis should I just give up? Should

(01:34:38):
I just you know, allow the Ottomans to take over
and just become a vass When he says, no, God
is on your side, you have to fight. So keep
that in mind after this because you know, in a
way Stephan was very broken after this defeat. He caused
him to question himself and and I don't again, we
don't know about his faith, but certainly saw counsel with

(01:34:58):
Saint Daniel, and of course he's going to come back
strong as always.

Speaker 2 (01:35:03):
He escaped, possibly as far as Poland has. The Ottomans
pushed forward to take more Moldavian territory. Mehmed's success after
the Battle of Valia Alba was less impressive, and soon
faced with an outbreak of disease and Steffan's return alongside
an army led by Stefan the Fifth Vathory, the Ottomans
had no choice but to pull out of Moldavia at last,

(01:35:24):
giving Steffan the chance to once more look to his
plan involving Vilakia and vlad Dracula. With Moldavia temporarily at peace,
yet again, the void Vode moved to solidify his loyalty
to Matthias Corvinus and dissipating, receiving approval for his invasion
plan in exchange, and luckily for Stefan he was right

(01:35:45):
with the go ahead from the King of Hungary himself.
Vlad Dracula and Stefan of Moldavia laid siege to Villachia.
By the end of the year, vassarab Laota, once Stefan's
favorite ruler and protege, was on the run, and Vlad
the Third Dracula, after over a decade of unjust imprisonment,
was finally back on the throne he had gained all

(01:36:05):
those years ago, alongside his cousin Stefan through leaving troops
behind to aid his new ally had returned to Moldavia
after seeing the invasion of Ilakia through. This was a
victory worth celebrating after such a long struggle with Moldavia's
next door neighbor, but tragically it would be a short
time of triumph before January fourteen seventy seven came to

(01:36:27):
a close Vlad, and almost every one of Steffan's bodyguards
he'd left for his relative had been slaughtered when the
Ottomans reinvaded. Some speculate's betrayal was what finally took down
Stefan's Volakian cousin, while others believe it to have been
a simple casualty of war. Either way, Stefan had supported
Vlad with all his efforts in the final year of

(01:36:47):
his life, but now the Voivode of Moldavia was left
with no ally beside him and no clear protege to
groom for the job. He did nevertheless have a man
by the name of Basarab four, nicknamed Sepluche, and this
man would do for the time being. The Ottomans had
reinstated Leota in the place of Lad Dracula, which, much

(01:37:09):
like his reigns before and after Vlad's younger brother Ridu,
would not last. Stefan would have none such a circumstance
and entered Vallakia once again to oust his former confidant. Successful,
Stefan placed the younger Basarab on the throne in what
he hoped would be a more permanent rule. The subsequent
months showed signs of promise as peace trees were signed,

(01:37:29):
relationships such as that between Stefan and Casimir were strengthened,
and plans for the future were discussed. Unfortunately for Stefan, however,
the Ottomans remained an intimidating bunch. Basarab the Fourth, much
like the elder of his namesake, made peace with Sultan Mehmed,
the Prince of Moldavia was grudgingly forced to follow suit.
His contentment with this fact undoubtedly entirely non existent. His

(01:37:53):
work in Vilakia was again not finished, and he was
now running out of options. Stefan attempted to place yet
another failed student, this time with a man by the
name of Merscha, whom many historians believed to be one
of Stefan's own sons, but this task failed. Massarab Fourth
now had Ottoman support, and for the time being, the
Moldavians were.

Speaker 3 (01:38:14):
Unable to overpower them.

Speaker 2 (01:38:16):
War broke out to Moldavia's batter soil for another period,
and the tireless Stefan was forced to accept that peace
was still.

Speaker 3 (01:38:23):
Nowhere in his near future.

Speaker 2 (01:38:27):
If Stefan had grown tired of warring with the Ottoman Empire,
he was yet to show it. He hadn't back down before,
and he wasn't going to now. The Moldavian's counterpart, furthermore,
had shown remarkable resilience over the years, fighting both Stefan
and his neighbors. Neither was going to give up, and
thus the rivalry was surely endless, at least until death

(01:38:49):
do them part, and that's exactly what happened. Sultan Mehment,
the Great Conqueror of Constantinople, died on May third, fourteen
eighty one. The death of Steffan's peer was far from
the end of the war between the Ottomans and the Moldavians,
but it meant another crucial pause in battle. With the
Sultan dead, a class for who would succeed the throne followed,

(01:39:10):
forcing the Ottomans to pull their attention away from Steffan
and his principality, while Mahmed's sons chem Yazid the second
turns their animosity towards each other. The Moldavian prince decided
to slip back into Vilakia and settle some unfinished business
with yet another one of his former protegees, Basarab four.
It would come as no surprise when the master ruthlessly

(01:39:31):
defeated the student. Stefan discarded Basarab and placed another man,
the half brother of Vlad Dracula, also named Vlad, on
his empty throne. As was the pattern, Basarab soon returned
with Ottoman troops in tow, but Stefan had won by
skill not luck the last time. Thus, not only would
Basarab lose again, but this time he was slain in

(01:39:52):
the process. Vlad the Monk, as Stefan's somewhat distant relative
was known, was secured for the time being as the
ruler of Vilakia, but his supports in Moldavia would soon
be called into question when the Ottomans came knocking. Despite
his endorser's current conflict with the past sultan and his
new successor biasing, Vlad would accept vassalship under the Ottomans,

(01:40:13):
as many of his predecessors had done before, and while
Stefan himself was no stranger to doing just that, it
had not been his plan now and Vlad's. The Monk
had put himself on thin ice. Prioritizing strategy and timing
over his immediate disapproval, Stefan opted to leave his new
failed puppet for a bit longer. Instead of invading Violachia
again just yet, the Prince of Moldavia was tactically bulking

(01:40:36):
up his border while looking to new nations for fresh support.
In his search, he found Ivan the third of Moscow,
who would soon form a notable bond with Stefan. This
was a great secret weapon for the latter, though it
wouldn't yet come in much handy, as fourteen eighty four
would see the Ottomans return their focus to subduing the
wily Moldavian. In fourteen eighty three, the new Sultan Biased

(01:40:59):
and Hungary's Matthias Corvinus had finally come to an agreement
of their own and signed another peace treaty to last
five years, possibly due to Corvenus's need to focus on
his unrelated plans in the West. Whatever the reason, the
truce was set to include Moldavia as well, although it
was agreed that the ports of Stefan's principality would be
the exception. And in case anyone had been unsure as

(01:41:21):
to why, the Ottomans soon gave an explanation by launching
a new campaign to seize Killia and later Chitata Alba,
giving Biazied and his empire sueserainty over the Black Sea
and an upper hand on Stefan of Moldavia.

Speaker 3 (01:41:35):
Yet again, the cornered voivode now had an Ottoman.

Speaker 2 (01:41:38):
Ally to the south, another to the west, and the
Ottomans themselves on his own soil. With what one can
only assume would have been an immense level of exasperation,
Stefan submitted to Biasied, utilizing his only logical method of
expelling the Ottoman armies from his land. Matthias Corvinus was
now in a tricky situation. On the one hand, he

(01:41:59):
was determined to mean friendly relations with Biazy so he
could focus elsewhere, and on the other he now had
a cornered and dangerous Moldavian prince who could blow the
whole scheme up in a matter of minutes. Hoping to
delay a reaction from the latter, It's believed that Corvenus
granted Stefan the territories of chi Chiu and Schitatadbaiata in
Transylvania as compensation, although some historians question the timing of

(01:42:22):
these gifts. Either way, Corvenus was not open to military
conflicts with the Ottomans, and thus no consideration was given
to the idea of letting Stefan retake his ports. Poland, contrarily,
have been watching all of this unfold, and King Kazimir
was not as forgiving as his Hungarian peer. The idea
of the Ottomans controlling Mouldavia's ports and thus the surrounding

(01:42:44):
area dan Ube and Deniper rivers was an unacceptable one
for Poland's Kazimir. By fourteen eighty five, the king had
seen enough and knew it was only a matter of
time before his own nations trade with their eastern neighbors
was affected by Baiazid's new territorial control. To what would
have been a pro so found pleasure for Steffan, Kazimir's
disdain for the Ottoman encroachment pushed him into closer cooperation

(01:43:06):
with the Moldavian. As the fall of fourteen eighty five
rolled around, Steffan made his way to Poland to personally
pay homage to the king and solidify their renewed friendship.
Kazimir repaid the prince by declaring his opposition to bayazid
snatching of the Moldavian ports and vowed to never accept
the territorial changes without Stefan's personal consent. As invigorating as

(01:43:29):
this all must have been for the Voivode, he still
mustn't have been surprised to hear that in his absence,
the Ottomans had re entered Moldavia. Luckily, not much had
been done by the time Stefan and his new Polish
supporting forces came racing back to Moldavian land. The attackers
were routed by the year's end, although the Ottomans still
controlled kata Alba and Kilia. This would have been inordinately

(01:43:51):
aggravating for Steffan, considering the desperate amount of times he
had to go to war for Kilia in particular, over
the decades, even having betrayed his own cousin and been
permanently wounded for a losing battle over it. It's not
surprising then, that a few months later the Voivode again
tried to recapture his ports, but still he couldn't seem
to best his foes, a common trend for anyone attacking

(01:44:13):
the fortresses. Having scarcely survived this defeat, Steffan again was
painfully forced to consider renegotiating with the Ottomans and paying
homage once more to his great dismay. Having been so
hopeful at the start of this newest struggle, it seems
the Moldavian prince quickly became aware that Poland's support wasn't enough.
He thus signed a new truce with Biazide, promising three

(01:44:35):
more years of paying tribute and accepting vassalship. If any
part of Stefan had held out hope that his Polish
friends would continue the fight without him, as fourteen eighty
nine rolled.

Speaker 3 (01:44:45):
Around, those hopes would have been dashed.

Speaker 2 (01:44:48):
Casimir and Bayazid made peace, and the former seemed to
have forgotten his existing agreement with the Prince of Moldavia.

Speaker 3 (01:44:54):
The King of Poland gave his own consent for the
official You.

Speaker 1 (01:44:57):
See, like the story of Stephan the Grade, it's constant betrayal.
Almost every agreement he makes with somebody, something happens, something
goes to the wayside, and he's just constantly struggling to
find a true ally in his resistance against the Ottomans.

Speaker 2 (01:45:16):
Till acknowledgment of the Ottoman capture of Ilia and Japata Alba. Stefan,
again cornered, saw this as a complete betrayal and breach
of his alliance with Casimir ironically swaying his loyalty back
towards the man who'd lost it just before, Matthias. For Venus,
Stefan's objective was thus to re strengthen his relationship with

(01:45:36):
the King of Hungary, as that was by now his
best option to protect himself and oppose the Ottoman overreach.
Unfortunately for the Voivode, much like his plan to solidify
vlat Dracula once more as his next door neighbor and ally,
this one too ended in death. Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary,
died on April sixth, fourteen ninety in a similar fashion

(01:45:57):
to the death of Sultan mehmed A, successions irrupted before
the ruler's body could even go cold. There would be
four claimants to the dead man's throne. Korvinus himself had
attempted to groom his illegitimate son John for the role,
but with his death died that dream. His challengers included
two sons of Polish King Kazimir, John Albert and Vladislaus,

(01:46:17):
as well as Maximilian, the first of the Holy Roman
Empire and Habsburg dynasty. Now Steffan had to decide who
to support if he was to continue siding with the
Hungarians over the polls and Ottomans, Possibly due to his
own approval of Stefan, the Moldavian chose to back Maximilian.
Standing behind kazimir sons could risk a future unification of

(01:46:38):
both his unstable off and On allies, but there apparently
wasn't much benefit from backing John Corvinus either. It would
eventually be Vladislaus, however, who would be crowned as matthias successor.
While Maximilian accepted this outcome and simply abandoned his own claim,
John Albert wasn't so quick to give up brothers or not.
Albert did not want Vladislaus on the throne. Made Steffan's

(01:47:00):
life more complicated, as he now had to decide who
to support between the two men he had particularly hoped
not to see succeed. Knowing that John Albert was already
the chosen heir to Casimir's throne in Poland, the Voivode
eventually opted to endorse Vladislaus, predicting that this case would
make a union between Hungary and Poland less likely. Not
only had Steffan been stabbed in the back by his

(01:47:22):
Polish ally after the conflict with the Ottomans, but he'd
also been tussling with the Poles over the territory of Pokutya,
which the prince felt entitled to take back into Moldavian control.
If John Albert ever ascended to the thrones of both
Hungary and Poland, Steffan would lose his ability to switch
up alliances at will, as he'd done all these years,

(01:47:42):
and he would quite possibly be making an enemy out
of two kingdoms. Thus Steffan doubled down on his new
found support of Ladislaus, giving him aid when the Ottomans
invaded Hungary throughout the low boiling succession crisis that was
still ongoing. He was repaved by the Rightful King, who
responded by confirming Moldavia's claim to the Transylvanian holdings previously

(01:48:04):
granted to Stefan by Matthias Corvinus, and finally, for Stefan,
it appeared that one of his ideals was working out.
By the end of fourteen ninety one, John Albert had
finally accepted his brother's place on the Hungarian throne, but
the following year, yet another death would stir up new drama.
The Voivode again had to navigate a neighboring change of

(01:48:24):
power when King Casimir the Fourth died in the summer
of fourteen ninety two. Stefan's tumultuous rollercoaster was far.

Speaker 3 (01:48:32):
From its end.

Speaker 2 (01:48:36):
The succession crises that had occurred in the Autumn Empire
and the Kingdom of Hungary must have had Stefan eyeing
Poland with great anticipation after the announcement of King Kazimir's passing.
Whether he was hoping to see another struggle for power
as he'd taken advantage of with Sultan Mahmed's death, or
worried about what such a war could entail, as in
the case of King Corvinus's death would be his little secret,

(01:48:58):
But either way, no crisis took place. John Albert would
take Kazimir's throne in Poland, while his younger brother Alexander
would be crowned in Lithuania. The Prince of Moldavia now
just had to determine how he would react throughout Stefan's
entire reign. Thus far, he had shown his remarkable intellect
and strategic abilities when it came to handling foreign affairs.

(01:49:19):
He knew at all times to keep a close watch
on all of his neighbors and lean in favor of
whoever would benefit him and his principality best.

Speaker 3 (01:49:27):
At the time.

Speaker 2 (01:49:28):
Thus, the Voivode lacked a strong immediate reaction that the
changes in Poland and Lithuania. Knowing that he had friends
in Moscow, Hungary and part time allies in Poland and
the Ottoman Empire, there was no reason to stir the
pot just yet. But when Kazimir's sons decided to meet
in Luca in the spring of fourteen ninety four, Stefan
paid close attention. The aim of the meeting between Vladislas

(01:49:52):
of Hungary, John of Poland, and Alexander of Lithuania was
to plan a joint campaign against the Ottoman Empire, which
they all could now agree was their shared foe. This
spirit of cooperation was, however, quickly tainted by John Albert's
own ideas, particularly concerning Moldavia. Despite Vladislaus's friendship with the
nearby boy Vote, John wanted to overthrow Steffan in favor

(01:50:15):
of Casimir's other son, Zigismund. An air of suspicion would
soon make its way to the Moldavian Prince himself, who
thus began to distrust the new King of Poland. Steffan,
being the observant man he was, believes that John Albert
wanted to strengthen his control over Moldavia, and when John
shortly launched an attack on the Ottomans occupying Kilia and
Chitata Alba, these fears seemed to be confirmed. Despite a

(01:50:39):
notable effort to stop the Polish king, Stefan was unable
to interfere with the campaign and subsequently turned to his.

Speaker 3 (01:50:45):
Ally in Moscow for assistance. Ivan the Third was quick
to back.

Speaker 2 (01:50:48):
His ally and friend, and thus reached out to Alexander
of Lithuania with a request that he stay out of
his brother's war. Possibly due to the shared opinions of
many Lithuanian nobles, Alexander agreed to steer clear of the
conflicts and thus save Stefan from an added threat. This
still wasn't enough to change the mind of John Albert, though,
and by the summer of fourteen ninety seven, Polish troops

(01:51:09):
broke down the door into Moldavia. Stefan had seen this coming,
having made sure to remain on good terms with Sultan,
biasing the incursion allows the Moldavian prince to receive a
few hundred men in arms from the Ottoman Empire to
aid his territory's defense. Meanwhile, attempting to end the conflict
from both angles, Steffan sent his chancellor, a man by

(01:51:30):
the name of Isaac, to meet with the Polish king
and diplomatically request an end to the assault. If John
Albert had been a man of diplomacy, his skills that
it had surely lapsed at this time, as he responded
to Isaac's request by throwing him in prison. The war
consequently raged on as the Poles now pushed deeper into Moldavia.
They were expecting additional Teutonic troops to arrive any day,

(01:51:52):
but Steffan himself was welcoming over ten thousand Hungarians onto
his side. Thanks to John's brother across the border, the
Polish king was alone and the Moldavians, at the backing
of both Hungary and the Ottomans, as well as the
Polish troops, were contrastingly blindsided by a plague outbreak as
their ongoing siege, not Stefan's defenses were crumbling to dust.

(01:52:14):
By the end of October, the tables had turned and
the Voivode was ruthlessly chasing his invaders out.

Speaker 1 (01:52:20):
What this says over on the side here the Battle
of cosmon Fors. This is the defeat against the Polish.
This says in a masterful ambush deep in the woods,
Stephan the Great of Maldovia crushed the retreating Polish army
of King John Albert. Using narrow force, pass hidden archers,
and hit and run tactics, Stefan turned the terrain into

(01:52:41):
a deadly trap. The Polish cavalry was rendered useless and
their army fell into chaos. Polish casualties were numbered somewhere
between two thousand to ten thousand, with minimal losses in Moldelvia.
This Battle of the cosmon Fores sealed Stephan's reputation as
a brilliant tactician and safeguarded Moldovian sovereignty.

Speaker 2 (01:53:06):
Either they left Moldavian soil or died on it. A
string of Moldavian raids into Poland reinforced the points in
case anyone had misunderstood, and John Albert was now faced
with the facts that many before him had two leans
the hard way. Steffan wasn't going anywhere. A new alliance
was soon created between Hungary, Poland and Moldavia, with Steffan

(01:53:28):
further securing his standing as more than just an average
prince among kings. By now, though, the grafty Moldavian was
aging and had already begun grooming his son Bolda to
take his throne in the coming years.

Speaker 3 (01:53:40):
The voivode had reigned.

Speaker 2 (01:53:42):
For decades over a period of relative stability for his people,
particularly in contrast to the rapid changes of authority in
neighboring Valakia. To oust Stefan of Moldavia from power would
have been as easy as ripping the stars from the sky,
and his people, in many cases adored him. He was
viewed by many boyars as crewe and tyrannical, but by
the peasantry often as their guardian and a just ruler.

(01:54:04):
This discrepancy may come from his tendency to reward those
who supported his strong central government, which often included the
lower classes of nobility over the entitled boyards. He was
undeniably seen as a supporter of the Church, nonetheless, as
he had many new churches constructed, rewarded the church with lands,
and encouraged monasticism. His view on foreigners, however, would serve

(01:54:24):
often as another reason to critique the long reigning prints
as he was not afraid to persecute certain groups such
as Hussites, Roma and Jews.

Speaker 1 (01:54:33):
So I love that little tidbit there. He had no
fear of persecuting certain groups Roma, Gypsies, Jews, and then Hussites,
which are like you know, proto Protestants. So again, what
a great emblematic figure for sort of masculine Orthodoxy, warrior king,

(01:54:56):
voivode tactician, militarily speak king and yet a very pious
Orthodox defender of the faith based preachers. I have zero
issue with this man. Uh Tara shout out to you, sister,
thanks again for the support today. Is sponsoring the streams,
he says, wonderful king and defender of his people. Absolutely absolutely,

(01:55:19):
we all need to ask for the intercession of Saint
Stephen for all of us and our nations. I mean,
look at the look at the mass immigration problem in
the Western world right now, and you know, obviously he
wasn't dealing with mass migration and replacement migration, a you know,
coordinated global plan that's underway in the Western world. But

(01:55:43):
at least we could take symbolically Sat Stephan the great
as a as a warrior, an orthodox warrior figure that
is defending his people, defending the faith, and really not
putting up with any nonsense when it comes to religious version,
especially by other various groups that were occupying territory in

(01:56:05):
his nation. So just a wonderful, wonderful saint and somebody
that I think all converts to Orthodoxy, especially American and
Western converts, need to appreciate. And you know, just keep
in mind, I haven't heard too many people who have
taken Saint Stephan as their patron saint. But if I
was a young man and I was entering the church,

(01:56:27):
I would give serious consideration to Saint Stephen. What an
incredible saint.

Speaker 2 (01:56:33):
Controllably, though, Stefan was often found to look to experts
from outside his borders when it came to expanding his
understanding of topics such as politics and the like, it's
possible that his involvement with these foreigners helped contribute to
his inate ability to play puppet master with his neighbors,
moving kings and emperors against each other and in favor
of himself like pieces on chessboard. His awareness and political

(01:56:54):
genius were startling, and a pillar of his reign and
ability to maintain power so on waveringly. His abilities at
war were no less dazzling, however, and necessary. If the
Voivode himself is to be believed, he fought three dozen battles,
and one thirty four of them. He often had help
from his allies in the form of manpower, which cannot
be ignored, but neither can the simple facts that his

(01:57:16):
cleverness and resourcefulness is the reason why he managed to
always have aid. Stefan's reputation had been sent, but his
time as Prince of Moldavia was not over yet. He
was tasked with guiding his son in the same direction.

Speaker 3 (01:57:29):
As he'd gone all these years.

Speaker 2 (01:57:32):
One of Bondan's first and most crucial acts as Stefan's
co ruler was to aid in the renegotiation of peace
with Poland and as of fourteen ninety nine, the end
of Polish suzeranty over Moldavia. A year later, the father
and son duo would cease paying tribute to the Sultan
and send words to Venice with an offer to join
the Ottoman Venetian War and a request for a doctor

(01:57:52):
to help treat Stefan's declining health. Matteo Mariano, a Venetian physician,
was sent in response to Stefan's request, but Moldavian at
time tempts to re engage in war with the Ottomans failed,
and efforts to retake Khalia and Chatata Alba came up short.
Over the next few years, clashes with the Ottomans, Tartars,
and Poles would follow, but peace was eventually made again

(01:58:13):
in fifteen oh three, and Stefan agreed to once more
pay a yearly tribute to the Ottoman Empire. Before his death,
the voivode would press his son on the issue, insisting
that he too continued to pay their share to the Sultan,
and with Stefan's doctor now deceased, a new request went
out for another in hopes of extending his own rule
for just a little longer. But the prince was old,

(01:58:35):
drained after so many decades of war and politics. His leg,
which had never healed after his clash with flat Dracula
over his beloved Kulia, was no longer the worst.

Speaker 3 (01:58:45):
Of his ailments.

Speaker 2 (01:58:46):
He was fading away, and he could he had left
his mark over forty seven years of voivodeship. He had
prepared his son to take over his duties and there
was nothing left for him to do. It is only
a shame that he died on July second, fifteen o four,
knowing that Kalia still remained out of Moltdavian hands. It
may very well have been Stefan the greats only regret.

Speaker 1 (01:59:12):
So that that concludes our video. And here's you know,
some of the monasteries that he founded. The Putnam Monastery,
probably the most famous, is one of the most important cultural, religious,
and artistic centers established in medieval Valdevia, Maldavia, and it
was dedicated. It was built and dedicated by Stephan the Great,

(01:59:35):
and I believe that's also the necropolis for his family
as well. So here's a few of the photos what
it looks like. You know, I'd love to do a
pilgrimage to this part of the world one day. And

(01:59:59):
then again. Varnett Monastery. This is another again the one
that if you've seen my videos, I have an intro
introduction video that plays the chance and it's actually a
video of this particular monastery where all the icons are
written on the outside. This on when I talked about

(02:00:19):
how the West was experiencing the Renaissance, there was also
you know, some type of I called it a sort
of Orthodox Renaissance of sacred art and stuff with the
building of monasteries, and this is what that looks like.

(02:00:41):
So and then this is the monastery that he gave
so much money and resources towards on Mount Athos. I
was gonna get some photos of it. Actually when we
did the pilgrimage with my wife, which you do on
a ship because the women and children can't get within

(02:01:03):
like one hundred meters of the shore of Mount Athos,
but they have a pilgrimage for women. We actually uh
drove by this monastery. It's in like it's in the
southwestern part of Mount Athos. So anyways, Saint Stephan was

(02:01:23):
a great, great man and somebody that all of us
Orthodox converts, especially us men, should keep keep on the
forefront of our mind and ask for intercession from him,
especially when it comes to like the you know, the
defending of one's nation, their people, and their religion. I mean,
I can't think of a better emblematic figure in Saint

(02:01:45):
than Saint Stephan the Great, especially regarding the invasion of
Islam in Europe right now. You know, he dealt with
the Ottoman Empire. He was, you know, the face of
the resistance against the Ottomans, even though towards the end
of his life they had taken Kalia and the other
Black Sea port. It set the stage for further resistance.

(02:02:08):
It's set the stage for somebody like Michael the Brave
in Romania in the sixteenth century for his resistance against
the Ottomans. So maybe we'll do another one in the
future on Michael the Brave. He's another really good figure
in regards to Orthodox Christian trying to defend his homeland
of Wolakia against Ottoman invasion and Ottoman vassal ship and

(02:02:31):
all types of stuff. So that pretty much does the
stream for today. Guys. I don't really know what else
is there to say except how great of a warrior king?
And the question that I posed is is he the
greatest warrior king at least Christian warrior king and Christian history.
I think you can make the case. I think you

(02:02:53):
can make the case that the Battle of vass Louis
is or at least one of the greatest Christian victories
in battle in European history. And it's ironic that, you know,
so many people have forgotten and so few people actually
speak of the reign of Saint Stephan and what he
was able to accomplish and what he was able to do.
So if you are a young man and if your

(02:03:14):
name is Stefan or Stephen, I highly recommend looking into
Saint Stephan the Great becoming your patron saint, because we
need more Stephan the greats in the Orthodox world. We
need more Stephan the greats across all you know, the
European or you know, formerly white European Christian nations, because

(02:03:37):
we are under an onslought right now. And even you know,
even Tucker I saw he had a guy on his
most recent interview was about replacement migration. The guy wasn't
a conspiracy theorist, and I thought he was kind of
soft on some of the issues, but apparently has written
multiple books on immigration and what's going on. But you know,
England is in a terrible spot right now, you know,

(02:04:01):
same with you can you know, really point to every
Western European nation and there has to be a newfound
sense of national identity, pride, and really religion because there
there is no resistance against Islam. There is no resistance
against the forces of evil. We just had this demonic
transhooter the other day. Uh, clearly demonically possessed, probably a

(02:04:25):
product of you know, some some type of neo mk
ultra mind control program, because it fits all the categories. Right,
He's trans, he doesn't like Israel, he's pro Palestine, pro
Muslim has like black Son, you know, Nazi regalia, calls
Mexican spicks. It's like every if you were an intelligence agency,

(02:04:49):
if you were the CIA, this this transhooter that just
happened yesterday literally fit like every category of you know,
American opposition to the official narrative, right, whatever the official
narrative is. And you know, and now we see like
the New York Times make I mean, he literally shoots
up Catholic children, you know, Injures, over twenty people, and

(02:05:14):
the next day it's like, oh, he hated Jews, he
killed Christians, and yet somehow the official narrative is about
his anti Israel stuff or Israel must die. It's just,
you know, Christians are the most persecuted religion in the world,
and like Saint Stephen, you know, there's not going to
be too many people that come to our aid. You know,

(02:05:37):
he struggled in his lifetime to find allies, and in
the same sense, we're struggling to find allies, and we
elect people like Donald Trump, and not that we didn't
already know ahead of time, but not really the ally
we thought we had. You know, he's just now negotiated
to bring in six hundred thousand Chinese students in the

(02:05:57):
US universities, which means that six hundred thousand positions at
a university that an American cannot actually get into because
the position is occupied, it's filled. So, like Saint Stephen,
you know, what we need to lean on is our
faith in God and in our tradition and our Orthodox faith,

(02:06:20):
and then saints and people like him that give us
inspiration to say, like, look, we're not pacifist. It's okay
to defend your family, it's okay to defend your people,
it's okay to defend your faith. And sometimes it's violent,
and the men that choose to partake in that endeavor
we have to realize that it's you know, it is

(02:06:40):
spiritually dangerous. It's always going to be spiritually dangerous if
if violence occurs and and potentially life is lost. We
talked about this last night in our think tank about
you know, where is where is the edge of violence?
And you know when is it condoned? And just like
the transhooter, say you or I, an Orthodox Christian was

(02:07:02):
there and we were carrying and we killed him before
he was able to kill more children and injure more people.
At the Catholic Church, the Annunciation uh Catholic Church in Minneapolis, yeah,
you probably wouldn't be served communion for a while. But
it's the right thing to do. And we need more
masculine men that are willing to actually draw a line,
as somebody said in the Chat, not one step back.

(02:07:25):
And you know, even though Saint Stephen had to, you know,
eventually concede his Black Sea ports, he fought as strong,
as strong and as long as he could. And that's
exactly what we need to do. And we need to
have that mentality we as Orthodox men and and and
not really you know, be so concerned with the American

(02:07:47):
empire or defending the military industrial complex or you know,
the the Zionist machine that rules our political infrastructure, but
our people, our neighbors, our parishes, and we need to
really think of ourselves as men that these are the
people that we're here to defend. And this is why

(02:08:07):
you know, it's important for every man to become, you know,
the masculine version of yourself, because that's how God can
use you. You know, like somebody said in the Chat,
there's so much, you know, this sort of boomer progressive
mindset in Orthodoxy that somehow are pacifist. Yet we have
a whole history of Orthodox warrior saints and saints Stephan

(02:08:28):
the Great is a perfect example of that. We need
to develop some type of warrior mentality. And you know,
just just getting in uh debates on X about the
Orientals or the papacy, you know, we got it's got
it needs to go deeper than that, you know, like
Jay's got that covered, you know, that's his skill set,
That's what Jay does, that's his calling, that's his purpose.

(02:08:52):
But for the average man, for you and me, we
need to become the most masculine versions of ourselves so
that we can then be helpers and if duty calls,
we can be the warriors that we need. And who
knows where again, America is gonna go h Western Europe's
gonna go it's it's going to eventually become violent. I'm

(02:09:15):
not advocating for that. I'm just saying that that's in
an adevitability. I mean, you look at what's going on
in England with you know, then putting up the Saint
George's you know flag, the white white flag with the
red cross, and you're seeing what the Muslims are are saying.
You're seeing all these street interviews in England about how
the Muslims are saying they're they're there to conquer. It's
their land. Now, there's not really any way out of

(02:09:39):
that besides some type of violent conflict. And we need
to really acquire discernment regarding the utilization of physical violence
and the maintaining of our Orthodox faith and making sure
that we're we're staying within the bounds of our faith,
but realizing we're not pacifists and we're not going to

(02:10:02):
vote our way out of this. We need to build communities.
You and I need to get wives and have children
and build families. That's the only way out of this.
And again I'm kind of going on a tangent here,
but Saint stephan I think inspires inspires us as a
masculine role model, as a defender of his people in

(02:10:22):
our faith, that that's okay, And in fact, he's venerated
as a saint for doing it. So I think those
are just important things to keep in mind. And I
think again, I major thank you Ta Tara for sponsoring
today's stream and requiring me to dive down the rabbit
hole and look into Saint Stephan because he was. My

(02:10:43):
takeaway was that I was inspired. I'm inspired just to
go deeper my faith, just like when he again, just
like the example when he won the Battle of Vaslui,
he fasted for forty days afterwards. I mean, this is
considered arguably the most important or significant victory Christian victory

(02:11:04):
in European history. And Saint Stephen he didn't go to
the parties. He didn't go to the tent parties with
all the girls and the alcohol and probably good wine
that his soldiers went to. He went and fasted for
forty days. And that's I mean, that's a masculine role model.
That's a masculine role model that I think is is

(02:11:24):
good for everyone. So let me just check some of
these super chats real quick and see where we're at. All. Right,
Oh that we read that one. Nick throws in five
says these videos make me one. Oh yeah, we read
that one too. Darth grumpy dad throws in two dollars

(02:11:48):
no comment, God blessed brother system. Blower throws intent says
donating to support more content to spelling the myth of
Orthodox past. Exactly, we're not passive. There is no Orthodox
nation that didn't have a military, and I think for
us young men, it'd be it'd be quality and good

(02:12:08):
for us to think of ourselves as Christian warriors. And
with that comes with the training of your body. You know,
Saint Stephen wouldn't be able to accomplish the military feats
that he did if he was a soy boy, if
he had a weak body, if he's like, I don't
know my you know, I think I have scoliosis and
I I don't want to go to the gym. It

(02:12:30):
may hurt my No, dude, like, get your get your
stuff together, you know, get your shit together, is what
I was going to say, and realize that this is
way bigger. Like, if you're frustrated with the political scene
in the world and you're frustrated with the direction of
our nation, uh in America. I I'm obviously American. Becoming

(02:12:51):
the best version of yourself as a man is the
ultimate response to it. Because We're not going to vote
our way out. You know, this isn't you know, whatever
mechanism that the narrative tells you that you have agency,
and that's not going to do it. We need to
become the best versions of ourselves. That's the only way forward.
So anyways, thank you very much. System Blower. Nick Boushie

(02:13:15):
throws in five, the Ottoman Empire has zero sec championships.
Yeah exactly, you know, down with the Ottomans, down with Turkey,
down with the Turks. It's still constantinople, you know, and
eventually we will reclaim it. Yes exactly. The system Blower says,
become a great man of history, and that may just

(02:13:35):
be a great man in your family. You know, being
a great man of history may not mean that your
names in history books in one hundred years, but your
name may be on the lips of your children and
your descendants in one hundred years. We all have an
opportunity to create a foundation that last generations for ourselves,
and maybe neither none of us may be people of

(02:13:57):
history significant history, quote unquotot. But my goal is that
my grandchildren, my grand grandchildren have very positive stories to
tell of, to tell of myself, so you're still building
a legacy one way or another. Tara throws in five.
Thank you so much, sister for sponsoring today streams. She says.
My husband took me to visit some monasteries built by

(02:14:19):
Saint Stephen as he is from that part of Romania.
It's beautiful and I recommend visiting. I am moved. I
want to go do, especially after talking with my godson,
doctor Michael Mohler. Shout out to him again. Very much
appreciated for the new icon of the Holy Hierarchs, but
I would love to do a pilgrimage through that part

(02:14:41):
of the Bulkans sounds incredible just hearing his journey and
his experience. He said it was like drinking from a
fire hose. Brady Harvey throws in five, says grift for
the rest of the goal. Don't let Jim Bob beat
you goal. Get the O. Thank you. Snaggle Beast del

(02:15:02):
Bridge says, do you know any good books about conflict thesis?
I'm not sure what you mean by conflict thesis. You know,
there's for my Legionaries and there's the One Resistance against Evil.
Those are the two that I'm thinking of. If if

(02:15:24):
that if what you're talking about is like an orthodox
perspective on physical violence or military or whatnot, I would
recommend for my legionaries and Resist against Resistance against Evil.
Those are two really good books. THEO Theo made Ray

(02:15:45):
throws in three forty nine says, good motivational when having
hard times in the West. Absolutely, you know what we're
what we're experiencing isn't as hard as some of the
Saints have experienced. So it looks like we need four
more super chats for the goal. So if anybody wants
to wants me to yell goal here at the end

(02:16:05):
of the stream, we need four more. Let me check
the Dono chat real quick Dono Chat. Scoopy throws in
a very generous seventy dollars super chat over on Donos
shout out to Scoopy. Thank you very much, he says,
I don't often get to catch a live stream. Wanted
to thank you for everything through the years, God blessed
lots of love from Canada. Well, thank you so much,

(02:16:26):
Scoopy for the generous support. Brother. Really appreciate that. And
if I've helped in any way, Glory to God Man.
I'm humbled, so thank you for the generous support. Really
appreciate that. All right, Hernandez, the hero throws in five says,
uof right now against institutions and persons bring in global technocracy?

(02:16:47):
Is it okay to do? Or not good or bad? Idea?
I'm not sure what uof means? Can somebody help me
out in the chat here? What does uof mean? What
does uof mean? Somebody helped me in the chat? I'm

(02:17:08):
not sure? Oh? Use of force? Oh, use of force
right now against institutions and persons bring in global technocracy?
Is it okay to do or not good or bad? Idea?
With Christian context? Please? Well, the general framework from the
Orthodox perspective is that we are not instigators or antagonists

(02:17:31):
when it comes to physical violence. We are defenders, and
so we respond to the threat of physical violence. What
would be the Christian context on the use of force
against the development of technocracy right now? Well, I could
see somebody from a sincere Christian perspective potentially sabotaging technology

(02:17:56):
through viruses or stuff like that. But again, you know,
it's going to put yourself in a particular hot spot
amongst the authorities. If anything. Again, how successful you are
as a Hacker or whatever it may be. In regards
to physical violence against like Peter Thiel or Elon Musk,
I think we have to be careful because when you
look at the history of these things, often when we

(02:18:20):
do participate in violence or force against people in an
aggressive manner, it tends to exacerbate and amplify whatever it
is that they're doing and sort of creates martyrs. Right
the history of the church is that Christianity spread by martyrs,
and offering martyrdom to our enemies, I think is something
we need to take into account. So I think being

(02:18:48):
resistant against all this stuff is the essence of being Orthodox.
Right now in the if you want to call it
the end of modernity or the postmodern world or the
global technocracy, we have to be speaking out and we
have to be building and working together in opposition to it.
Could that be deemed as a use of force. We

(02:19:11):
need to forcibly build an alternative. We need to forcibly
build intact, strong communities. We need to forcibly build orthodox families.
I would say to do not engage in physical violence
against the builders of the technocracy. There are spiritual powers

(02:19:34):
at work, and so pray about it. You know, call
for the Holy Spirit to give discernment and actions and
how exactly we maneuver through all this stuff, because it
really is a time of real maneuvership, like we it's
all coming right now. The technology is here. Everything that's
been speculated you know for the last twenty thirty years,

(02:19:58):
we're at a different part in that ball game where
some of this stuff is actually here. So, oh, somebody says,
what about cutting down CCTV. I think that's great. I
think that's great like that. I've seen people be doing
this in England, Like that is a four. That is
a resistance that is not harming somebody. Right, So if

(02:20:22):
the way you harm the technocratic plan is through their
technology is being torn down, that is not a violation
of somebody's free will. Where you are would be deemed sinful,
I would say cutting down CCTV. Yeah, I think that
is a great form of a great form of resistance

(02:20:42):
and we need to you know, be inspired to do
that here in America because it's coming. So yeah, great,
great point by you guys, Hernandez the Hero and Scoopy,
thank you very much. Austin Detulio throws in five no
common thank you so much Austin, and snagglebe says, oops,

(02:21:03):
I didn't know that teal was required for my goal.
My bad, doctor, No, no bad at all. Thank you
very much for the five dollars. Let's see where we're at.
Now we have reached we have reached the goal. Okay,
well before we hop off here, as I promised, we're
gonna be doing a long goal here. We have reached
the goal. So let let me get a drink of water.

(02:21:30):
All right, you guys, now, yes, set the timer. Set
the timer, snagle Beast, and if anybody wants to participate
with me, you can go ahead and try. I'm gonna
try to break a minute. I'm gonna try to break
one minute goal. I'm not sure if we got to

(02:22:27):
a minute. I told you I'm working my way up
to it. But that should have been better than the
forty two seconds last time. Did somebody did somebody time it?
Did we get a timer in there? Tell me somebody
timed it? Fourteen seconds, fourteen seconds, thirty two to thirty

(02:22:51):
four seconds. I need to I need to work on
my breath if we're going to reach a minute. My
goal is to reach one minute. My goal to reach
one minute. And I challenging Jimbob to a goal contest
to see who can do it longer thirty three seconds.
I gotta do longer than that. I gotta break. I
gotta break that. That's weak stuff. That is weak stuff. Man,

(02:23:13):
if that was thirty four seconds, I was legitimately out
of breath. Uh. If I'm gonna break a minute, I'm
gonna have to do like breathing breathing practices and drills,
breathing techniques. I can break it fifty six seconds. I
don't know. I'm seeing thirty thirty. Some Snagobe says thirty
two to thirty four. Oh man, I'm gonna have to

(02:23:38):
work on that. But anyways, guys, thank you so much
for everybody who's supported. You need Jibbob's goal tribal goal music.
I don't know what that means. He plays a certain
music when he reaches the goal. Bullshit, bullshit, that was

(02:24:06):
not muted. We keep telling jb the same thing, breathing
exercise or yeah, that's that's something I'm gonna have to
really work on. The lung the lungs on that one.

(02:24:27):
The one minute goal, that is the goal, that is
the new goal. When we reach the goal. The new
goal once we reached the goal is a minute long goal.
That's the goal. So anyways, guys, thank you all so
much for being here, and thank you everybody who's supported
today's stream. A major thank you to Tara for another
fantastic topic. Backseat says, it took the constant sound as

(02:24:53):
big noise and slowly turned your volume. Did it? Really?
I didn't know that. Look up singing exercise as well,
because you're not just breathing, you're also speaking. Yeah. True. Anyways,
thank you all so much. God bless you all, and

(02:25:14):
I'm excited to get some of the new content we
got out that's coming. I'm really excited for some of
the streams we got going on. So thank you all
so much for the stream. Major thank you Ta Tara
and the family. God bless your son, God bless your husband,
and thank you for him introducing you to Saint Stephen
the Great. And I hope this was useful and educational

(02:25:36):
for everybody out there. So I will catch you all
in the next one as always, until then, God bless

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