Iacov Putneanul (January 20, 1719–May 15, 1778) was a Romanian-speaking Orthodox cleric who served as Metropolitan of Moldavia. Born in

Rădăuți Rădăuți (; german: Radautz; hu, Radóc; pl, Radowce; uk, Радівці, ''Radivtsi''; yi, ראַדעװיץ ''Radevits''; tr, Radoviçe) is a town in Suceava County, north-eastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovi ...

, his parents Adrian and Maria entered monasticism late in life and are buried in the portico of

Putna Monastery The Putna monastery ( ro, Mănăstirea Putna) is a Romanian Orthodox monastery, one of the most important cultural, religious and artistic centers established in medieval Moldavia; as with many others, it was built and dedicated by Stephen the G ...

church. Their son became a monk at Putna in 1731. He was ordained a

hieromonk A hieromonk ( el, Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; ka, მღვდელმონაზონი, tr; Slavonic: ''Ieromonakh'', ro, Ieromonah), also called a priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church and E ...

in 1736. He pursued study while at the monastery, where he served as

hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia ...

from 1744 to 1745. He was bishop of Rădăuți from 1745 to 1750 and metropolitan of Moldavia from 1750 to 1760. At the height of his powers, he withdrew to Putna, which he wished to restore to its previous state of flourishing. Together with

archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") who ...

Vartolomei Măzăreanu, he founded a spiritual school there in 1774. Instruction was carried out in Romanian, and the school was modeled on the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.Satco and Niculică, pp. 212-13 Iacov was an Enlightenment scholar, translator, author of textbooks and developed Romanian-language printing in Moldavia: he assembled and printed a primer, the first in the Romanian lands. He wrote the first list of metropolitans of Moldavia, used in commemorating the dead. By printing a series of religious books (an Apostolos in 1756, a Psaltery in 1757 and a liturgy book in 1758), he secured the place of Romanian in the churches of Moldavia. He died at Putna. Canonized in 2016, his feast day is May 15.

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References

*Emil Satco, Alis Niculică (eds.), ''Enciclopedia Bucovinei'', Vol. II. Suceava: Editura Karl A. Romstorfer, 2018. {{ISBN, 978-606-8698-22-9 1719 births 1778 deaths People from Rădăuți 18th-century Romanian people Romanian Orthodox metropolitan bishops Romanian saints