Why is Stefan Milutin considered a saint?

[KernelPanic]

Happened to come across this article.

Child sexual abuse: historical cases in the Byzantine Empire (324–1453 A.D.)

Since the article is behind a paywall, this is the section that caught my attention:

The most celebrated instance of child sexual abuse is referred to in the case of Princess Simonis (Figure 1 ), only daughter of Emperor Andronicus II, Palaeologus (1282–1328), who at the age of 5 was given in marriage to the 40-year-old Sovereign of the Serbs, Stephan Milutin, for reasons of state alliance. The husband, however, as the historian Nicephorus Gregoras (14th century) confirms, “did not abide by the legal requirements for the wife to reach legal age and raped her at the age of 8, causing injuries of the womb, which prevented her from bearing children, and mental suffering which obliged her to return in tears to her homeland to be a nun.” Her parents, however, obviously respecting the political implications of the marriage which created conditions of friendship between Byzantium and Serbia, forced her to go to her husband; she did so and became a widow at the age of 21 (Schopen, 1829).

Maybe I'm missing something here, but why would a person who was 5-times married and a child abuser be considered worthy of veneration?

 

[faroukfarouk]

Happened to come across this article.

Child sexual abuse: historical cases in the Byzantine Empire (324–1453 A.D.)

Since the article is behind a paywall, this is the section that caught my attention:



Maybe I'm missing something here, but why would a person who was 5-times married and a child abuser be considered worthy of veneration?

Rather nasty indeed.

One must be careful, however, not to project onto the Middle Ages presuppositions current in 21st century North America.

If one were to think of this rather ghastly dynastic match between incompatible people in terms of something historical in the United States, its grim sense might emerge. If such a match were regarded as as attempt to hold the system together — something between speeches by President James Buchanan via Gettysburg and Appomattox — then its distressing details might mask an eerie rationale.

 

[~Anastasia~]

It would take more information. Maybe someone here knows more. I had never heard of this so did a little research.

I read that "some sources" claim that he did not wait until she was old enough, but this seems in doubt. It could be true?

There is also the matter of another woman wishing to install her son as king, and offered him to be adopted because of this event, so ... it seems there may be more to that story.

The part about her wishing to become a nun reads a little differently too.

So anyway - I am not sure about all of that. But I've always read about Saints and them living very holy lives, and/or with profound repentance, etc. so with the story you quote it would seem not to fit - if it happened exactly in that way. But as I said, apparently the part about her desire to be a nun was not accurately explained, if other sources (not Orthodox or even Christian ones btw) could be believed. So there may or may not be other inaccuracies.

One thing I did read is that the young woman nursed him very devotedly at the end of his life.

What he did do - was to strongly resist and prevent Catholicism from being enforced on the Orthodox Church and founded a number of monasteries.

I don't know if the Serbian Church at that time was any kind of anomaly, or what. I did understand that a number of rulers were canonized though, and I don't know of that as being typical elsewhere. I also ran across an image of an icon of him, complete with halo, that was said to be painted some years before he died. Orthodoxy never does this. We believe apostasy is possible so no matter how devoted a person is to Christ, we consider that they could possibly fall away. No one is ever canonized a Saint while still living.

I'm interested myself to hear more info.


But the short answer is that no, if it happened as that article claimed, that would not be a life (in itself) worthy of veneration.


However, I want to add ... repentance is possible. Remember that St. Paul persecuted the Church and murdered Christians as Saul.

We also have a much-loved woman - St. Mary of Egypt, who lived her early life as a wanton woman, very promiscuous and loving wine. She became convicted of her sin and went into the desert where she lived for years in repentance and died a very holy woman.

So I don't know anything more about King Stephan Milutin. But there can be several answers or a combination thereof.

 

[ArmyMatt]

not knowing the biography because at the time I can't find him, we should remember that saints are saints in spite of their sins. some of those sins are really bad, and sometimes the saint's virtue is known only to God.

 

[gzt]

He built a lot of churches and defended the Orthodox from their religious enemies. That's likely all it is. At the time of canonization they may not have had a good memory of the less savory aspects of his life. Or that his eventual holiness overshadowed the mis-steps - see King David. If it seems like there's a low bar for royalty, perhaps it just means there's more hope for the rest of us.