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January 14th
Enlightener and First Archbishop of the Serbs (+1235) |
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HE SERBIAN Grand Zhupan (Patriarchal leader) Stephen Nemanja
had two sons, Stephen and Vukan; yet, he and his wife Anna desired,
if it be God's will, to have another child. Their pious prayers ascended
before God, Who heard their petition and blessed them with their last
child, a son who was born in the year of our Lord 1175. At baptism the
child was given the name Rastko, a name derived from the Old Slavonic
verb "rasti" which means "to grow." And grow divinely
he did. There were many special things about Rastko: he was a lovely
child, with pronounced features and smooth skin, and possessed, already
in his childhood, an unusually alert and pious demeanor. Little did
Rastko's parents and all those of the Royal Court (and even the entire
Serb nation) realize that his birth and baptism into Orthodoxy would
providentially set in motion their own historical and spiritual journey,
which would result in the blossoming of their Christian faith, nation
hood and total Christian cultural orientation. This young child, Rastko,
whose monastic name later was Sava, became and still remains the most
beloved of all Serbian Orthodox saints, considered by all Serbs everywhere
and at all times as the ultimate expression and example of what it means
to be fully human, that is, what it means to be a devout and committed
follower of Jesus Christ.
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At first we were confused. The East thought that we were West, while the West considered us to be East. Some of us misunderstood our place in the clash of currents, so they cried that we belong to neither side, and others that we belong exlusively to one side or the other. But I tell you, Ireneus, we are doomed by fate to be the East in the West and the West in the East, to acknowledge only heavenly Jerusalem beyond us, and here on earth--no one St. Sava to Ireneus, 13th century |
The Karejski Typikon
is one of the most important documents in the history of Serbian spiritual
literature. In 115 lines Sava detailed the rules for prayer, fasting
and liturgical worship to be carried out by the kelliote (monk who lives
in a cell) residing in Karyes. The Karejski Typikon was patterned after
the ancient rules of prayer of the early ascetics who strived in the
Lord in the deserts of Egypt, Sinai, Palestine and Syria. The Karejski
Typikon expressed a most fundamental understanding and belief concerning
human beings held to this day by all pious Orthodox Christians: the
truth that all human beings are originally made and therefore destined
to know and be friends with their Creator—God the Holy Trinity—and
to be personally and intimately known by Him, which is a flowing and
most powerful relationship of love, peace and joy. And this is totally
possible for those who are seriously committed to "the Way, the
Truth, and the Life," our LordJesus Christ who rests in the bosom
of God the Father, and for those who are animated by the Holy Spirit.
And if there is one clear message revealed in the life of St. Sava,
it is precisely this: that the Christian life consists primarily in
seeking and finding God, in searching and discovering His will, and
in hungering and thirsting for His righteousness—Seek ye first
the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall
be added untoyou (Matt. 6:33). Sava's sojourn in his cell in Karyes
built him into a pillar of Orthodoxy, as it was here that he prayed
without ceasing (I Thess. 5: 17) and also wrote many hymns, treatises
and prayers to the glory of God the Holy Trinity.
Only a few months after the completion of his cell, Sava's father, monk
Simeon, became grievously ill. On February 13, 1200, Blessed Simeon
fell asleep in the Lord. He was 86 years old. (And only four months
later, on June 21, 1200, Princess Anna-St. Anastasia, Sava's mother,
fell asleep in the Lord at age 75 in the Monastery of the Holy Virgin
in Kurshumlja near Toplica.) In Sava's biography of his father which
he wrote in his cell in Karyes, he described the tremendous sorrow he
experienced over the loss of his father, as well as the holy and divine
way in which Blessed Simeon died. After Simeon's death, Sava asked the
Lord God to reveal to him concerning the judgment of his father. One
night, in a dream, Simeon appeared to Sava with a luminous countenance,
and delivered a most powerful message to him. Simeon told Sava that
Serbia needed him, that there was much work to be done there. Although
Sava did not desire, after entering monastic life on the Holy Mountain,
ever to return to Serbia, this message of Simeon made him realize that
it was now time for the son to be obedient to the father.
The state of affairs in Serbia had been quite poor ever since Simeon's
departure in 1196: there was little religious leadership, and the brothers
Stephen and Vukan were locked in a terrible fratricidal struggle for
political rule of the kingdom. In response to the supplication of Simeon—whose
appearance to Sava also demonstrated Simeon's own saintliness—and
to the numerous pleadings for Sava to return on the part of his younger
brother, the newly coronated King Stephen (11961228), Sava decided to
travel back to his birthplace in the cause of peace, and in order to
comfort and guide his Serbian people. Thus, in 1204, at age 29, after
eleven years of monastic life on the Holy Mountain, Sava began his journey
homeward. His departure was mourned by the monks, but they knew Sava's
departing was the will of the Lord. Sava did not leave without honor
bestowed upon him, as he was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite in
Thessalonica by four bishops of the nearby dioceses.
Hilandar Monastery
When Sava entered his native land in 1204, he unfortunately found the
country just as Simeon had informed him in his dream—in total disarray.
The Serbian state was split in two. By secret negotiations with Hungary
and Pope Innocent III, Vukan, the eldest of the three brothers, who
was bitter over the appointment of his younger brother Stephen as heir
to the throne, was able to amass troops and capture Zeta; he then was
set to launch a campaign against Rashka, King Stephen's portion of the
divided kingdom. This civil war was only a microcosm of a larger conflict
instigated by the West—that is, the hostilities initiated by the
Great Crusades of the Latin church. In 1204, the soldiers of the Fourth
Crusade captured Constantinople and much of the territory of Byzantium,
including the Holy Mountain. In 1205, the Holy Mountain was officially
placed under the authority and jurisdiction of a Roman Catholic bishop.
It is believed that this occurrence was the most influential factor
in Sava's decision to return to Serbia. Hence, the Saint returned home
with his work cut out for him.
When he returned, Sava brought with him the medicine to heal the entire
situation: the relics of his father, the Grand Zhupan and saint, Stephen
Nemanja-Simeon the Myrrh-bearer and co-founder of Hilandar. Upon entering
Studenitsa Monastery, St. Simeon's foundational monastery, Sava invited
his two brothers to a proper and rightful Memorial Service for their
father. As the casket was opened, before their eyes the body of their
father was found to be sweet-smelling, exuding a fragrant oil and myrrh,
warm and aglow, looking very much alive, as if he were only restfully
sleeping. This act of veneration oftheir father was the first step in
healing the fraternal schism between Vukan and King Stephen. Shortly
thereafter, the civil war was halted and a peace agreement was drawn
up, once again restoring the kingdom of Serbia as it was under the reign
of the great King Stephen Nemanja-St. Simeon the Myrrh-bearer. In discussions
with his reunited brothers, Sava also designed plans for an immediate,
systematic and far-reaching missionary program to save the Orthodox
soul of the Serbian people. Studenitsa Monastery, with St. Simeon's
relics making it a national shrine, was chosen as the outreach station
for all activities. St. Sava wrote the Monastery's Typikon, which strengthened
Studenitsa's monastic life.
St. Sava's hermitage near Studenica
As newly elected
abbot of Studenitsa, Archimandrite Sava personally went on several missions
throughout the territories, preaching and teaching the Word of God in
the churches as well as renewing and creating monasteries, building
many churches, opening iconography schools, and in general establishing
and confirming the populace in the Orthodox faith. Sava was concerned
not only with the spiritual welfare of the kingdom, but also with the
material condition of the people, as he constantly advised his two older
brothers, especially King Stephen, on how to better feed, clothe and
administer the people. It is believed that through the monasteries in
Serbia at this time, Sava was able to put the kingdom's economy in order
by raising to the highest level the production of food, wine, honey,
fish, vegetables and livestock, not only sustaining the monastics but
also benefitting thousands of Serbs: pilgrims, visitors, and especially
the sick and aged. Truly St. Sava carried out and actualized the great
commandment of Christ: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all
thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. These missionary efforts were
for Sava, as always, ascetic exercises allowing him to be more fully
immersed in the eternal grace, love and beauty of the Holy Spirit of
God. These acts demonstrated his tremendous love for his people. Sava
was fast becoming a great Serbian ecclesiastical leader; and in the
ensuing years his continual wise leadership would enable him to become
a well-respected international ecclesiastical figure as well.
The international situation, as mentioned, was also in disarray. The
increasing papal power in the East could no longer be ignored. Byzantium
was fighting a losing battle. The Byzantine Empire, like Serbia, was
divided in two, with one political center at Constantinople and the
other at Thessalonica; with the two rival factions, the Niceans and
the Epirotes, fighting for political control over the Empire. The Patriarchate
of Constantinople, the ultimate ecclesiastical administrative overseer
of Serbia, was split in three, with centers at Nicea, Trebizond and
Ochrid. As a result of this confusion and turmoil, King Stephen, at
the advice of his wife, Queen Anna, decided to ally Serbia with the
Pope of Rome in order to stem the tide against the attacks of the Hungarian
King Andreas III and those of the Latinophiles in Constantinople. This
decision on the part of Stephen angered his brother Sava, who, due to
his loyalty to Orthodoxy and the Byzantine State, decided to return
to the Holy Mountain. Hence, in 1217, at age 42, after thirteen years
of missionary activity in his homeland, Sava traveled once again to
his true spiritual home, Hilandar Monastery on the Holy Mountain, in
order to be alone with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And, like his
Savior so often did, Sava too "departed from his flock for a little
while" in order to rest in the bosom of the Father, and to retreat
from the world and its passing struggles and desires. Yet this was only
for a short while, for the Lord had many tasks still ahead for Blessed
Sava to fulfill.
Sava
spent a little less than two years at Hilandar after his departure from
Serbia (1217-1219). The moment he left, Serbia's situation worsened
both domestically and internationally. The miracle-working oil exuding
from the holy relics of his father Simeon stopped flowing. The people
were outraged at King Stephen for driving Sava away. Under no terms
would they accept the Pope's support and disavow Orthodoxy. As a result,
Stephen wrote to Sava imploring him to return. Stephen also renounced
his western ties and attempted to reconcile with the Byzantine emperor
in Nicea, Theodore Laskaris (1204-1222). Spending his days and nights
in prayer and vigil, guarding his soul from all passions, and incessantly
petitioning the Lord in behalf of his Serbian people, Sava was elated
to receive his brother Stephen's repentant letter. When he heard from
Stephen, Sava immediately went to his cell and prayed tearfully to his
father Simeon: "O Saint, having been commanded by God and implored
by us, please disregard our transgressions. For whatever we are, we
are still your children. Allow, therefore, the myrrh to flow again from
your body in the tomb as before, to bring joy and relief to your people
now in mourning." This prayer, which Sava sent to King Stephen
in a letter, was read aloud before the tomb of Simeon in Studenitsa
Monastery and was then published throughout the land. The letter also
disclosed plans Sava had received in a dream from Almighty God: to obtain
from Nicea the independence of the Serbian Orthodox Church. When the
letter was read aloud in Studenitsa, immediately the miraculous myrrh
from the relics of the holy patriarchal leader Simeon began to flow
once again. Thus, by the will of the Lord, Sava set out to journey homeward
for a second time from Hilandar in order to heal his people and to bring
them glad tidings of salvation, faith and unity.
Prior to his return, Sava traveled eastward to Nicea, the city where
the Imperial Patriarch Manuel Sarantenos (1215-1222) resided, the highest
ecclesiastical authority permitted to grant independence to a local
Church. Sava, who also brought with him several monks of Hilandar, discussed
his vision with the Patriarch and Emperor Theodore. At first, the Patriarch
was reluctant to grant Sava's request. Why hadn't Sava, he thought,
petitioned through the Archbishop of Ochrid, who was the immediate jurisdictional
authority over the Church of Serbia? But after a careful review of the
polilical and ecclesiastical difficulties in the Balkans—not only
in Serbia but also between Nicea and Epirus—this request on the
part of Sava began to make perfect sense to both the Patriarch and the
Emperor. By granting autonomy to the Church of Serbia, Rome and the
West's attempts to capture the Balkans could be thwarted. Also, the
Archbishop of Ochrid was becoming too powerful; with independence granted
to the Serbs, his power would diminish. The Serbian Orthodox Church,
now independent, would remain under the direct jurisdiction of the Patriarchate.
(As is well known, the Serbian Orthodox Church did not receive her own
Patriarch until over one hundred years later, becoming autocephalous
on Palm Sunday, April 9, 1346.) Thus, the situation was quite favorable
to all involved. At Patriarch Manuel's request, Sava was selected to
be elevated to Archbishop. At first, Sava vehemently refused this offer
on the grounds that he felt he was truly unworthy for such a position
and calling. He offered several of the monks from Hilandar who were
present as potential candidates for the position. In the end, Sava accepted
and was consecrated in Nicea on the Feast of St. Nicholas, December
6, 1219, becoming the first Archbishop of the newly autonomous Orthodox
Church of Serbia. He was 44 years old at the time. The following are
the exact words of the Greek text of Patriarch Manuel's decree elevating
Sava to Archbishop, thus granting autonomy to the Serbian Church:
I, Manuel, the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Archbishop of the City
of Consrantinople, New Rome, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, have
consecrated Sava, Archbishop of all the Serbian lands, and have given
him in God's name the authority to consecrate bishops, priests, and
deacons within his country; to bind and loose sins of men, and to teach
all and to baptize in rhe name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. Therefore, all you Orthodox Christians, obey him as you have
obeyed me.
After his consecration, Sava returned to the Holy Mountain in order
to say farewell to Hilandar and to receive the blessing and prayers
of the entire monastic community of the Holy Mountain. This was the
most emotional moment in Sava's life. To the Holy Mountain (and Hilandar
in particular), his true spiritual home, the holy place where he had
spent over twenty-five years of his life and which he thought he would
never leave, Sava now had to bid farewell. Although the monks welcomed
him and treated him with the highest dignity and respect accorded his
ecclesiastical position, they all nevertheless were saddened by the
loss of their beloved brother and friend, the simple monk Sava. And
if there is anything that shines forth and is easily ascertained from
Sava's personality and character, it is precisely this: no matter what
position or accolade or accomplishment Sava attained or achieved, he
never forgot his spiritual core and roots, which were to love and live
with Christ in simplicity, in common friendship and in humble love.
View of the holy
peninsula and Aegeon from the peak of Mount
Athos
The
newly consecrated Archbishop Sava then traveled by boat to Thessalonica,
where he tarried awhile at Philokalos Monastery. At Philokalos, he,
along with a few others, made a translation from Greek into Slavonic
of the Byzantine ecclesiastical law book The Rudder or Nomocanon of
St. Photios the Great (9th century). Called Kormchaja
Knjiga (Book of the Pilot) in Slavonic, this translation contained not
only the ecclesiastical canons—including the dogmatic decrees of
the Seven Ecumenical Councils—with commentaries by the best medieval
Greek canonists, but also numerous precepts of the Fathers of the Church
along with several of the imperial edicts of the great Byzantine Emperor
Justinian (6th century). This work was one of Sava's greatest literary
and political feats, for it enabled the kingdom of Serbia to be greatly
influenced by the highly cultured and civilized Byzantine state, whose
vision of society and human life was primarily motivated and governed
by the Orthodox faith. For example, Sava divided the kingdom into nine
dioceses according to the civil boundaries of the land, which was the
Byzantine way of ecclesiastical division. Each episcopal seat was located
in the capital of the said territory, which enabled both the civil and
ecclesiastical leaders to work harmoniously for the material and spiritual
benefit of the Serbian people. Each diocese residence was established
in a monastery, with the headquarters of the Archbishop at Zhicha Monastery.
(Also, it is worthy to note that this Slavonic translation, St. Sava's
Nomocanon, became the basis of the civil and ecclesiastical constitution
of the kingdoms of Bulgaria and Russia throughout the entire Middle
Ages.)
When he arrived in Serbia, Sava, the first Archbishop of the Serbs,
was greeted with open arms by his brother King Stephen and his nephews
(Stephen's sons), Princes Radislav (1228-1233) and Vladislav (1233-1243).
Sava went straightway to Studenitsa to venerate his father Simeon's
myrrh-flowing relics. After a short stay there, he left in order to
ascend his archiepiscopal throne in the newly consecrated Zhicha Monastery,
the foundational monastery of King Stephen, located on the right bank
of the Ibar river only five miles southwest of Kraljevo. The architectural
style of Zhicha Monastery was of the school of Rashka or the Serbo-Byzantine
style, characterized by the semi-circular apse at the eastern end of
the main church, a separated narthex (entrance area or vestibule on
the west end where in the monasteries the Divine Services of Compline,
Midnight Office, Hours and the Litya on the eve of Great
Feasts are said), along with a large dome joining the two ends to focus
the worshippers to the center of the church. A unique feature of the
main church of Christ the Savior in Zhicha was the brick and stone construction
of the church which was plastered over and colored red, after the model
of the Holy Mountain monasteries, symbolizing the blood which our Savior
and His beloved followers, the holy Martyrs, shed "for the life
of the world."
As the spiritual center of Serbian Orthodoxy, Zhicha Monastery would
once again lead the efforts toward the total enculturation of the Serbian
people into the Orthodox vision and way of life. To establish Zhicha
as the religious and political center of the kingdom of Serbia, Sava
decided that on the first day of his archiepiscopacy in Zhicha, the
Feast of the Ascension, 1220, he would, as the newly consecrated Archbishop
of Serbia, coronate his brother Stephen as the first Serbian King. Even
though Stephen had previously assumed the throne in 1 196 after his
father Stephen Nemanja-St. Simeon had abdicated, nonetheless his coronation
at this time officially proclaimed him, before all countries, as the
rightful Orthodox King of Serbia. This coronation marked the end to
any western ties by the Nemanja dynasty. Accordingly, Stephen received
the title "Kralj Stephen Prvovenchani" (King Stephen the First-Crowned).
As during his earlier stay in Serbia, Sava met with difficulties. The
Roman Pope Callistus III as well as Archbishop Demetrius Homatian of
Ochrid were not pleased, to say the least, with the elevation of Sava
to Archbishop and the new status of the Serbian Church. Sava spent the
first ten years of his archiepiscopacy (1219-1229) primarily in organizing
the Church, setting up dioceses, renewing monasteries and strengthening
the populace against all pressures from both the Greeks and the Latins.
It must be noted that never once did Sava call for any retaliation or
hostilities against the Greek or Roman dioceses in Serbia. Also, during
this time, Sava experienced another setback. His brother, King Stephen
the First-Crowned, fell asleep in the Lord in late 1228. Prior to his
death, Stephen received the monastic tonsure and the name Simon. After
the
King's death, his son Radislav came into power. Unfortunately for the
Serbs, Radislav favored his Greek mother Eudokia's side. As a result,
the newly coronated King Radislav, against the wishes of Sava, called
for a return of the fledgling Serbian Church to the protectorate of
the Greek Archbishop of Ochrid. This political maneuver was too much
for Sava, and he once again had thoughts of fleeing his homeland. But
where could he go? He was now their permanent Archbishop and could not
possibly go back to Hilandar. After some deliberation, Venerable Sava
decided to visit Jerusalem and the Holy Land. Thus, in 1229, after ten
years of dedicated hard work and fruitful labor in the vineyard of the
Lord in his homeland, Sava decided to renew his own spirit by pilgrimaging
to the cradle of Christianity itself, Jerusalem, where the Lord first
brought salvation to the world.
In Jerusalem, Sava purchased the house in which, according to some records,
Jesus Christ and His disciples celebrated the Passover in the year he
was crucified. He bought it from a Moslem and returned it safely into
the hands of the Orthodox Church in Jerusalem. Also, Sava made arrangements
which facilitated visitations by Serbian pilgrims to the Holy Land.
He paved the way for Serbian monastic colonies to settle and flourish
in Palestine and the surrounding desert areas during the time of the
Serbian Medieval State (early 13th to mid l5th centuries). Sava also
built new churches, renewed existing ones, financed monasteries, and
spent many hours in conversation with the great ascetics of the deserts
of the Middle East, learning more of the art of prayer, fasting, and
the taming of the passions of the flesh. In particular, Sava visited
the monastery of his namesake, St. Sava the Sanctified of Jerusalem,
where his episcopal ministry was confirmed by his fulfilling a seven
hundred-year-old prophecy whereby he received two famous miraculous
icons, the Miraculous Icon of the Theotokos "With Three Hands"
(called "Troiruchica" in Slavonic; see July 12th) and the
Miraculous Icon of the Theotokos "The Nursing Virgin" (see
July 3rd), and brought it to Hilandar and placed it in his typicaria.
When it was time for Sava to leave the Holy Land for Serbia, he decided
to go by way of Nicea. He did this to further solidify the promise made
by Patriarch Manuel in 1219 to keep the Serbian Church autonomous. There
he met with John, the new Emperor of Byzantium (1222-1254) now residing
in Nicea, who succeeded Theodore Laskaris. He also met Germanus, the
new Patriarch who succeeded the late Patriarch Manuel. Irene, Emperor
John's wife and the daughter of the deceased Theodore Laskar, is, was
present at these meetings, and she recalled memories of Sava's first
visit to Nicea. Sava at this time petitioned for autocephaly, i.e.,
the right of the Serbian bishops to select and consecrate their own
Patriarch. This promise was made to Sava in 1219, and he was in Nicea
to renew this pledge. Although this latter request was not granted,
Sava nevertheless confirmed the independence ofthe Serbian Church from
the Archbishop of Ochrid. Hence, the plans of the new King Radislav
were thwarted. Also, unfortunately for Radislav, his military prowess
waned as well, for in a fratricidal civil war against his younger brother
Vladislav during the summer of 1233, he was defeated and exiled to Durazzo,
Albania. Although Sava was unsuccessful in reconciling these brothers—who
were both disloyal to their grandfather St. Simeon's call for unity—nevertheless
he knew it was better for the country to be ruled by Vladislav. Several
years later, as a result of his negotiations with King Vladislav, Sava
was able to obtain safe conduct for Radislav, who was allowed to return
to Serbia. Unfortunately again for Radislav, his wife had eloped with
a French duke during his exile in Albania. Radislav then decided to
become a monk, and Sava tonsured him, giving him the name John.
Service in a Serb Orthodox Monastery
In the spring of 1234, Archbishop Sava, age 59, only five years after
his first trip to the Holy Land, decided to make a second pilgrimage
to Jerusalem. This time he had particular goals in mind. He wanted to
garner support for the Bulgarians who were seeking the ecclesiastical
status of autocephaly. Previously, the Imperial Patriarch residing in
Nicea had recognized this new situation in Bulgaria, but the Patriarchs
of Jerusalem, Alexandria and Antioch had not followed suit. Sava also
hoped to seek this same type of support from these Patriarchs in behalf
of his own autonomous Serbian Orthodox Church. His mission was to promote
the federation of Orthodox sister churches with Jerusalem as the eternal
mother Church. There is no doubt that these ecclesiastical missions
demonstrated a far-reaching and even prophetic insight on the part of
Sava. For the Serbs, he was setting in motion something which would
come about only one hundred years later—the autocephaly of the
Serbian Church. Sava was a man of his times with a clear vision of the
future! Yet there was something even more special about Sava which was
personally exhibited by him just ptior to his second trip to the Middle
East. For no apparent reason, Sava decided to abdicate his archiepiscopal
throne. He appointed one of his younger disciples, Arsenius, to be the
Archbishop of Serbia. In accordance with the canons of the Orthodox
Church, Arsenius was then elevated by the assembly of bishops gathered
at Zhicha. This was confirmed by the Imperial Patriarch in Nicea. Sava,
like the saints of old, displayed prophetic insight far beyond human
wisdom and reason, as no one at this time realized that when they escorted
their beloved Saint to the Serbian kingdom's border so that he could
begin his trek to Palestine, they would never again see him alive in
this world. Sava knew the Lord would soon call him home to the Heavenly
Mansions of the righteous, and thus, as a good archpastor, he lovingly
prepared his spiritual children for their own future.
Sinan Pasha burns the relics of St. Sava at Vracar,
Belgrade,
1594
Upon arrival in
Jerusalem, Sava lodged at the St. George Monastery in Akre, a monastery
he had purchased from the Latins during his first pilgrimage. Sava visited
Patriarch Athanasius of Jerusalem and then went by boat to Alexandria,
Egypt, to meet with Pope Nicholas, "Patriarch of Alexandria and
all Africa." He then went to St. Catherine's Monastery on Mt. Sinai,
where he spent Great Lent of 1234. This was a most blessed Paschal journey
for Sava, for he climbed the heights where the great man of God, Moses
the God-seer and Deliverer of his people, had spent many hours speaking
to the Lord God face to face as a friend converses with a friend. Sava,
too, had been a "Moses" to his people, pastoring, leading
and organizing them into a community of God. After the Paschal celebration
of 1234, Sava returned to Jerusalem and then traveled to Antioch. After
visiting Constantinople, Sava intended to visit the Holy Mountain and
Hilandar, but "it did not please the Holy Spirit." Instead,
he left for Trnovo, Bulgaria, the capital of King Ivan Asen II's Bulgarian
kingdom.
Sava arrived in Trnovo on January 1, 1235. He was received with grcat
honor and dignity, not only because of his efforts on behalf of the
Bulgarian ecclesiastical authorities while in the Middle East, but more
importantly because he was truly the most respected and venerated person
of his era. At the request of King Ivan Asen II, Sava stayed at the
Royal Palace in Trnovo. Many state dignitaries, monastics, clergy and
pious faithful came to venerate this holy pastor and to receive his
blessing. Sava officiated at the Divine Liturgy on Epiphany, January
6, 1235, in the Royal Cathedral of the Holy Forty Martyrs in Trnovo.
As was the custom, he participated in the service of the Blessing of
the Waters held outside the Cathedral, at the nearbyJantra River. After
the Divine Service, the Saint caught a cold which developed into pneumonia,
eventually causing his death during the night between Saturday and Sunday,
January 14, 1235. He was 60 years of age.
The news of St. Sava's death was a shock for both the Serbian and Bulgarian
nations, as well as for the entire Byzantine commonwealth. The saint
received a most honorable Christian burial and was laid to rest in the
Cathedral of the Holy Forty Martyrs in Trnovo. He remained in Trnovo
for over tWo years, until May 6, 1237 when, after the personal visit
of the Serbian King Vladislav, a solemn procession from Trnovo to Mileshevo
Monastery returned the Saint to his rightful homeland. Mileshevo Monastery,
located only a few miles east of the Lim River near Prijepolje, was
founded by King Vladislav (1234-1243). Although renowned for its beautiful
icons and frescoes—the Angel at the Tomb of Christ for example—the
Monastery could never have imagined the attention it would receive after
the placing of the body of Sava in the main church. Upon opening the
casket, Sava's body was found completely intact, fragrant, exuding myrrh,
looking simply as if he was comfortably sleeping. Thousands of pilgrims—Serbs,
Roman Catholics, and even Jews—came to venerate the divine Sava.
To all, he was a source of unity, healing, wisdom, joy, and spiritual
strength, uniting the various tribes of Serbs into a cohesive nation
of Orthodox believers. As a result, only eighteen years later, in 1253,
the Orthodox Church of Serbia officially canonized their beloved St.
Sava (see April 27th and May 6th).
Mileseva Monastery - burial church of St. Sava
As time passed, the tremendous legacy of holy leadership on the part
of the great Sava kept the Serbian people united under one flag: the
royal kingdom of Serbia which avowed Orthodoxy and the way of Christ.
He was the sole person who was responsible for the transformation of
the Serbian people into a people of God. And their allegiance to the
way in which he lived was to the Serbs the only true model and expression
of religious, political and cultural life. Hence, as in the case of
every great human being who inspires generations after him to even greater
heights of civilized life, so too was it with Sava, for his ideal motivated
the people of Orthodox Serbia to become, in the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries, one of the most resplendent kingdoms the world has ever known.
Religious life peaked as the monasteries in Serbia, the most beautiful
being based upon the Byzantine style, were crowded with monastics who
led an austere life, inspiring the Serbian people to greater heights
of humility, while also leading them to exhibit the trait they were
(and are to this day) most recognized for—hospitality. And, as
mentioned, due to the astute ecclesiastical wisdom on the part of Sava
in 1219 in Nicea, the Serbian Church was able, in 1346, to obtain her
own autocephaly, i.e., her own Patriarch. Political and economic life
also flourished, following the example of the Christ-like Sava, in the
centuries following his repose in the Lord. A unity among the Serbs,
based on their adherence to Orthodoxy and maintenance of the political
ideals of their beloved St. Sava, allowed them to develop into a Balkan
power to the point that in 1346 the Serbian King Dushan the Powerful
was given the title of "Emperor of the Serbs, Greeks, Bulgars and
Albanians."
In sum, after his death St. Sava was to the Serbs a type of ideal and
measuring rod of what it meant to be a true Serb, which is, to be fully
committed to Jesus Christ and the way of Orthodoxy. Religiously, Sava
was thought of as an equal to St. Nicholas, the ideal and standard of
bishops; as a humane politician, Sava was considered an equal to St.
Constantine the Great, the founder of the Byzantine Empire; and, as
a Great Martyr later in 1595, Sava was considered an equal to the humble
St. Polycarp of Smyrna, the first Great Martyr to be burned to death
(see April 27th, Burning of the Relics of St. Sava). Bless the Lord
God! All these Christian traits and attainments manifested in one person!
During the two centuries following his death, the person of St. Sava
became the brightest star ever known to the Serbs, inspiring them to
a way of life which succeeding generations have as yet been unable to
recapture or match.
This love for Sava continued unabated even during the time of the barbaric
Turkish occupation of the Serbian lands, beginning with the Battle of
Kosovo on June 15, 1389. On that day, the Serbs chose to remain faithful
to Christ, Orthodoxy, and the embodiment of their faith, St. Sava. After
receiving the Precious Body and Blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
on the eve of the Battle on the Field of Blackbirds, the Serbian armies
went on victoriously to their martyrdom and "crucifixion"
at the hands of the ungodly Turks, proving to history (and of course
to themselves) that it is better to die for Christ, the way and the
truth and the life, than to live for any earthly cause or dominion.
This martyrdom on Kosovo Polje, more than any other event in the history
of the Serbian race, proved their allegiance to the way of life that
St. Sava taught them, that is, living with Christ the Lord in His Heavenly
Kingdom. It was this vision of life which sustained the Orthodox Serbs
during the oppressive times to follow. It was this vision given to them
by St. Sava which was their hope. Not a vanquished hope or a defeated
one, but a hope that was alive, hallowing, sustaining, unifying, strengthening,
abiding, and truly a hope worth living for, no matter what the costs.
This vision was salvation to the Serb!
No wonder the Turks, on Orthodox Holy Friday in 1595, could not withstand
this unifying force, the force of committed life in Christ led by the
example of St. Sava, for they once again "cracked" under this
pressure and, to their eternal folly and damnation, incinerated the
life-giving body and relics of St. Sava (see April 27th). They believed
they could kill the spirit along with the body—something the unbelieving
Jews thought they could also do with Jesus on Golgotha—on that
glorious day on Savinac Hill in the district of Vrachar in Belgrade.
However, to their dismay, the Serbian Orthodox spirit was only made
stronger by this ungodly act, for all pious Serbs at that time and to
this day believe in a Lord and Master, the Savior Christ, who was savagely
and brutally crucified and martyred for the life of the world; and Who
rose from the dead, trampling down death by death, Whose victory and
Kingdom will have no end. This Great Martyrdom of St. Sava was not an
end for the Saint, but a beginning, for along with the title of "Venerable
Holy Father and First Archbishop and Eternal Enlightener to the Serbs,"
he was granted, by Divine Providence, the most wonderful title of "Great
Martyr," thus fulfilling a legacy that certainly will last forever!
And to his glory, on that very Savinac Hill in Vrachar, a glorious Cathedral
is being erected to once and for all confirm his steadfast love and
example of unity, strength and piety that every Orthodox Christian everywhere
must follow in order to inherit eternal life!
Reprint from The
Serbian Patericon
by Fr. Daniel Rogich
Additional Links:
Serbian Orthodox Church (decani.yunet.com page)
Official Site of the Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Raska and Prizren - The Church Life
Turks burn the
holy relics of St. Sava at Vracar in Belgrade 1594 - painting by Uros
Predic
Holy Father Sava, we thy sinful servants ask
Lead us to give our hearts to God first,
Lead us to live for Chrisr rhe Lord first,
Lead us to seek His righteousness first,
Lead us to desire Orthodox truth firsr,
Lead us to remember the Saints firsr,
Lead us to cherish the Church first,
Lead us to love one another first,
Lead us to seek unity of all first;
Holy Father Sava, pray to God to save us.
Tone 8
O guide of Orthodoxy and blessed teacher of virtues,* purifier and enlightener of thy homeland,* beauty of monastics,* most wise Father, Holy Sava,* by thy teaching thou didst enlighten thy people,* O flute of the Spirit, pray to Christ God for our souls.
KONTAKION
Tone 8
As the first great hierarch and co-worker with the Apostles,* the
Church of thy people magnifies thee;* and since thou hast found
favor with Christ,* save us by thy prayers from every calamity,*
so that we may proclaim to thee: Rejoice, God-wise Father Sava.
St. Sava's Cathedral
built on the place where his relics had been burned by Sinan Pasha
The largest Orthodox church in the world
Interior of
the largest Orthodox church in the world
St. Sava's Cathedral, a detail
Bishop
Artemije and the monks in front of St. Sava Cathedral in Belgrade
more photos
from the pilgrimage
Home Page of Raska and Prizren Diocese