Savva I Serbian

He was the youngest son of Grand Duke Stefan Nemani and Anna Nemanich. The secular name is Rastko. The year of birth is not exactly known, usually 1169 or 1174 (sometimes 1175) are mentioned. Born in the mountains of Golia near modern Podgorica . In his youth he went to Mount Athos and became a monk there, then he received the monastic name of Savva. At first he traveled to a Russian monastery, later he moved to the Greek monastery Vatoped .

A few years later, Savva's father abdicated and joined him, receiving the name Simeon . Together, they recreated the monastery of Hilandar on Mount Athos, initially joining it to the monastery of Vatoped . The monastery, built at the expense of the Serbian princes in the middle of the XII century, then became the center of Serbian monastic life. And now it remains one of the most famous monasteries of Athos and is important in the life of the Serbian patriarchate, although it is subordinate to the Patriarchate of Constantinople .

After the death of his father, Savva led an ascetic lifestyle and remained on Athos until the end of 1207. In memory of his father, he wrote "The Life of St. Simeon."

Savva's mother Anna also took monastic tonsure in 1196 under the name of Anastasia. She died in 1200, canonized as the Monk Anastasia of Serbia ^[2] .

In 1208, Savva returned to Serbia to end the civil war between the older brothers Stefan II Nemanich and Vukan Zetsky .

He created the autocephalous Serbian Orthodox Church and became its first archbishop in 1219. The Autocephalous Archbishop led the Serbian Church with the consent of the "Nicene" (in Constantinople then was the Latin Empire ) Patriarch Manuel I. Manuel I ordained Savva to the rank of archbishop. Upon returning to his homeland, the saint began to organize his church. He founded eight new dioceses, in which he appointed his disciples, ascetics of Hilandar and Studenica , as bishops. Priests were sent to different ends of the Serbian lands with instructions to preach and perform church ordinances. The traditions and charters of Mount Athos , the monasteries of Asia Minor and Palestine were introduced into the life of Serbian monasteries ^[3] . After the construction of the Zhichsky monastery was completed, the archbishop's residence was moved to it.

In 1234, Savva undertook a second pilgrimage to Jerusalem , leaving before this as the governor of his disciple and faithful companion Arseny of Sremsky . After the death of his teacher, Archbishop Arseny I headed the Serbian Church until 1263 ^[4] . In Palestine, Savva founded the monastery of the Holy Archangel and a hospital for Orthodox pilgrims. Returning, he drove through Bulgaria . There he died on January 14, 1236. He was buried in the Bulgarian capital Tarnovo .

Savva's nephew Serbian king Vladislav (son-in-law of the Bulgarian king Ivan II Asen ), a year after the death of the saint, transferred his relics from Tarnov to the Mileshev monastery .

The relics of Saint Sava were in Mileshev, until Koja Sinan Pasha took them to Belgrade , where on April 27, 1594 he burned them on Mount Vračar ^[5] . After being liberated from Turkey, the Serbian people and the Orthodox Church decided to build a temple dedicated to St. Sava on this site, in gratitude for all that he had done for his people and the church. However, the relics were probably burned not where the temple is now, but on Mount Chupina-Umka , which was also called the Doctor before. According to popular tradition, the burning of St. Savva’s hand, which is now near Pleval, was saved during the burning.

The memory of St. Sava in the Russian Orthodox Church takes place on January 12 (25) . Since 1830, Saint Sava is considered the patron saint of schools.

• Savva the Sanctified
• Banat Rebellion
• Church of St. Sava

• Savva, Saints of the Orthodox Church // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.

• Site dedicated to Saint Sava (Serb.)
• Society of Saint Sava
• Biography
• Collection of works
• Miladin Mitrovich . Saint Sava as a cutor of the Hilandar monastery // Orthodoxy. Ru
• Savva I Serbian