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Hierarch · 13th century

Sava I First Archbishop of Serbia

Commemorated as

Our Father among the Saints Sava, First Archbishop of Serbia, Enlightener of the Serbs

c. 1169/1174 – 14 January 1235

Also known as Sava of Serbia · Rastko Nemanjic · Sabbas

A Serbian prince who fled to Mount Athos as a monk, founded Hilandar Monastery with his father St. Symeon, and became the first archbishop and enlightener of the Serbian Church, giving his people law, letters, and spiritual order.

Life

St. Sava I, born Prince Rastko Nemanjic around 1169 (sources also give 1174–1176), was the youngest son of Stefan Nemanja, the Grand Prince who founded the medieval Serbian state and the Nemanjic dynasty. His brothers were Vukan and Stefan, later known as Stefan the First-Crowned, the first Serbian king. About 1190 Rastko was made Prince of Hum, a province lying between the Neretva and Dubrovnik, but he ruled only briefly before abandoning secular power for the monastic life.

In the early 1190s Rastko left for Mount Athos, where he was tonsured and received the monastic name Sava, taken in honor of St. Sabbas the Sanctified. He entered the Greek Vatopedi monastery and remained on the Holy Mountain for several years. His father abdicated and joined him at Athos, taking monastic vows as the monk Simeon; together father and son restored the abandoned Hilandar monastery, which became the enduring center of Serbian monastic life.

Returning to Serbia, Sava reconciled his quarreling brothers and brought order to a divided kingdom. In 1219 he was consecrated by the Patriarch of Constantinople as the first archbishop of the newly autocephalous Serbian Church. He organized its bishoprics, gave his people law books, crowned Serbian rulers, and authored the foundational legal and monastic texts of the young Church and state. He died in 1235 at Trnovo in Bulgaria while returning from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and is venerated as the enlightener and patron of Serbia.

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Timeline

  1. c. 1169–1176 Birth as Prince Rastko Nemanjic Born the youngest son of Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja and his wife Ana, in the village of Miscice in what is now Novi Pazar, Serbia. Sources differ on the exact year (1169, 1174, or 1175–1176).
  2. c. 1190 Prince of Hum Made ruler of Hum, a province between the Neretva and Dubrovnik. He ruled only briefly, until autumn 1192.
  3. early 1190s Departure for Mount Athos and tonsure Left for the Holy Mountain to pursue monastic life, entering St. Panteleimon monastery and then the Greek Vatopedi monastery. He was tonsured and given the name Sava in honor of St. Sabbas the Sanctified.
  4. 1196–1197 His father joins him as the monk Simeon Stefan Nemanja abdicated, took monastic vows under the name Simeon, and joined Sava on Mount Athos.
  5. 1198–1199 Restoration of Hilandar Monastery With a charter granted by Emperor Alexios III in July 1198 and a founding charter and funds from Grand Prince Stefan in 1199, Sava and Simeon restored the abandoned Hilandar monastery. Sava also built an ascetic cell at Kareya and composed the typika for both.
  6. 1200 Repose of St. Simeon Sava's father died at Hilandar on 13 February 1200.
  7. 1205–1207 Return to Serbia Sava returned to a kingdom divided by civil war among his brothers, bringing his father's relics to Studenica monastery. The relics' incorruptibility helped reconcile his feuding brothers and reunify the kingdom; Sava completed his father's canonization as St. Simeon.
  8. 15 August 1219 Consecrated first Archbishop of Serbia At Nicaea, on the Feast of the Dormition, the Patriarch of Constantinople consecrated Sava as the first archbishop of the autocephalous Serbian Church, of the 'Serbian and coastal lands.'
  9. 1219 Organizing the Church and publishing the Nomocanon At the assembly in Zica, Sava consecrated bishops from among his pupils, established numerous bishoprics, and gave them law books. He published the Zakonopravilo ('St. Sava's Nomocanon'), combining Byzantine civil law with church canons.
  10. 1220 Crowning of Serbian kings Sava crowned his brother Stefan as the first Serbian king, and later crowned his nephews Radoslav and Vladislav.
  11. 1229 and 1234–1235 Pilgrimages to the Holy Land Sava made two pilgrimages to Palestine and the wider East, visiting Jerusalem, Sinai, Egypt, and other holy sites, purchasing monasteries for Serbian monks and receiving the Trojerucica icon and the crosier of St. Sabbas at Mar Saba. He appointed his pupil Arsenije Sremac as his successor.
  12. 14 January 1235 Repose at Trnovo Sava died ill at Trnovo in the Bulgarian Empire, having been warmly received there by Emperor Ivan Asen II. He was buried at the Church of the Holy Forty Martyrs.
  13. 6 May 1237 Translation of relics to Mileseva With high church and state honours his relics were transferred from Trnovo to Mileseva monastery, where many healings were reported.
  14. 27 April 1594 Burning of the relics After Serbs used St. Sava's portrait on their war flags in the Banat Uprising, the Ottoman Grand Vizier Koca Sinan Pasha ordered the relics brought to Belgrade and burned. His left hand is believed to have been saved and is kept at Mileseva.

Contributions & Legacy

Foundation of Hilandar and Athonite Monasticism

Sava's principal achievement on Mount Athos was the establishment of Hilandar Monastery. While visiting Emperor Alexios III Angelos at Constantinople, he drew attention to the neglected and abandoned Hilandar and asked permission to restore it for himself and his father. In July 1198 the emperor issued a charter granting Hilandar, along with other abandoned monasteries in Mileis, to Simeon and Sava.

Grand Prince Stefan sent money and issued the founding charter for Hilandar in 1199. Sava composed the monastery's typikon, or rule, modeled on the Constantinople monastery of the Theotokos Euergetis. He also built an ascetic cell at Kareya in 1199 and authored a typikon for it as well. Hilandar became the lasting center of Serbian Orthodox monastic life.

First Archbishop and Organizer of the Serbian Church

On 15 August 1219, the Feast of the Dormition, Sava was consecrated at Nicaea by the Patriarch of Constantinople as the first archbishop of the newly autocephalous Serbian Church, designated archbishop of the 'Serbian and coastal lands.'

At the assembly held at Zica in 1219 he chose bishops from among his own pupils, consecrated them, established numerous bishoprics across Serbia, and gave the newly appointed bishops law books. He crowned his brother Stefan as the first Serbian king in 1220, and later crowned his nephews. He travelled throughout Serbia visiting, establishing, and consecrating churches, and oversaw the translation of ecclesiastical law into Slavonic. Before his final pilgrimage he appointed his loyal pupil Arsenije Sremac as his successor to the archbishopric.

Relics & Shrines

St. Sava died at Trnovo in 1235 and was buried at the Cathedral of the Holy Forty Martyrs there. On 6 May 1237 his relics were translated with the highest church and state honours to Mileseva monastery, where many healings were reported and pilgrims of various faiths were drawn to his grave.

During the Banat Uprising of 1594, Serbs rose against the Ottomans bearing the portrait of St. Sava on their war flags. In retaliation the Grand Vizier Koca Sinan Pasha ordered the relics brought from Mileseva to Belgrade, where they were burned on 27 April 1594. It is believed that his left hand was saved, and it is kept at Mileseva. The Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade, one of the largest church buildings in the world, was built on the site where his relics were burned.

Miracles & Traditions

Historically Documented: When Sava brought his father's relics back to Studenica, their reported incorruptibility was credited with helping reconcile his feuding brothers and reunify the divided kingdom. Following the translation of his own relics to Mileseva in 1237, many healings were reported, and his grave attracted pilgrims of various faiths.

Traditional Accounts: By tradition, while on pilgrimage at Mar Saba he received the Trojerucica (the Three-handed Theotokos icon) and the crosier of St. Sabbas the Sanctified, both later kept at Hilandar. The synaxarion accounts relate that as a youth of seventeen he met a monk from Mount Athos and secretly departed for the monastic life, sending his worldly possessions and a letter home after receiving tonsure.

Related Saints

Notes

Patron of Serbia and of Serbian schools.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Jan 14