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Confessor18th century

Saint Bessarion Sarai the Confessor

c. 1714 – after 1745

Also known as Bessarion of Romania

A Serbian monk who defended Orthodox Christians in Transylvania against forced union with Rome and endured imprisonment and persecution.

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father Bessarion (Visarion) Sarai, Confessor of Transylvania

Life

Saint Bessarion Sarai (Serbian: Visarion Saraj; Romanian: Visarion Sarai) was a Serbian Orthodox monk, born around 1714 in Bosnia, who became a leading defender of Orthodox Christians in Transylvania against pressure to accept union with Rome. His preaching tour through the region in 1744 drew large crowds before Habsburg imperial authorities arrested him.

Imprisoned successively across Transylvania, the Banat, and the Habsburg lands, he was finally confined in the Kufstein fortress in Tyrol, where he is presumed to have died of the harsh conditions of his captivity. He is venerated as a Confessor by both the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Serbian Orthodox Church, and is commemorated on October 21.

He is counted among the Confessors of Transylvania.

Troparion1 hymnReadHide
TroparionTone 8

Champion of Orthodoxy, teacher of purity and of true worship,
the enlightener of the universe and the adornment of hierarchs:
all-wise father Bessarion, your teachings have gleamed with light upon all things.
Intercede before Christ God to save our souls.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline6 momentsReadHide
  1. c. 1714Birth in BosniaBorn in Majdan (Mrkonjić Grad area), Bosnia, and baptized Nicholas.
  2. 1738Monastic tonsureTonsured a monk at the Monastery of Saint Sava the Sanctified near Jerusalem, receiving the name Bessarion.
  3. 1744Mission to TransylvaniaSent by Patriarch Arsenije IV to preach against union with Rome; arrives in Transylvania and preaches in many localities before being arrested.
  4. April 1744Arrest and interrogationArrested by Habsburg authorities and interrogated at Sibiu, then transferred through successive prisons.
  5. after 1745Death at KufsteinImprisoned at the Kufstein fortress in Tyrol, where he is presumed to have died of the conditions of his captivity.
  6. Feb 28, 1950CanonizationCanonized as a Confessor by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church; solemnly proclaimed at Alba Iulia in 1955.

Contributions & Legacy

3 contributionsReadHide

Early Life and Monastic Formation

By tradition he was born in 1714 in Majdan (in the area of Mrkonjić Grad), Bosnia, and given the baptismal name Nicholas (Serbian sources record his parents as Maksim and Marija). Around the age of eighteen he traveled to the Holy Land, where he took monastic vows at the Monastery of Saint Sava the Sanctified near Jerusalem; sources place his tonsure in 1738, by which he received the monastic name Bessarion (Visarion).

He served for about seven years as a hierodeacon at the Monastery of Pakra in Slavonia, where he was later ordained a hieromonk, and is also said to have visited the monasteries of Mount Athos. For a time he withdrew to live as a hermit in a cave.

Mission and Confession in Transylvania

The Serbian Patriarch Arsenije IV Jovanović Šakabenta commissioned Bessarion to travel into the Banat and Transylvania to strengthen Orthodox resistance to the Uniate church and to preach against union with Rome. The communities he visited welcomed him with processions, candles, and the ringing of church bells.

He preached in numerous localities, including Lipova, Dobra, Deva, Orăștie, Sebeș, Miercurea Sibiului, and Săliște. In 1744 the Habsburg imperial authorities arrested him and interrogated him at Sibiu.

He was then moved through a series of places of confinement — among them Deva, Timișoara, and Raab (Sankt Ruprecht an der Raab) — before being imprisoned in the Kufstein fortress in the Tyrolean mountains, where he is presumed to have died of the sufferings of his captivity.

Canonization and Veneration

The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church canonized Bessarion as a Confessor on February 28, 1950; his solemn proclamation took place on October 21, 1955, at the cathedral in Alba Iulia. The Serbian Orthodox Church confirmed his veneration, dated by Serbian sources to June 14, 1962.

Both churches commemorate him on October 21 (Julian calendar). The Orthodox Church in America notes that liturgical texts, including a troparion and kontakion, exist for him.

Member ofReadHide
The Confessors of Transylvania
Commemorated together · Oct 21
Companions4 figuresShowHide
Romanian monk of Cioara who organized the Orthodox resistance to the forced union with Rome; a fellow Confessor of Transylvania commemorated October 21.
Saint Sophroniusof Ciorara
Orthodox layman of Săliște imprisoned for decades for petitioning on behalf of the persecuted Orthodox; a fellow Confessor of Transylvania commemorated October 21.
Martyr Opreaof Salistie
Romanian priest of Sibiel imprisoned for continuing his Orthodox ministry; a fellow Confessor of Transylvania commemorated October 21.
Hieromartyr Moses Macinic
Confessor of Galeș imprisoned for resisting the forced union with Rome; a fellow Confessor of Transylvania commemorated October 21.
Saint Johnof Galesh
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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints