Until the twelfth century, the Serbs lived in the Balkans separately, in separate areas. Christianity was on the peninsula, but in its infancy. The people lived under the yoke of Byzantium, the emperor did not need to form and develop a nation that paid tribute to him.
Independence has become a powerful stimulus for the development of writing and religion. The struggle against the Byzantine emperor was started by the dynasty of princes Rashki. The name of the Nemanichs is associated with independence, the development of culture, education, law and the establishment of autocephaly. The most prominent representative of the dynasty, according to historians, was Saint Sava of Serbia.
Prince Rastko
The father of the ascetic was Stefan Nemanya, who made a huge contribution to the development of Raska, part of the principality from the eleventh to the thirteenth century. The Serbian state soon collapsed, and the region came under the rule of the Byzantine emperor. Stefan became the prince of Raška, and he did not like the amount of taxes imposed by the invader. After paying taxes, the population was below the poverty line. There was nothing to feed the children and themselves, they did not even dream of stocks. Stephen decided to fight the Byzantine yoke and succeeded. The prince managed not only to defend independence, but also to annex other areas in the Balkans, where Serbs lived, to Rashka.
Stefan married Anna Nemanich, the daughter of one of the Balkan rulers. In this union, six children appeared, one of whom was Rastko, known to us as St. Savva of Serbia. The exact date of the birth of the ascetic is unknown, historians mention the years from 1169 to 1175. The childhood of the future elder passed in the mountains, on the territory of present-day Podgorica. Before the boy's eyes was the Christian example of his parents, brothers and sisters, so Rastko's only desire was monasticism.
The Destiny of the Blessed Virgin Mary
In the life of St. Sava of Serbia it is said that, having become a young man, he went to Athos to take monastic vows in the Russian monastery of St. Panteleimon. In the twelfth century, the Serbs on Athos did not yet have their own monastery. The Panteleimon Monastery often accepted novices from the Balkan Peninsula into its ranks. Subsequently, Saint Savva of Serbia asceticised together with the Greeks. Russian monks willingly shared their knowledge and experience with the young man, which later affected his writings.
At the end of the twelfth century, Dobrynya Yadreykovich, a Novgorodian who later became Archbishop Anthony, also visited the Holy Mountain. Telling his friends about the journey, he also remembered Savva, an amazing young monk,living in the monastery of Our Lady Evergetis. The monk tried not to stand out, but the fact that he was the son of a Serbian great zhupan was known to all the inhabitants of Athos. The Russian pilgrim was infinitely surprised by the prince's act - a voluntary renunciation of the world and a high social position at such a young age. In addition, having become a monk, Saint Savva of Serbia forever abandoned his personal life and family. He devoted himself entirely to the service of the Lord.
The Life of Saint Sava of Serbia was compiled by Abbot Dometian in 1243. By the end of the twelfth century, the priest of the Holy Mountain ordered the noble monk to move to Vatopedi, a monastery of Greek monks. Three years later, the father of St. Sava of Serbia, Stefan, also came to the same monastery. The great župan handed over the reins of government to his eldest son and went to the Studenica monastery, where he was tonsured with the name Simeon. His wife, the mother of Saint Sava of Serbia, also followed her husband and took tonsure in Toplice. The monastery of the Most Holy Theotokos became the home for Anna, in monasticism Anastasia, until the end of her days.
The Orthodox people composed these verses about St. Sava of Serbia:
A little boy prays in the temple, Evening service is taking a long time.
Near father - kind Stefan Nemanya, Big brothers and other people.
The look of a child is deep and clear, Mind sparkles in him beyond his years.
The boy's name is simple - Rustko, Knows the psalms and can read himself.
Just don't know little Rustko:
Become a monk infuture he.
Secretly leave his state, Going to the cell to live on Athos.
To lose we alth and glory, Get the glory of the saint forever.
To with the monastic name Savva
Bring the faith of Christ to all Serbs.
Together with the old father on Athos
Wonderful they will build a monastery.
Stefan Nemanya, forgetting about the throne, A meek monk will die here.
Praying Rastko, unaware of thoughts:
Through dozens of changeable years
There will also be an archbishop in Serbia, Sava, who gives light to wisdom.
Stefan, brother, is crowned, Build many monasteries.
Heart will comfort people's sorrows
Older dear to ordinary people.
Boy Can't See: Animal Hordes
Serbia will be barbarously overrun.
To destroy Serbian pride
The painful yoke will be enslaved.
Thousands of thousands brutally murdered, Poor refugees, temples on fire, But Christ's prayer will not cease
In a poor, utterly devastated country.
And the rebellious Serbs will stir, Through centuries freedom will be returned!
The earth will be cleansed of infidels of filth, Justice will happen!
The people will triumph - the winner!
Will not be afraid of new adversity!
In the Kingdom of Heaven Savva Saint
Serbia will be saved by pure prayer…
… The service is over. Alone in God's Temple
Praying Rastko, doesn't want to leave.
As if he sees everything and understands everything, All thatmust happen ahead…
Construction of Hilandar
According to God's providence, Savva decided to create a Serbian autonomous monastery on the Holy Mountain. To help himself, the monk invited his father to Athos. Monk Simeon arrived on the peninsula in October 1197 and, together with his son, began preparations for the construction of the monastery.
The monastery was not built from scratch, the Greeks gave the Serbs the ruins of Hilandar, standing in the east of Mount Athos. In 985, the churchman George Hilandarios built a monastery between Zograf and Karya, a small town considered the capital of the Holy Mountain. The place for construction was chosen not very well for that time. The monastery, standing half an hour's walk from the shore, was constantly attacked by sea robbers. By the time Saint Sava the Serbian arrived on Athos, the temples and dormitories of Hilandar were completely destroyed.
Simeon, having sufficient experience in building temples, understood that according to the documents, Hilandar still belongs to Greek monks, and the construction of the Serbian spiritual center is under threat. Father and son prayed to the Lord and His Mother for the best solution to the problem. God heard them, and soon Savva receives a task from the abbot of Vatoped: to go to Constantinople to resolve some urgent issues of the Greek monastery. The Serbs realized that the Lord gives a chance, and use it without delay.
Stefan, the new great zhupan and brother of the saint, was married to the daughter of the Emperor of Constantinople Alexei III. Savva went to the court with a request to issue a khrisovul for the transferHilandara Vatopedu. The saint did not expect any obstacles from his native monastery. But Vatopedi, unexpectedly for the Serbs, refused to give up the ruins of Hilandar. Then Savva and Simeon were forced to turn to the capital prot, and later to Kinot. Savva did not have the opportunity to contact the emperor directly. Then the Holy Kinot interceded for the Serbs, asking Alexei III to issue a new khrisovul, in favor of the saint and his father.
Gift from the king of Byzantium
The emperor treated his relatives with great respect, carefully studying the intricacies of the complicated case. Having figured it out, the king even awarded Hilandar the title of imperial monastery. According to the laws of Byzantium, the Zygu Monastery, located in the east of the Holy Mountain, a few kilometers from the border of the "monastic republic", was now subordinate to the monastery. This is the only monastery on Athos that is open to both men and women.
Imperial patronage allowed the Orthodox Serbs to get out of the jurisdiction of the Svyatogorsk prot and become completely independent. Saint Savva and his father, the monk Simeon, with the support of the great zhupan Stefan, rebuilt Hilandar, drew up a charter, and began to receive the inhabitants. Monarchs and rulers who ascended the throne after the Nemanich dynasty also helped the monastery in everything. Today the monastery is rightfully considered the pearl of the Serbian Orthodox Church. More about Hilandar and who St. Savva of Serbia is in this video:
Father's death
Having completed the construction of the monastery, Simeon died at the age of 85. Savva buried his father and wantedseclude for prayers for the deceased parent. For this, the saint built a cell in Karey in 1199. In complete seclusion, Savva daily fulfilled the strict monastic charter, read the entire Ps alter, ate food once a day, adhering to a particularly strict fast on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Once, while praying for his father, he had a vision: Simeon in a cloud of uncreated light, surrounded by saints and righteous people. The father told Savva that he had received a reward from the Lord, and his fate was blessed.
Also promised his son the grace of God. Savva rejoiced and thanked the Lord. In his silence, as he called the holy cell, he compiled a detailed biography of his father and asked the abbots of the Holy Mountain to perform a lithium on his grave. Savva believed that the Lord would reveal the righteous. And so it happened. During the service, the tomb of Simeon was filled with peace, a fragrance spread around. The inhabitants of Athos unanimously recognized the new saint and glorified him. Saint Sava wrote about the incident to his native Serbia, which pleased his brothers and sisters a lot.
Transfer of the relics of Simeon to Serbia
The new century has brought many troubles to the earth. In 1202, Constantinople was captured by Catholic crusaders and the Latin Empire was formed. The emperor and the Byzantine Patriarch took refuge in Nicaea, and the Catholic threat loomed over Mount Athos. There was also no peace in the Balkans: Savva's older brother Vukan rebelled against Stefan, to whom his father handed over the reins of government.
The rebel took two regions from Serbia and declared himself king, enlistingsupport of the Pope. Brotherly strife began to threaten the Orthodox faith in Serbia, as the Pope, through the self-proclaimed king, planted Catholicism in the Balkans. Stefan, with difficulty restraining his brother, wrote to Saint Sava on Athos. In the letter, he asked to bring the relics of his father to his native land in order to reconcile the brothers and end the civil strife.
Consolation of the brethren
From the biography of St. Sava of Serbia it is known that he spent twenty years on Athos. The holy mountain became his home, it was not easy to leave it. But for the sake of the brothers and peace in their native land, they had to raise their father from the grave and, together with several fathers from the Holy Mountain, set off. The inhabitants of Hilandar were inconsolable, but Simeon appeared in a dream to Abbot Methodius and said that a vine would grow from an empty tomb, and as long as it continued to bear fruit, the blessing of the saint rested on the monastery and its inhabitants.
Soon a grape bush really grew on the grave and to this day bears fruit, although its age has already exceeded eight centuries. Sometimes it is mistakenly considered the vine of St. Sava of Serbia, although in fact it grows on the burial site of his father, Simeon.
In Serbia, the delegation was received with great respect, Simeon's relics were placed in the Studenica monastery he had once built. Savva celebrated Divine Liturgy daily with local priests. After the service, the saint delivered heartfelt sermons, urging people to reconcile and end the civil war. The people, remembering their kind ruler, received support and hope for a peaceful life.
Peacemaker and Preacher
Daily, Savva talked with the brothers, Vukan and Stefan, in the hope of reconciling them. And God, through the prayers of the saint, enlightened the warring. In the memory of the Serbian people, they will forever remain reconciled brothers. Coincidence or not, but after that the relics of St. Simeon again became myrrh-streaming. Savva was going to return to Athos together with the fathers - the Athos, but the great zhupan begged him to stay.
Seeing the will of God in these persuasion, the saint decided to continue his father's work of spreading Christianity in his native land, becoming the builder of churches and monasteries. Some Athos monks remained with him, while the rest, richly gifted with the great zhupan, returned to the Holy Mountain.
Savva, who was elevated to the rank of archimandrite, began his activities with Studenitsa, becoming his rector. The monastery lived according to the charter of Hilandar; Pilgrims from all over the Balkan Peninsula flocked to Studenica: everyone wanted to listen to the prince, who proved by his example that even the rich have access to the Kingdom of God.
Pilgrims went to pray at the relics of St. Simeon, confess sins and receive instruction. The monastery grew rich and expanded. Under the direction of Saint Sava, residential buildings for monks, monastic hotels and archondariki, outbuildings, cattle pens and extensive granaries were built. Cargoes were regularly sent to Hilandar to support the monks.
Allied attack
Once the life of the monasteryimproved, Savva shared with his brother Stefan the idea of building a monastery in the town of Zhicha. But the discussion of the details was interrupted by the news of the attack on Serbia by the rebellious Bulgarian prince Stresa. The great zhupan established diplomatic relations with Bulgaria. For a long time, the two states did not clash. The Bulgarian king Kaloyan waged war against the Latins and was killed during the siege of Thessalonica. His nephew Borilo became the heir to the kingdom. But Strez, Kaloyan's vassal, rebelled against the new ruler.
Wishing to expand the borders of Bulgaria, the rebel attacked Serbia. Saint Sava went to the camp of the enemy alone and exhorted Stresa in every possible way to stop his riotous lifestyle and mockery of the prisoners. Not having achieved the repentance of the Bulgarian, the archimandrite went to the place of lodging for the night. After midnight, a man came running from the palace and told about the death of Stresa. Dying, he shouted that a certain young man sent by Savva had pierced his heart with a spear.
The saint realized that it was the angel of the Lord. The warriors, having learned in the morning about the death of Stresa, left the camp and returned home. After the miraculous deliverance from the adversary, peace was established in Serbia for a long time. Savva and Stefan began the construction of the monastery. Fulfilling his plan, the saint did not leave missionary service: he continued to prepare monks for educational work and service in parishes. On Sundays, Savva taught peasant children to read and write.
While traveling around the country, I talked with ordinary people, instructing and blessing them. People from all the outskirts flocked to the new monastery in Zhich. Attracted everyonethe glory of Savva as a prayer book and miracle worker. The flow intensified especially after the archimandrite healed a paralyzed man. Ordinary peasants quickly spread the news of the healing and the weak, infirm and relaxed flooded the monastery, asking for he alth and remission of sins.
Death of a devotee
The life of St. Sava, full of difficulties, ended unexpectedly. In order to reconcile the two warring parties, Nicaea and Bulgaria, he set off on a journey. With the help of God, he managed to convince the two kings to abandon the war. Asen, the ruler of Bulgaria, invited Savva to stay with him, wait for spring to return home. The saint agreed and every evening talked with the king, instructing him in faith and piety. On the feast of the Epiphany, Savva developed a fever. The saint took this as a sign of imminent death, hurried to complete earthly affairs and partake of the Mysteries of Christ.
On January 14, 1235, the disciples who were near Savva heard a voice: “Rejoice, My servant, who loved the truth!” - and again, a little later: "Come, My good and beloved servant, accept the reward that I promised to all who love Me." At that moment, the saint with a smile surrendered his soul to the Lord.
Return of the relics
Sava of Serbia was laid to rest with honors in a church in Bulgaria. King Vladislav, the nephew of the saint, wrote letters to the Bulgarian ruler, asking him to hand over the honest relics of the saint, but each time he was refused. Asen and Patriarch Joachim believed that the saint, by the will of God, rested in Bulgaria, and not in Serbia, which means that his relics should remain on this earth. Subjects of King Vladislavthey were indignant, demanded the return of the shrine, the specter of civil war was again approaching the Balkans. Then the ruler of Serbia went to Bulgaria, to the temple of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, where the honest relics of St. Sava were laid and prayed to him:
I know that my sin forced you to leave Serbia and led to death in a foreign land. But forgive me for the love of your brother and my father. Do not forget your people, for whom you suffered so much, and do not cover me with shame and grief. Pray to God and with your prayers turn the heart of Tsar Asen, may he allow me to take your body; for my people will despise me if I return without you.
The same night Saint Sava appeared in a dream to the King of Bulgaria and asked him to give his body to the Serbs. Asen, rightly fearing the wrath of the Lord, agreed to the solemn transfer of the relics of Savva to his homeland. When the sarcophagus was opened, a fragrance spread throughout the temple and numerous miracles were performed, and the saint himself seemed to be asleep.
Throughout its history, Serbia has not known a more significant and solemn event than the transfer of the relics of St. Sava from Bulgaria to Serbia. They laid the relics in the same place where Rastko Nemanich was born and raised - in Herzegovina, in the town of Mileshevo.
Turkish yoke
Peaceful life in the Balkans ended with the arrival of the Turks. The Ottoman Empire attacked the peninsula and established its own rules, many Serbs were forcibly converted to Islam. The Turks were afraid to touch the monastery in Zhich, because so many miracles were performed from the tomb of the saint that the candlestick at the shrine with relics was never empty,even in the most mournful times for the Serbs.
The biography of St. Sava of Serbia, compiled by his disciple Abbot Dometian, who was the rector and confessor of the Hilandar Athos Monastery, tells about the largest events of this kind. Until the end of the sixteenth century, in Zica, they sought the intercession and help of the saint. Everyone, young and old, knew what Saint Savva of Serbia helped with and who he was. After spending more than one hundred and fifty years under the oppression of the Ottoman Empire, the Serbs began to organize uprisings, gradually getting out of the control of the invaders.
Burning of relics
The Turks rightly believed that the partisan spirit was warmed up in the monasteries and monasteries. The bloodthirsty Khan Muhammad the Third gave the order to crush the resistance by destroying the shrines. The monastery in Zica was surrounded, the monks were forced to give up a wooden shrine with the relics of St. Sava. The coffin with the body was taken to Belgrade and publicly burned. This blasphemous act was followed by repressions of the highest church hierarchs. Bishop Theodore of Vrsatsk was martyred, and the tormentors made a drum out of his skin. Patriarch John was put in chains, brought to Constantinople and hung on the Adrianople Gate.
Temple in Belgrade
At the end of the nineteenth century, on the site of the burning of relics, the construction of the Church of St. Sava of Serbia in Belgrade began. This building is not completely finished to this day. In 1894, discussions of numerous projects began, disputes and discussions over the choice of architectural style, builders and materials.
The final project was approved only in 1935, at the same time the foundation was laid for the future church of St. Sava of Serbia in Belgrade. In 1939, it was possible to erect walls 12 meters high. And on September 1, 1939, the Second World War began, so the construction of the Church of St. Sava of Serbia had to be frozen.
Construction work resumed only in 1986. It was the day of Saint Sava of Serbia. Three years later, the dome was completed. The official opening of the temple took place in 2004, in the spring of 2008 the chapel was consecrated in honor of the holy martyrs Hermil and Stratonikos.
In Russia, St. Sava of Serbia is revered no less than in Serbia. In 2015, the President of our country appointed Rossotrudnichestvo as the general coordinator of work on the interior decoration of the cathedral. Russian and Serbian specialists jointly laid the mosaic of the main dome with a total area of 1230 square meters, and in December 2018, the installation of the mosaic in the altar part was started.
In Russia, St. Savva of Serbia is very revered. Many childless couples ask him for help in conceiving. Those unjustly offended and oppressed ask for help in getting rid of tyranny. How does Saint Savva of Serbia help? He was a great ascetic, calming civil wars, alone entering the camp of the enemy, healing the sick and building temples. Therefore, the saint helps those who turn to him with any problem. Ask for help with faith and hope. On the day of memory of St. Sava of Serbia, an akathist is read in churches and they pray:
Oh sacredhead, glorious miracle worker, Saint Savvo of Christ, the Serbian land of the first throne, guardian and enlightener, all Christians, trustworthy before the Lord, we bow down and pray: let us be a partaker of your love for God and neighbor, with it during your life your holy soul is full of speed.
Illuminate us with the truth, enlighten our mind and heart with the light of Divine teaching, teach us to imitate you faithfully, to love God and our neighbor and to commit the commandments of the Lord infallibly, may we be your child not only by name, but by our whole life. Pray, holy bishop, for the holy Orthodox Church and for your earthly homeland, always honoring you with love. Look kindly on every soul of your faithful worshipers, seeking your mercy and help, be a healer to all of us in illnesses, a comforter in sorrows, a visitor in sorrows, an assistant in troubles and needs, at the hour of death a merciful patron and protector, yes, with the help of prayers your saints, let us sinners also be honored to receive the faithful salvation and inherit the kingdom of Christ. She, holy God, do not disgrace our hope, which we firmly place on you, but show us your powerful intercession, let us praise and sing marvelous in our saints God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, always, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen.
In church shops it is not difficult to find the face of the saint, as well as his writings to replenish the home library. In the online store of the Sofrino art and production enterprise, the icon of St. Sava of Serbia can be ordered online with delivery. Masters will make a face of any size, in an icon case,with or without salary.
The icon of St. Sava of Serbia is a must-have for families with children, as well as to acquaint the younger generation with the life of the great ascetic. Savva Serbsky is an excellent role model: brave, loyal, meek, educated and persistent. They pray to the saint for he alth, help in business, resolving difficulties in work and construction.
