Park of the Greats

SAINT SAVA

(1169-1236)

"Do not ever respect what harms and avoid what endangers."

Saint Sava

Saint Sava was a Serbian prince, monk, abbot of Studenica Monastery, writer, diplomat, and the first archbishop of the autocephalous Serbian Orthodox Church. He was born as Rastko Nemanjić, the youngest son of Grand Župan Stefan Nemanja and the brother of Vukan and Stefan the First-Crowned. As a young man, he was granted the rule over Zahumlje by his father.

Soon after, Rastko fled to Mount Athos and became a monk at the Russian monastery of St. Panteleimon, where he took the name Sava. Later, he and his father, who also became a monk and took the name Simeon, founded the Hilandar Monastery (1198–99), the first and only Serbian monastery on Mount Athos. In Serbia, a power struggle ensued between Sava's brothers. After reconciling them, Grand Župan Stefan and Prince Vukan invited Sava to completely reconcile them, and he returned to Serbia in early 1208. He simultaneously engaged in educational work, striving to bring his compatriots closer to the basics of religious and worldly teachings. He returned to Mount Athos in 1217. In 1219, Sava convinced the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Emperor in Nicaea to approve the autocephaly (independence) of the Serbian church with the status of an archbishopric. The Ecumenical Patriarch Manojlo I of Constantinople appointed Sava as the first archbishop of Serbia. Sava remained the archbishop until 1233, when he was succeeded by his disciple Arsenije Sremac. He traveled to Palestine twice. On his return from his second pilgrimage to the Holy Land, he died in the then-Bulgarian capital of Veliko Tarnovo on January 14, 1236 (January 27, according to the new calendar). His relics were transferred to the Mileševa Monastery by his nephew, King Stefan Vladislav I.

Saint Sava left behind several written works, making him one of the most significant writers and jurists among the Serbs in the Middle Ages. His most important written works include "The Life of Saint Simeon”, "Karyes Typikon”, "Hilandar Typikon”, "Studenica Typikon”, and "Zakonopravilo" (Nomocanon). He earned great merit for the development of education and enlightenment among the Serbs in the Middle Ages by educating the future clergy of the Church.

Saint Sava's cult was strong among the people. After one Serbian uprising against the Ottoman Empire, the Turkish commander Sinan Pasha ordered the burning of Saint Sava's relics on Vračar. Today, where the pyre is believed to have been lit to destroy the last remains of Saint Sava, the Temple of Saint Sava stands, the largest Orthodox place of worship among the Serbs.

The feast of Saint Sava was established as a school celebration in 1840, following the proposal of Atanasije Nikolić, the rector of the Lyceum in Kragujevac. In many regions, this feast is celebrated very ceremoniously, preceded by seven days of fasting. Many craftsmen in Serbia considered Saint Sava their patron saint and celebrated his day as the guild's patron saint. He was also regarded as a patron saint by shepherds, and many customs related to the feast of Saint Sava are connected with wolves and livestock. There are numerous folk beliefs related to Sava's Day, including one that significant events will happen if there is thunder on Saint Sava's Day. Particularly devoted to Saint Sava are the cattle breeders from various regions.

After half a century of prohibition, in 1990, Saint Sava was once again celebrated as a school holiday.

For East Sarajevo, Saint Sava is of great importance because, in 1219, he established the Diocese of Dabar, which later became the Metropolitanate of Dabar-Bosnia with its seat in Sarajevo. Many educational institutions, honors, and awards carry the name of this Serbian saint. The Elementary School in East New Sarajevo is named after Saint Sava.