Saint Sava of Serbia

Saint Sava (born Rastko Nemanjić) was the youngest son of Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja, founder of the medieval Serbian state. Despite being born into royalty and destined for earthly power, young Rastko felt a profound calling to monastic life.

At the age of seventeen, he left his father's court and journeyed to Mount Athos, the holy mountain of Orthodox monasticism, where he was tonsured a monk and given the name Sava. His father, Stefan Nemanja, deeply moved by his son's devotion, later abdicated his throne and joined him on Mount Athos, taking the monastic name Symeon. Together, father and son founded the monastery of Hilandar in 1198, which remains the spiritual center of Serbian Orthodoxy to this day.

After his father's repose in 1200, Saint Sava returned to Serbia in 1208, bringing with him the relics of Saint Symeon and a deep love for the Church. He found his homeland in spiritual chaos, torn by political strife and ecclesiastical confusion. With tireless dedication, he traveled throughout Serbia, founding monasteries, establishing schools, and teaching the Faith to nobility and peasantry alike.

In 1219, Saint Sava traveled to Nicaea and was consecrated as the first Archbishop of the autocephalous Serbian Orthodox Church by Patriarch Manuel I. This achievement secured the spiritual independence of the Serbian people and established the Church as the foundation of Serbian national identity. He organized the Church into dioceses, ordained bishops, and created a complete ecclesiastical structure that would sustain the Serbian people through centuries of trials.

Saint Sava authored the Nomocanon (Zakonopravilo), the first Serbian constitution combining civil and church law, demonstrating his wisdom as both spiritual father and statesman. He established hospitals, provided for the poor, and mediated conflicts between his feuding brothers, always working for peace and justice.

In 1233, he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, visiting Jerusalem and the holy sites. On his return journey, he fell ill and reposed in Trnovo, Bulgaria, on January 14, 1236. His relics were returned to Serbia and enshrined at the Mileševa Monastery, where they became a source of healing and comfort to the faithful.

In 1594, during the Ottoman occupation, the Turks burned Saint Sava's relics on Vračar Hill in Belgrade, attempting to break the spirit of the Serbian people. Instead, this act of desecration only strengthened the people's devotion to their beloved saint. Today, the magnificent Temple of Saint Sava stands on that very hill, the largest Orthodox church in the Balkans, a testament to the enduring faith he planted.