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HE SERBIAN Grand Zhupan (Patriarchal leader) Stephen Nemanja had two sons, Stephen and Vukan; yet, he and his wife Anna desired, if it be God's will, to have another child. Their pious prayers ascended before God, Who heard their petition and blessed them with their last child, a son who was born in the year of our Lord 1175. At baptism the child was given the name Rastko, a name derived from the Old Slavonic verb "rasti" which means "to grow." And grow divinely he did. There were many special things about Rastko: he was a lovely child, with pronounced features and smooth skin, and possessed, already in his childhood, an unusually alert and pious demeanor. Little did Rastko's parents and all those of the Royal Court (and even the entire Serb nation) realize that his birth and baptism into Orthodoxy would providentially set in motion their own historical and spiritual journey, which would result in the blossoming of their Christian faith, nation hood and total Christian cultural orientation. This young child, Rastko, whose monastic name later was Sava, became and still remains the most beloved of all Serbian Orthodox saints, considered by all Serbs everywhere and at all times as the ultimate expression and example of what it means to be fully human, that is, what it means to be a devout and committed follower of Jesus Christ.[/FONT]
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St. Sava I - The First Archbishop of Serbia [/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Rastko, marriage and all worldly knowledge, authority or possessions could not compare to what he had experienced while in conversation with this unknown and simple monk from the Holy Mountain.
"But how can I face my parents?" thought Rastko to himself. "How will I ever make such a journey to the Holy Mountain?" Pondering this dilemma, Rastko, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, came up with a solution. He organized a hunting trip and at an opportune time fled his homeland with the monk to make the long journey to the Holy Mountain.
Discovering his flight, Rastko's father, Zhupan Stephen Nemanja, quickly assembled his best soldiers of the Royal Court and ordered them to the seaport city of Thessalonica, where he hoped they would catch up with Rastko. Stephen also sent a letter with his troops which they presented to the military governor of the city; in it the Grand Zhupan threatened violence to the city if his son was not safely returned. However, these efforts were unfruitful, as Rastko traveled quickly through Thessalonica and arrived by boat at the Russian Monastery of St. Panteleimon on the Holy Mountain.
When the soldiers arrived at the monastery, the all-night vigil had just begun. The soldiers, not wishing to disturb the Divine Service, entered the Catholikon (main church) and sat in the stalls along the inner walls of the church. Spotting Rastko, they decided to wait patiently until the end of the vigil service and then order Rastko back to his father. However, the soldiers never expected the all-night vigil to last over six hours! As time passed, due to their being physically and mentally exhausted from the grueling journey from Serbia to the Holy Mountain, each of the soldiers fell fast asleep in his stall.
Taking advantage of the situation, Rastko and an elder hieromonk (priest monk) quickly left the church and climbed to the top of the bell tower in the monastery courtyard. During the rest of the night and early morning, the blessed elder instructed Rastko concerning the monastic life and, just prior to the completion of Divine Liturgy (as Divine Liturgy follows every vigil service) the elder received Rastko into monasticism, tonsuring him and giving him the name of Sava, after the great ascetic and holy man of Jerusalem, St. Sava the Sanctified (tS32; honored Dec. 5th). When the soldiers awoke from their sleep in the morning, they quickly went to search for Sava. High up in the air from the window of the bell tower, Sava revealed himself, and then went on to explain to them that his monastic tonsure was completed and that they should not harm any of the monks. Then he threw down his shorn hair and civilian clothes; saying, "Please take this to my parents as a remembrance of my youth." This took place in 1193, when Sava was just 18 years old.[/FONT]
Sava was not the first Serb to become a monk on the Holy Mountain, as there were Serbs there prior to his arrival. However, there was no Serbian monastery. Serbian monks found shelter and lived in the existing Greek, Russian, Bulgarian or Georgian monasteries, or eventually lived in caves, leading the life of a solitary or hermit. Only a few months after his tonsure, Sava was invited to the Greek Monastery Vatopedi for the celebration of its patronal feast, the Annunciation of the Theotokos (March 25th). It was here that Sava first began his true entrance into the profound spiritual life of monasticism. In leaving the Panteleimon Monastery, Prince Rastko was no more; now only Sava the monk was alive in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Sava quickly proved to be a relentless warrior and ascetic for Christ. He kept constant vigil over his body, thoughts and passionshis total person. At times, the abbot of Vatopedi had to restrain Sava from excessive ascetic practices, for fear that he might harm his health. Also, as time passed, Sava's parents and brothers began to accept his new life and provided him with abundant financial support, which he unselfishly distributed to the various monasteries on the Holy Mountain. He had especial love for Vatopedi, providing it with assistance for both a new roof for the main Church of the Annunciation and for, the building of three small chapels. Vatopedi at this time was a kind of Byzantine university, as the monastery was lavishly supported by the Byzantine
emperors as well. It possessed a large libraty full of all the ancient writings of the Fathers of the Church on the various theological topics of Christian life: Scripture, liturgy, asceticism, doctrine, sacraments, Lives of Saints, icons and architecture, and canon law. At Vatopedi Sava learned the ancient Greek language perfectly. (He had previously learned the contemporary Greek language from his mother Anna named Anatasia as a monastic later in her life [see June 21st]for she was Greek by birth, the daughter of the Greek Byzantine Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes [1068-1081].) Studying the writings of the Fathers of the Church, along with practicing the strict ascetic life and participating fully in the communal liturgical/sacramental life of the monastery, the image of God in Sava began to slowly shine forth, transforming him into a spiritual man of God, whose sole longing was to be with the Lord Jesus Christ in the bosom of God the Father, enlivened by the Holy and Gracious and Life-creating Spirit.
In 1196, when Sava was 21 years of age, he received the greatest gift of his life: his father, Stephen Nemanja, decided to abdicate the throne ofthe Kingdom of Serbia and become a monk in Studenitsa Monastery on Mt. Radochelo in Rashka He took the name Simeon. To replace him on the Royal Throne, the Grand Zhupan appointed his second oldest son, Stephen, as the heir. This news thrilled Sava, as it was for him a spiritual blessing for his many prayers, ascetic efforts and even letters he had sent to his father urging him towards monastic life. Along with his father, Sava's mother Anna, on the same daythe Feast of the Annunciation, March 25, 1196also received the monastic tonsure and was given the name Anastasia, retiring to the Monastery ofthe Holy Virgin in Kurshumlija near Toplica.[/FONT]
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St. Sava I - The First Archbishop of Serbia [/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Rastko, marriage and all worldly knowledge, authority or possessions could not compare to what he had experienced while in conversation with this unknown and simple monk from the Holy Mountain.
"But how can I face my parents?" thought Rastko to himself. "How will I ever make such a journey to the Holy Mountain?" Pondering this dilemma, Rastko, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, came up with a solution. He organized a hunting trip and at an opportune time fled his homeland with the monk to make the long journey to the Holy Mountain.
Discovering his flight, Rastko's father, Zhupan Stephen Nemanja, quickly assembled his best soldiers of the Royal Court and ordered them to the seaport city of Thessalonica, where he hoped they would catch up with Rastko. Stephen also sent a letter with his troops which they presented to the military governor of the city; in it the Grand Zhupan threatened violence to the city if his son was not safely returned. However, these efforts were unfruitful, as Rastko traveled quickly through Thessalonica and arrived by boat at the Russian Monastery of St. Panteleimon on the Holy Mountain.
When the soldiers arrived at the monastery, the all-night vigil had just begun. The soldiers, not wishing to disturb the Divine Service, entered the Catholikon (main church) and sat in the stalls along the inner walls of the church. Spotting Rastko, they decided to wait patiently until the end of the vigil service and then order Rastko back to his father. However, the soldiers never expected the all-night vigil to last over six hours! As time passed, due to their being physically and mentally exhausted from the grueling journey from Serbia to the Holy Mountain, each of the soldiers fell fast asleep in his stall.
Taking advantage of the situation, Rastko and an elder hieromonk (priest monk) quickly left the church and climbed to the top of the bell tower in the monastery courtyard. During the rest of the night and early morning, the blessed elder instructed Rastko concerning the monastic life and, just prior to the completion of Divine Liturgy (as Divine Liturgy follows every vigil service) the elder received Rastko into monasticism, tonsuring him and giving him the name of Sava, after the great ascetic and holy man of Jerusalem, St. Sava the Sanctified (tS32; honored Dec. 5th). When the soldiers awoke from their sleep in the morning, they quickly went to search for Sava. High up in the air from the window of the bell tower, Sava revealed himself, and then went on to explain to them that his monastic tonsure was completed and that they should not harm any of the monks. Then he threw down his shorn hair and civilian clothes; saying, "Please take this to my parents as a remembrance of my youth." This took place in 1193, when Sava was just 18 years old.[/FONT]
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Hilandar Monastery[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hilandar Monastery[/FONT]
Sava was not the first Serb to become a monk on the Holy Mountain, as there were Serbs there prior to his arrival. However, there was no Serbian monastery. Serbian monks found shelter and lived in the existing Greek, Russian, Bulgarian or Georgian monasteries, or eventually lived in caves, leading the life of a solitary or hermit. Only a few months after his tonsure, Sava was invited to the Greek Monastery Vatopedi for the celebration of its patronal feast, the Annunciation of the Theotokos (March 25th). It was here that Sava first began his true entrance into the profound spiritual life of monasticism. In leaving the Panteleimon Monastery, Prince Rastko was no more; now only Sava the monk was alive in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Sava quickly proved to be a relentless warrior and ascetic for Christ. He kept constant vigil over his body, thoughts and passionshis total person. At times, the abbot of Vatopedi had to restrain Sava from excessive ascetic practices, for fear that he might harm his health. Also, as time passed, Sava's parents and brothers began to accept his new life and provided him with abundant financial support, which he unselfishly distributed to the various monasteries on the Holy Mountain. He had especial love for Vatopedi, providing it with assistance for both a new roof for the main Church of the Annunciation and for, the building of three small chapels. Vatopedi at this time was a kind of Byzantine university, as the monastery was lavishly supported by the Byzantine
emperors as well. It possessed a large libraty full of all the ancient writings of the Fathers of the Church on the various theological topics of Christian life: Scripture, liturgy, asceticism, doctrine, sacraments, Lives of Saints, icons and architecture, and canon law. At Vatopedi Sava learned the ancient Greek language perfectly. (He had previously learned the contemporary Greek language from his mother Anna named Anatasia as a monastic later in her life [see June 21st]for she was Greek by birth, the daughter of the Greek Byzantine Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes [1068-1081].) Studying the writings of the Fathers of the Church, along with practicing the strict ascetic life and participating fully in the communal liturgical/sacramental life of the monastery, the image of God in Sava began to slowly shine forth, transforming him into a spiritual man of God, whose sole longing was to be with the Lord Jesus Christ in the bosom of God the Father, enlivened by the Holy and Gracious and Life-creating Spirit.
In 1196, when Sava was 21 years of age, he received the greatest gift of his life: his father, Stephen Nemanja, decided to abdicate the throne ofthe Kingdom of Serbia and become a monk in Studenitsa Monastery on Mt. Radochelo in Rashka He took the name Simeon. To replace him on the Royal Throne, the Grand Zhupan appointed his second oldest son, Stephen, as the heir. This news thrilled Sava, as it was for him a spiritual blessing for his many prayers, ascetic efforts and even letters he had sent to his father urging him towards monastic life. Along with his father, Sava's mother Anna, on the same daythe Feast of the Annunciation, March 25, 1196also received the monastic tonsure and was given the name Anastasia, retiring to the Monastery ofthe Holy Virgin in Kurshumlija near Toplica.[/FONT]
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Hilandar Monastery - Mount Athos[/FONT]
Hilandar Monastery - Mount Athos[/FONT]