St Peter’s Anglican Church

St Sava - January 14

Founder & First Archbishop of the Serbian Church

Sava (or Sabas) was born about 1176 and was the third son of King Stephen I of Serbia. In 1191 he went secretly to Mount Athos, where he became a monk. Three years later, his father abdicated in favour of his eldest son Stephen II and joined Sava as a monk on Mount Athos. Together they founded the Monastery of Chilandari for Serbian monks. This monastery, which still exists today, was in the Middle Ages, a centre for Serbian culture and religion. As an abbot, Sava was famous for his kind yet firm way of training his young monks. While at Chilandari he began the translations of religious books into the Serbo-Croat language, a task which was to be an important part of his life’s work.

In about 1208, Sava returned to Serbia because of civil unrest and the rivalry of his brothers. Both country and church were in crisis. Clergy were few, and the Christianity of most of the people merely nominal. He established himself as archimandrite of the monastery of Studenitsa, and then set about organising the Serbian church. He used monks who came with him from Mount Athos for missionary and pastoral work. An independent local hierarchy was established, of which Sava was elected the first archbishop, being consecrated in 1219. In civil affairs Sava contributed to the unification of the Serbian state under his brother Stephen II. His translations, both of those he made and those he inspired, together with his building and embellishment of churches, integrated the Church into the cultural life of the Serbian people.

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