Saint Sava

Saint Sava I of Serbia
Fresco detail of Saint Sava in the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć, Serbia
Equal to the Apostles, Illuminator of the Serbs, Archbishop of Serbia, Hieroconfessor, Venerable
Born	Rastko Nemanjić 1169 or 1174[a] Gradina, Zeta
Died	(1236-01-14)14 January 1236 (61–62 or 66–67) Tarnovo, Bulgarian Empire
Venerated in	Eastern Orthodox Church[1] Roman Catholic Church[2][3][4]
Major shrine	Church of Saint Sava, Belgrade
Feast	January 27 [O.S. January 14]
Attributes	Ktetor, teacher, theologian, legislator, diplomat, protector of the poor, writer, episcopal vestments, scroll
Patronage	Serbia, Serbs, Serbian schools, Serbian medicine[5][6]
Prince of Hum
Reign	12th century
Predecessor	Miroslav
Successor	Miroslav
Dynasty	Nemanjić
Father	Stefan Nemanja
Archbishop of Serbia
Church	Serbian Orthodox Church
See	Žiča
Installed	1219
Term ended	1235
Successor	Arsenije
Other post(s)	Archimandrite
Orders
Ordination	Patriarch Manuel I of Constantinople
Personal details
Buried	Holy Forty Martyrs Church (until May 6, 1237) Mileševa (until 1594)
Nationality	Serbian
Denomination	Orthodox Christian
Parents	Stefan Nemanja and Ana
Occupation	archbishop
Signature

Saint Sava (Serbian: Свети Сава, romanized: Sveti Sava, pronounced [sʋɛ̂ːtiː sǎːʋa]; Old Church Slavonic: Свѧтъ Сава / Svet Sava; Glagolitic: Ⱄⰲⰵⱅⰻ Ⱄⰰⰲⰰ / Sveti Sava; Greek: Ἅγιος Σάββας, romanized: Hágios Sábbas; 1169 or 1174 – 14 January 1235/6), known as the Enlightener or the Illuminator, was a Serbian prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalous Serbian Church, the founder of Serbian law, and a diplomat.

Sava, born as Rastko Nemanjić (Serbian Cyrillic: Растко Немањић), was the youngest son of Serbian Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja (founder of the Nemanjić dynasty), and ruled the appanage of Zachlumia briefly in 1190–92. He then left for Mount Athos, where he became a monk tonsured with the name Sava (Sabbas). At Athos he established the monastery of Hilandar, which became one of the most important cultural and religious centres of the Serbian people. In 1219 the Patriarchate exiled in Nicea recognized him as the first Serbian Archbishop, and in the same year he authored the oldest known constitution of Serbia, the Zakonopravilo nomocanon, thus securing full religious and political independence. Sava is regarded as the founder of Serbian medieval literature.^{[7][8][9][10][11]}, and author of the first Serbian "biography". Specifically, he wrote the life of his father, the Serbian ruler Stefan Nemanja.

He is widely considered one of the most important figures in Serbian history. Sava is considered for the Serbs what Averroes is to the Muslims and Maimonides is to the Jews.

Saint Sava is venerated by the Eastern Orthodox Church on January 27 [O.S. January 14]. Many artistic works from the Middle Ages to modern times have interpreted his life. He is the patron saint of Serbia, Serbs, Serbian education and medicine. The Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade is dedicated to him, built on the site where the Ottomans burnt his remains in 1594,^[12] during an uprising in which Serbs used icons of Sava as their war flags; the church is one of the largest church buildings in the world.

In order to distinguish him from other saints and canonized Serbian archbishops of the same name, he is also posthumously titled Saint Sava I of Serbia.^[13][14][15]