Saint Sava

Saint Sava (, ; Old Church Slavonic: ; ; 1169 or 1174 – 14 January 1236), known as the Enlightener, 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, 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 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. He is widely considered one of the most important figures of Serbian history. Sava is considered to be to the Serbs what Averroes is to the Muslims and Maimonides is to the Jews. Saint Sava is venerated by the Eastern Orthodox Church on . Many artistic works from the Middle Ages to modern times have interpreted his career. He is the patron saint of Serbia, Serbs, and Serbian education. The Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade is dedicated to him, built where the Ottomans burnt his remains in 1594, 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. Biography Early life Rastko, a diminutive of Rastislav, was born in 1169 or 1174 . As the youngest son of Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja and his wife Ana, prince Rastko belonged to the first generation of the Nemanjić dynasty, alongside his brothers Vukan and Stefan. His biographers mention that he was born after a hiatus in the couple's childbearing and was therefore especially dear. At the Serbian court the brothers received a good education in the Byzantine tradition, which exercised great political, cultural and religious influence in Serbia. He grew up in a time of great foreign relations activities in Serbia. Rastko showed himself serious and ascetic; as the youngest son, he was made Prince of Hum at an early age, in ca. 1190. Hum was a province between Neretva and Dubrovnik (Ragusa).