Serbian Patriarch Porfirije's Saint Sava Day Address
The Saint Sava Day address of His Holiness Serbian Patriarch kyr Porfirije, delivered on 27 January 2024, at the Saint Sava Ceremony under the title: In the Spirit of Saint-Savahood in the MTS Hall in Belgrade:
How is it possible that after more than eight centuries, Orthodox Serbs gather on this day in thousands of places, in the country and abroad, first in churches at divine services, and then in schools, various cultural and scholarly institutions, where millions of Orthodox Serbs and their children, from first graders, elementary school and high school pupils, and university students to their professors, scholars, and academics, from our ordinary but honorable people to representatives of the crown and the most important political figures of this country, dedicate their prayers, thoughts, and aspirations to Saint Sava?
The answer to this question, which has left many puzzled for centuries, including those who wish to understand our present gatherings with the mind and logic of this world, lies in the fact that Saint Sava is not an ordinary man but a saint of God and a witness of Christ, and as such, the spiritual father of our people. Because of this, enlightened by the light of Christ, he was able to see much further than those turbulent and unpredictable years in which he lived, to see the time entrusted to us today, no less turbulent and distressing, and to prepare us for it.
Since our national home is located in the middle of the road that connects East and West, a road long ago named with the frightful and alarming name Via Militaris, the Lord, the Master of History, graciously endowed the personality of his great saint and spiritual leader of the Serbian people with precisely those qualities that adorn the best sons of the East and the West.
As a profound man of the Orthodox East, as a true monk, the father of our monasticism, the leader and guide of countless Serbian ascetics, Sava experienced and knew, and also transmitted to us, his descendants, that without a living and active faith in Christ, without virtuous life, without the transformation brought by repentance, without asceticism and prayer, there is no true knowledge of God or true knowledge of oneself, and that without peace with God and oneself, there is no peace with others. This is a great mystery, well known to Sava. This is the mystery of Christ without which it is not possible to understand Saint Sava.
He was devoted to Christ with his whole being, loved God with his whole being, and thus became a person transfigured by the Holy Spirit, enlightened by the Divine light. Precisely because of this he could, as a saint of God, love, transform, and enlighten people, renew, improve, comfort, and build up his people. And only such a holy chosen one of God could achieve infinitely much, all that is now an example and goal for us, what he left us as a covenant to keep and improve.
A God-loving and philanthropic individual who provides quick and efficient assistance, he is an energetic laborer, missionary, organizer who solves problems not only among ordinary people but also misunderstandings among nations and states. A great diplomat, he knew how to establish friendships and build bridges with the Byzantine emperor, the Bulgarian czar, the Hungarian king, the Egyptian sultan, and all those he encountered. And all of them, after getting to know and love Saint Sava, came to love his people as well.
Based on his experience and the foundation of sincere faith in Christ, he laid the foundations of the Serbian state, translated the Nomocanon into the Law Code, secured the autocephaly of our Church, built endowments, established schools and hospitals, and in a word, shaped the character and identity of our people once and for all on that foundation.
During Sava's time, just as today, the Serbian Orthodox people found themselves at the geographical, spiritual, and political crossroads of East and West. And then, as today, terrifying questions arose before us: where are we going, with whom, and how? Sava's answers are valid today and not only inspire us but also oblige us.
Let us not forget, brothers and sisters, that we are not a people without historical experience. We do not need to adopt others' spiritual, cultural, and political patterns to solve our own trials.
We, as an old European nation, have a centuries-old existence. Saint Sava paved our paths, our companions and leaders are his holy relatives, his father, his brother, his mother, all the saints of the Sava lineage and our lineage, all those who, at times when it seemed that the Orthodox way of life was disappearing from the historical horizon, opted for the Orthodox Church, for its values, and for the civilizational pattern that springs from it. That is why we, our people, are Sava's offering and tribute to God, as the first fruits of his field entrusted to him.
Sava's covenant and pledge, which Sava handed down and entrusted to us, therefore has both divine and blessed origins. Every Saint Sava Day for our people is an inspection of our national character, a scanner and X-ray of our national health and direction. There is hardly an area, hardly an organ or limb of our national being that Sava has not nurtured, healed, renewed, and improved. Our compass and our guide is in Sava's hands. On Sava's shoulders lies the foundation of the soul of this people, which he built with bare hands as an unwavering assistant of God.
If, at this moment, we as children were to ask him: Tell us, Father Sava, what is most needed and at the same time most blessed for our progress and future? – I am sure that without any hesitation he would answer with the words of the apostle Paul: Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
As a caring father, he would implore us: My beloved children in God, remember my covenant, which has held and preserved you for more than eight centuries, for it is Christ's, the Gospel covenant. Let misunderstandings, disagreements, exclusions, conflicts, and divisions cease at all levels among you: in families, in marriages, within work and national collectives, in society, in the state, and wherever and with whomever you live. Let peace come upon all of you!
Saint Sava knew well, when he reconciled his brethren, that without peace among them, there is no future for anyone. Therefore, Sava's biographer Teodosije emphasized that what most separates brothers and turns them against each other is the bitter glory of kinghood. Therefore, without peace and mutual understanding, there is no future for anyone: neither for you nor for me.
Due to all that has been said, I feel a spiritual obligation to clearly and loudly state the following:
Should we allow our Holy Father Sava to be overshadowed, suppressed, or plucked out from our hearts, from our sight, by any shadows or fleeting glimmers, no matter how tempting they may be… Should we allow, furthermore, this light of our lineage to be driven into the darkness of history – darkness will prevail. And in that darkness, neither we nor our children will be safe or on the right path. We have already, to our great sorrow, had opportunities to see this.
May the Merciful Lord, through the prayers of our Holy Father Sava and all the saints, preserve us from all evil in the days ahead and grant us faith, hope, and love.
Blessed be the feast, blessed be the patron saint day, children of Saint Sava!
How is it possible that after more than eight centuries, Orthodox Serbs gather on this day in thousands of places, in the country and abroad, first in churches at divine services, and then in schools, various cultural and scholarly institutions, where millions of Orthodox Serbs and their children, from first graders, elementary school and high school pupils, and university students to their professors, scholars, and academics, from our ordinary but honorable people to representatives of the crown and the most important political figures of this country, dedicate their prayers, thoughts, and aspirations to Saint Sava?
The answer to this question, which has left many puzzled for centuries, including those who wish to understand our present gatherings with the mind and logic of this world, lies in the fact that Saint Sava is not an ordinary man but a saint of God and a witness of Christ, and as such, the spiritual father of our people. Because of this, enlightened by the light of Christ, he was able to see much further than those turbulent and unpredictable years in which he lived, to see the time entrusted to us today, no less turbulent and distressing, and to prepare us for it.
Since our national home is located in the middle of the road that connects East and West, a road long ago named with the frightful and alarming name Via Militaris, the Lord, the Master of History, graciously endowed the personality of his great saint and spiritual leader of the Serbian people with precisely those qualities that adorn the best sons of the East and the West.
As a profound man of the Orthodox East, as a true monk, the father of our monasticism, the leader and guide of countless Serbian ascetics, Sava experienced and knew, and also transmitted to us, his descendants, that without a living and active faith in Christ, without virtuous life, without the transformation brought by repentance, without asceticism and prayer, there is no true knowledge of God or true knowledge of oneself, and that without peace with God and oneself, there is no peace with others. This is a great mystery, well known to Sava. This is the mystery of Christ without which it is not possible to understand Saint Sava.
He was devoted to Christ with his whole being, loved God with his whole being, and thus became a person transfigured by the Holy Spirit, enlightened by the Divine light. Precisely because of this he could, as a saint of God, love, transform, and enlighten people, renew, improve, comfort, and build up his people. And only such a holy chosen one of God could achieve infinitely much, all that is now an example and goal for us, what he left us as a covenant to keep and improve.
A God-loving and philanthropic individual who provides quick and efficient assistance, he is an energetic laborer, missionary, organizer who solves problems not only among ordinary people but also misunderstandings among nations and states. A great diplomat, he knew how to establish friendships and build bridges with the Byzantine emperor, the Bulgarian czar, the Hungarian king, the Egyptian sultan, and all those he encountered. And all of them, after getting to know and love Saint Sava, came to love his people as well.
Based on his experience and the foundation of sincere faith in Christ, he laid the foundations of the Serbian state, translated the Nomocanon into the Law Code, secured the autocephaly of our Church, built endowments, established schools and hospitals, and in a word, shaped the character and identity of our people once and for all on that foundation.
During Sava's time, just as today, the Serbian Orthodox people found themselves at the geographical, spiritual, and political crossroads of East and West. And then, as today, terrifying questions arose before us: where are we going, with whom, and how? Sava's answers are valid today and not only inspire us but also oblige us.
Let us not forget, brothers and sisters, that we are not a people without historical experience. We do not need to adopt others' spiritual, cultural, and political patterns to solve our own trials.
We, as an old European nation, have a centuries-old existence. Saint Sava paved our paths, our companions and leaders are his holy relatives, his father, his brother, his mother, all the saints of the Sava lineage and our lineage, all those who, at times when it seemed that the Orthodox way of life was disappearing from the historical horizon, opted for the Orthodox Church, for its values, and for the civilizational pattern that springs from it. That is why we, our people, are Sava's offering and tribute to God, as the first fruits of his field entrusted to him.
Sava's covenant and pledge, which Sava handed down and entrusted to us, therefore has both divine and blessed origins. Every Saint Sava Day for our people is an inspection of our national character, a scanner and X-ray of our national health and direction. There is hardly an area, hardly an organ or limb of our national being that Sava has not nurtured, healed, renewed, and improved. Our compass and our guide is in Sava's hands. On Sava's shoulders lies the foundation of the soul of this people, which he built with bare hands as an unwavering assistant of God.
If, at this moment, we as children were to ask him: Tell us, Father Sava, what is most needed and at the same time most blessed for our progress and future? – I am sure that without any hesitation he would answer with the words of the apostle Paul: Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
As a caring father, he would implore us: My beloved children in God, remember my covenant, which has held and preserved you for more than eight centuries, for it is Christ's, the Gospel covenant. Let misunderstandings, disagreements, exclusions, conflicts, and divisions cease at all levels among you: in families, in marriages, within work and national collectives, in society, in the state, and wherever and with whomever you live. Let peace come upon all of you!
Saint Sava knew well, when he reconciled his brethren, that without peace among them, there is no future for anyone. Therefore, Sava's biographer Teodosije emphasized that what most separates brothers and turns them against each other is the bitter glory of kinghood. Therefore, without peace and mutual understanding, there is no future for anyone: neither for you nor for me.
Due to all that has been said, I feel a spiritual obligation to clearly and loudly state the following:
Should we allow our Holy Father Sava to be overshadowed, suppressed, or plucked out from our hearts, from our sight, by any shadows or fleeting glimmers, no matter how tempting they may be… Should we allow, furthermore, this light of our lineage to be driven into the darkness of history – darkness will prevail. And in that darkness, neither we nor our children will be safe or on the right path. We have already, to our great sorrow, had opportunities to see this.
May the Merciful Lord, through the prayers of our Holy Father Sava and all the saints, preserve us from all evil in the days ahead and grant us faith, hope, and love.
Blessed be the feast, blessed be the patron saint day, children of Saint Sava!
