Saint Sava, the first Archbishop of Serbia, in the world Rostislav (Rastko), was the son of the autocrat of Serbia Stefan Nemanja and Anna, the daughter of the Greek Emperor Roman. From early childhood he diligently attended church services and had a special love for monks.
At the age of seventeen, having met a Russian monk from Holy Mount Athos, Rostislav secretly left his father’s house and arrived at the Russian Panteleimon Monastery. (According to the Providence of God, in the year of the saint’s birth - 1169 - the ancient monastery of the holy great martyr and healer Panteleimon was given to Russian monks for eternal possession.)
His father, having learned that his son was on Athos, equipped a whole squad with a faithful commander and wrote to the ruler of the region where Athos was included that if his son was not returned to him, he would go to war against the Greeks. Arriving at the monastery, the governor ordered not to take his eyes off Rostislav. During the evening service, when the wine-drunk soldiers fell asleep, Rostislav took monastic vows (1186) and sent his secular clothes, hair and a letter to his parents. Monk Savva managed to convince his sovereign parents to accept monasticism. The father of the monk (memory of the Monk Stephen, in monasticism of Simeon, King of Serbia, February 13) together with his son labored in the Vatopedi monastery. On Mount Athos they renovated the Serbian Hilendar monastery, and this monastery received the title of royal stauropegy.
At the Hilendar monastery, the Monk Savva was ordained a deacon and then a presbyter. In Thessalonica, for his monastic exploits on the Holy Mountain, the monk was awarded the rank of archimandrite. In 1219 in Nicaea, on the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, Ecumenical Patriarch Herman ordained Archimandrite Sava to the rank of Archbishop of all Serbia. At the same time, the Monk Sava asked the Greek emperor for the right for those seeking the dignity of archbishop to be consecrated in Serbia by a council of bishops, which was very important for that time of frequent wars between eastern and western rulers. Arriving from Nicaea at the Holy Mountain, the saint walked around all the monasteries for the last time, bowed to all the churches and, remembering the blessed life of the desert fathers, in deep contrition said goodbye to the ascetics, “coming from the Holy Mountain, as if from some Divine paradise.” On the way from Athos, dejected by the weight of separation from the Holy Mountain, the saint could hardly walk.
Only the words of the Most Holy Theotokos, who appeared to the saint in a dream: “Having Me as a Companion to the King of all, My Son and My God, do you still grieve for these?” – rescued him from despondency, changing sadness to joy. In memory of this appearance, the saint ordered two large icons of the Savior and the Mother of God from Thessaloniki, which he placed in the Church of Philokalia. In Serbia, the activity of the High Hierarch in organizing the affairs of the Church and the Fatherland was accompanied by numerous signs and wonders. During the Liturgy and the all-night vigil, when the saint came to burn incense over the tomb of his father, the Monk Simeon, the holy relics exuded fragrant myrrh.
Negotiating with the Hungarian king Vladislaus, who declared war on Serbia, the saint, glorified by heavenly signs, not only brought the desired peace to his fatherland, but also brought the Hungarian monarch to Orthodoxy. Having laid the foundation for the historical existence of the independent Serbian Church, Saint Sava also contributed to the establishment of Serbian statehood. To strengthen the independent state of the Serbs, the holy Archbishop Sava crowned his sovereign brother Stephen. After the death of Stephen, crowning his eldest son Radoslav as king, Saint Sava went to the Holy Land “to kiss the holy Sepulcher of Christ and the terrible Golgotha with tears.” Returning to his homeland, the saint blessed and crowned Vladislav as king and, to further strengthen the Serbian throne, betrothed him to the daughter of the Bulgarian prince Asan.
The Holy High Hierarch toured the entire Serbian land, corrected the monastic rules according to the model of those in Mount Athos and Palestine, built and consecrated many churches, confirming the Orthodox in the faith. Having completed his feat in his homeland, the saint, having appointed Hieromonk Arseny as his successor, ordained him a bishop and bestowed a blessing on everyone, set off on a journey of no return, wanting to “end his days as a wanderer in a foreign land.” Having passed through all of Palestine, Syria and Persia, Babylon, Egypt and Anatolia, visiting holy places everywhere, talking with great ascetics, collecting the sacred remains of saints, the saint ended his journey in Tarnovo, in Bulgaria, in the house of a relative of King Asan, where with spiritual joy he gave up his soul to the Lord († 1237).
During the transfer of the holy relics of St. Sava to Serbia in 1237, the healings were so numerous that the Bulgarians began to murmur at Asan, “why is he giving up such a treasure.” In the saint’s homeland, his venerable relics were placed in the Mileshevo church, granting healing to all who came with faith. The inhabitants of Tarnovo continued to receive healing from the remains of the saint’s tomb, which the pious Asan ordered to be collected together and placed in a newly built tomb.
The legacy of Saint Sava of Serbia lives in the Orthodox Church tradition of the Slavic peoples. The first introduction of the Jerusalem Rule in Slavic monastic monasteries is associated with his name; according to the Typik of St. Sava, the Serbian Hilendar Monastery on Mount Athos still lives. The saint's edition of the Helmsman's Book with interpretations by Alexy Aristin became the most widespread in the Russian Church. In 1270, the first list of the Helmsman of Saint Sava was sent from Bulgaria to Metropolitan Kirill of Kyiv. One of the oldest Russian Helmsmen, the Ryazan Helmsman of 1284, was copied from it. It, in turn, formed the basis for the printed Helmsman, published in 1653 and invariably reprinted in the Russian Church since then. Such is the contribution of Saint Sava to the canonical treasury of Orthodoxy.
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St. Maxim Kavsokaliv, Athos († 1354, commemorated January 13)
The Monk Maxim Kavsokalivit was brought up at the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos in Lampsak. At the age of seventeen, he left his parents’ home, became a monk and passed obedience to the best spiritual mentor in Macedonia, Elder Mark. After the death of his mentor, the monk labored under the guidance of several desert fathers of an extremely strict life. Arriving in Constantinople, the Monk Maxim was constantly at the Blachernae Church of the Most Holy Theotokos, as if settling in the narthex. In order to hide his prayerful and fasting deeds and avoid glory, the monk behaved like a holy fool.
On Athos, the Monk Maxim underwent obedience in the Lavra of the Monk Athanasius and on the top of the Holy Mountain was awarded a vision of the Mother of God. The Monk Maxim told about his vision to one elder who labored at the Church of the Holy Prophet of God on Carmel, who declared the monk deceived. However, the monk turned this mistrust for good, under the guise of charm and pride, hiding his wondrous exploits, hardships, wandering patience and loneliness. To further strengthen the general rumor about his foolishness, Saint Maxim did not establish a permanent home, he moved from place to place like a madman, burning his kalivas - grass huts (kavsokalivit - means “burning kaliva”). The Saints, knowing about the extreme hardships and sorrows of the Monk Maxim, nevertheless looked at him with prejudice for a long time, even when the monk had reached the height and perfection of contemplative life.