Savindan (Saint Sava Day, Spirituality Day, School Day)

Saint Sava is the most revered Serbian saint, the founder of the autocephalous Serbian Orthodox Church. Saint Sava was the youngest son of the great zhupan of Serbia Stefan Nemani, his lay name was Rastko. The year of his birth is unknown, usually called 1169 and 1174 (sometimes 1175). As a teenager, he fled to St. Athos and became a monk, receiving the name Sava. A few years later, his father abdicated and became a monk. On St. Athos they founded together the monastery of Hilanadr.

Saint Sava achieved the independence of the Serbian Orthodox Church and became its first archbishop in 1219. Returning from Jerusalem through Bulgaria, he died on January 14, 1236 and was buried in the Bulgarian capital of Tarnov. His nephew, the Serbian king Vladislav, son-in-law of the Bulgarian king Asen, a year later transferred his relics from Tarnov to the monastery of Mileshevi.

The relics of Saint Sava remained there until 1594, when Sinan Pasha took them from there to Belgrade, where he burned them on April 27, 1594 at Vracar. After liberation from the Turkish yoke, the Serbian people and the Orthodox Church decided to build the Church of St. Sava – the largest Orthodox church in the world today – in memory and gratitude for everything that St. Sava did for his people and church.

Saint Sava as a saint is celebrated by the Serbian Orthodox Church on January 27 (January 14 according to the Julian calendar). The feast of Saint Sava – Savindan is celebrated as a school “glory” (the feast of the patron saint of the family or a particular branch of life) in all schools of Serbia and the Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is a day off for students. The main festivals are traditionally held in the Belgrade Center of St. Sava: a concert of pop stars, awarding the best students, students, teachers, teachers and other prominent public figures who have made a significant educational contribution.