About the book: 2002 / Archbishop Savva (in the world Rastko Nemanich, Serbian Rastko Nemajiћ; c. 1169 - January 14, 1236) - one of the most revered saints of Serbia Orthodox Church, religious, cultural and political figure. He was the youngest son of Grand Duke Stefan Nemanja, his secular name was Rastko. The year of his birth is not known exactly; 1169 or 1174 (sometimes 1175) is usually mentioned. He was born in the Golija Mountains near modern Podgorica. As a youth, he went to Mount Athos and became a monk there, and then received the monastic name Savva. First he traveled to a Russian monastery, and later moved to the Greek monastery of Vatopedi. A few years later, Sava’s father abdicated the throne and joined him, receiving the name Simeon. The two of them created the Hilandar monastery on Mount Athos. The monastery, built at the expense of Serbian princes in the middle of the 12th century, then became the center of Serbian monastic life. It still remains one of the most famous monasteries of Athos and belongs to the Serbian Patriarchate. After the death of his father, Saint Sava led an ascetic lifestyle and remained on Mount Athos until the end of 1207. In memory of his father, he wrote “The Life of St. Simeon.” In 1208, St. Sava returned to Serbia to end the civil war between his older brothers Stefan II Nemanjic and Vukan Zeta. He created the autocephalous (independent) Serbian Orthodox Church and became its first archbishop in 1219. In 1234, Saint Sava undertook a second pilgrimage to Jerusalem, leaving before that his student and faithful ally Arseniy of Sremsky as his vicar (after the death of the teacher Arseniy until 1263 headed the SOC). In Palestine, he founded the monastery of the Holy Archangel and a hospital for Orthodox pilgrims. On my way back I passed through Bulgaria. There he died on January 14, 1236 and was buried in the Bulgarian capital of Tarnovo. Nephew of St. Sava, the Serbian king Vladislav (son-in-law of the Bulgarian Tsar Ivan II Asen), a year later transferred his relics from Tarnov to the Mileshevo monastery. The relics of St. Sava were in Mileshevo until Sinan Pasha took them from there to Belgrade, where he burned them on Mount Vracar on April 27, 1594 . After liberation from Turkey, the Serbian people and the Orthodox Church decided to build a temple dedicated to Saint Sava in that place as a sign of gratitude for everything he did for his people and the church. However, it is likely that the relics were burned not where the temple now stands, but on Mount Chupina-Umka, which was previously also called Vrachar. According to popular legends, the hand of Saint Sava was saved during the burning, and it is now located near Pleval. The memory of Saint Sava in the Russian Orthodox Church is celebrated on January 12 (25). Since 1830, Saint Sava has been considered the patron saint of schools..