Celebration of Patron Saint of St Sava Cathedral on Vrachar

On Sunday, May 10, 2009,  a brotherhood of St Sava Cathedral on Vrachar celebrated Patron Saint of the temple. On this day, when our Holy Church remembers burning of relics of St Sava of Serbia in 1594 on a Belgrade hill of Vrachar, His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral presided over the Holy Hierarchal Liturgy. In the side chapel of St Ermylus and Stratonicus of the St Sava Cathedral the Holy service of God was held with the concelebration of bishops: Irinej of Australia and New Zealand, Atanasije of Hvosno, archimandrite Danilo (Ljubotina), protopresbyters-staurophors: Vladimir Vukashinovic, Drago Ubiparipovic, Dragan Protic, Bozo Bakajlic, Vladan Perishic, Radivoje Panic, protopresbyters: Luka Novakovic, Panayotis Karatasios, Aleksandar Sredojevic, which has been promoted to the rank of protopresbyter-staurophor by Metropolitan, Budimir Zekanovic, presbyter Nebojsha Topolic, hierodeacon Petar (Krachun), protodeacon Stevan Rapajic, deacon Savo Topalovic, hierodeacon Jovan (Panic) and deacon Aleksandar Sekulic.

During the Holy Liturgy, His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije ordained a subdeacon Dragan Nedjic, who has been a priest in St Sava church for many years, to the rank of deacon. In the fully crowded side chapel , except the priesthood and the faithful people, there were also representatives of the State, the Army and the Crown Council. The Liturgy and cutting the slava cake were attended by Dragan Churovic, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Faith, Zoran Zivkovic, former president of the Head Board of the Society for building Cathedral, representatives of the municipality of Vrachar, architects, benefactors and endowers of the Temple, friends of the Temple from cultural and public life.

After the read chapter from the gospel, Metropolitan held a speech pointing out the significance of our Holy Father St Sava for all of us. After the cutting the slava cake, bishops, priesthood and the faithful people went to a formal hall of the presbytery, where the liturgical celebration was concluded with a table of love.

Burning of the relics of St Sava

On this day, 70 years ago, a corner stone was consecrated too for the Monument Cathedral St Sava. Patriarch German of blessed repose served that holy act on May 10, 1939. Every year, on May 10, the Serbian Orthodox Church remembers in prayers and marks the day of burning the relics of St Sava of Serbia. In 1594 on the Vrachar hill in Belgrade, a Turkish commander Sinan-Pasha brutally punished Serbs. That year Serbs from Banat organized an uprising against the Turkish rule. The face of Serbian significant man was present on the flags of the rebels. As a punishment for this rebellion which was crushed in blood, Sinan-Pasha ordered to bring the relics of the Serbian saint from the monastery of Mileshevo, where had been for 350 years, and to burn them. He meant, by this act, to destroy the great cult of this saint among the Serbian people, and also in this way all hopes of a liberation of the Turkish rule. The relics of St Sava were, according to historians, " a source of a Serbian state legitimacy" and " a symbol of Serbian traditions on state and independence". The contemporaries of this event said that a hail and a storm followed this criminal act. Ashes of the Serbian saint were scattered all over the place.