Saint Sava in Cincinnati

On Sunday, January 25, 2015, parishioners of Saint George Serbian Church gathered to commemorate one of the most important and significant saints of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Saint Sava. This very important celebration reminds Orthodox Christians, and especially Serbian people, of the tremendous impact Saint Sava has on our lives. Saint Sava, who was born Ratsko Nemanjic in 1174, was a Serbian prince, first Archbishop of Serbia, and one of the most influential figures in Serbian law and literature. He left a life of royalty to become a monk in his youth; he influenced his father, Saint Simeon, to do the same, and subsequently founded Monastery Hilander on Mount Athos, which is still to this day one of the most revered cultural and religious centers for Serbian people. Saint Sava is surely one of the most historically and culturally significant saints in the Serbian Orthodox Church. I grew up understanding that Saint Sava was the patron saint of all Serbian people, and especially, Serbian children. Celebrations on this day give Serbian people the great opportunity to express their attachment to the Fatherland, wherever they may live throughout the world, and to remember the example our beloved Saint Sava has given us in regards to how to live our lives according to the Orthodox faith.