SAINT SAVA, A LEADER OF HIS PEOPLE THROUGH CENTURIES

BELGRADE, JANUARY 26 /SRNA/ – His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Porfirije said that Saint Sava, the all-Serbian enlightener and teacher, was a leader to his people on the path that leads to life, teaching them, which is why his work continues to resonate loudly through the centuries.

At the opening of the Saint Sava Academy held in the crypt of the Serb people's votive church at Vračar, the Patriarch emphasized that Saint Sava is the greatest and most comprehensive figure to have emerged among the Serb people since their existence began. According to him, Saint Sava is the best example showing that enlightenment must arise from sainthood, and that he understood that a person is not truly enlightened merely by possessing great knowledge, but by knowing the principles of good, what is true, and what is salvific. The Serbian Patriarch stressed that history, literature, and national tradition testify that there is no sphere of society, nor any blessed human endeavor, in which Saint Sava did not lay the foundation or leave his mark. "Saint Sava was a man of the Church and a man of the medieval Nemanjić state, an ascetic and a diplomat, a builder and a lawgiver, a healer of souls and bodies, a peacemaker, a writer, and a teacher of the people," the Patriarch said. He pointed out that the work of Saint Sava cannot be reduced to a single field, as it permeated the entire life of the people, emphasizing the enlightener's and teacher's role of this saint, which stands out in particular for its significance and comprehensiveness, the Serbian Orthodox Church /SOC/ announced. "Many enlighteners and teachers throughout history have paraded across the stage of the world, but the sowing of their light was short-lived and their teaching remained unaffirmed. Moreover, many of them brought humanity the opposite, darkness of delusion and deception instead of light, and arrogant reasoning of a darkened mind instead of true knowledge," Patriarch Porfirije said. As he noted, in contrast to them, the all-Serbian enlightener and teacher Saint Sava, illuminated by the light of Christ, was a reliable torchbearer and leader to his people on the path that leads to life.