Rastko Nemanjić

The prince who chose heaven

Rastko Nemanjić, the youngest son of Grand Župan Stefan Nemanja, was born with the destiny of a ruler, but his heart yearned for something greater than earthly power. As a young man, he fled to Mount Athos, where he took monastic vows and assumed the name Sava. That act changed the course of Serbian history.

Instead of with the sword, Sava defended Serbia with the book, faith and diplomacy. Together with his father, who joined him as the monk Simeon, he built the monastery of Hilandar, creating a spiritual centre that would preserve Serbian identity for centuries.

Father of the Church and the state

His mission was not only that of a builder. In 1219 in Nicaea he secured the autocephaly (independence) of the Serbian Orthodox Church and became its first archbishop. He wrote the first laws (“Nomocanon” or “Zakonopravilo”), reconciled the quarrelling brothers over their father’s relics, and opened schools and hospitals. Sava laid the foundations on which Serbian statehood and spirituality rest to this day.