Sveti sava

1. Sveti Sava (Saint Sava)
The Family and the Serbian
Schools’ Patron Saint
Contents
Slava (Patron Saint)..............1
Slava in the family...................2
Preslava (little slava)..............3
St. Sava.................................4
Slava and Jewish Passover
Meal............................6
Fasting....................................8
The Loaf of
Slava....................5
The most celebrated Patron
Saints...........................7
Credits (The end)....................9

2. distinguishing marks of the Serbian
Orthodoxy and the Serbian Orthodox
Church. The difference lies in the fact that
the Patron Saint is not the Protector of an
individual only but of the entire family.
This, specifically, Serbian family custom,
is called Slava (the Celebration, the
Glorification). The entire family celebrates
it each year on the day of the particular
Patron Saint from the moment a family has
become Christian,( probably at the moment
of the “family baptism”, i. e. the baptism of
the entire family). This implies that the
Slava or the Patron Saint day is the day
of the family gathering or reunion,
accentuating the importance of family in the
Serbian Orthodoxy, followed by a
particular ritual.
In all the religions worldwide, there is a
tradition or a custom of celebrating a day
which is for some reason special for an
individual or a community. Those reasons,
just like the origins of those customs, vary
from religion to religion and from culture to
culture. In the Western Christianity, for
example, there is a tradition of celebrating
the Patron Saint, a Saint that is believed
to be the protector of a city. Also, there is a
tradition of celebrating a day, or better to
say, an individual Patron Saint Day,
when a child, for example, got its name after
the Saint, ‘the name’s day’ as we call it.
However, there is among the Orthodox
Serbs a variation of the tradition of the
Patron Saint, which is actually one of the
Slava (Patron Saint)

3. Slava. So, if two Serbian families have the
same Slava, even without having the same
surname, this could be an indicator of
possible family ties between them.
The sons should celebrate the Slava with
their father only if they live under the same
roof. If they live separately, they should
celebrate it separately, each one in his
household. If the head of the family doesn’t
have a son, daughters can inherit the Slava
only if they stay in the home. As a rule
married women by the very marriage start to
celebrate their husband’s Slava.
The host of Slava is the head of the family
(pater familias). The role of a host is
inherited from the head of the family to
sons, just like the way the surname is
inherited from father to sons. Since the
surname is not only an individual but a
family mark, the connection between the
surname and Slava is evident and
comprehensible only in their family
dimension. This connection establishes
Slava as the indicator of the genealogical
relationships between families and branches
of the same family. This is important
especially after the Turkish occupation of
the Serbian countries, since many Serbs
were forced to change their surnames (as it
was ordered by the Turks, escaping
vendettas etc.), but they have never changed
their
Slava in the family

4. families, where pagan Protector of a family
was, by mass Christianization of
Serbs(ninth century), replaced by a
Christian Saint. Although this
explanation seems easy and logical, it
doesn’t explain why only the Serbs have
developed Slava and why many other
nations, that have had much more
sophisticated and developed religious
veneration of household gods (Romans had
celebrated Lars as household gods, Greeks
had venerated Hestia…), didn’t develop,
during their Christianization, some similar
custom, but ended up in celebrating the
‘name’s day’. In any case, this simple
explanation of the origin of Slava cannot
elucidate the specific Serbian character of
Slava.
Serbs usually celebrate one Slava; yet,
some families may celebrate another Saint
to a lesser extent for various reasons. If
something very important happened to
somebody on a certain day (rescue from
peril, some extraordinary achievement etc.)
than he would adopt the Saint that is
celebrated on that day as his another Patron
Saint. Or if the wife is the only descendant
of her father so otherwise her father’s Slava
would be extinguished. All these cases of
the Second Slava are named as Preslava or
Little Slava.
The historical background of Slava is
obscure. It is usually said that Slava, as a
custom, has roots in pagan worship of Old
Slavic household gods as protectors of the
Preslava (little slava)

5. deserted and ruined monastery on the
northern brink of Athos-Hilandary. They
built a monumental monastery which served
At Hilandary important medieval law
codes and literary works were transcribed
under the supervision of St. Sava. He was
also a writer, and we can freely say he
stands at the beginning of the independent
Serbian medieval literature (D.
Bogdanovic). His first literary work, The
Karyes Typicon (1199), testifies about the
importance of juridical literature for the
establishment of the Serbian State and
Serbian Church in St. Sava’s worldview.
This Typicon, as well as the other two (The
Typicon of Hilandary and The Typicon of
Studenica) which were written by St.
Sava, introduce the main juridical work of
St. Sava, Nomokanon. With this
codification of the Byzantine Law, that
implements the rich inheritance of the
Greco-Roman Civil Law, St. Sava
already, at the beginning of the 13
th

Century, introduces the Serbian State
and the Serbian Orthodox Church to the
mainstream of the European and
Mediterranean civilization. Therefore,
St. Sava stands at the very beginning of
the Serbian Law, the Serbian Literature,
the Serbian Culture and the Serbian
Education. No wonder, then, that in the
19
th
Century, after the liberation of the
Serbs from Turks, St. Sava was elected as
the Patron Saint of Serbian Schools
worldwide and of the Serbian Education
generally. At St. Sava’s day every
Serbian School celebrates its Patron
Saint, celebrates its School Slava, which
Although Slava has been present among
the Serbs since the ninth century, Saint
Sava gave it the final stamp as the
community mark of the Serbian Orthodox
Church that he established in 1219, being its
first Archbishop. But the importance of
Saint Sava cannot be limited to the
establishment of the Serbian Orthodox
Church only. The youngest son of the
Serbian Great Zupan (Duke) Stefan
Nemanja, Rastko in the age of 17 left for
the Mount Athos where he became a monk.
After Stefan Nemanja left the throne for
his middle son, Stefan Prvovencani (the
Firstcrowned), and joined his son at
Mount Athos, Saint Sava, with the
economic support of his father, bought a
St. Sava is actually reminder for all Teachers and
Pupils that they are one big family with
St. Sava as their Head. not only as a place
for spiritual life of monks but also as the
cultural centre for Serbs.

6. next to it Kolyivo is boiled wheat arranged
with various spices, like sugar, grind nuts
and cinnemon. In the Gospel Tradition
wheat symbolizes
the resurrection (The Gospel according to
John 12, 24-25). It is dedicated to all the
deceased members of the family, to all the
ancestors who faithfully celebrated Slava
before us, enabling us, today, to celebrate
the feast in the same manner, and whose
presence is symbolically represented by
wheat. Therefore, celebrating Slava unites
family not only by gathering it around the
Loaf representing Christ, but also
temporarily extends, by means of wheat,
this celebration to all Christian generations
of family. Indispensible elements of Slava
are also: a Candle (Slavska Sveca) that is
lit on in honor of the Patron Saint, and
The most remarkable sign in the rite of
Slava is The Loaf of Slava (Slavski
Kolac). There is the Cross on the top of
the Loaf and the abbreviation for “Jesus
Christ wins”. The loaf symbolizes the
Christ, which can be seen in the rite of
breaking the loaf when the priest says to the
head of the household “Christ between us”.
Partaking of the one loaf, which symbolizes
the very Christ, stresses the unity between
all members of the family in the Christian
faith. The Loaf also contains the Dove (of
peace), reminding the members of the family
that until the next celebration of Slava
peace must rule among them. When the
Loaf is placed on the table in front of the
Saint’s Icon, a bowl of kolyivo is placed
The Loaf of Slavaespecially the wine. In the rite of Breaking
the Slava Loaf, the wine is poured over the
Loaf so that it makes the sign of the cross
over the Loaf, symbolizing the very
Christ.

7. Passover Meal, bread and wine are not
only simple food but their usage in the meal
bears profound theological connotations.
Both Jewish Passover Meal and Serbian
Slava celebrate the day when families,
Jewish and Serbian, became connected to
God in a special way as God’s covenant
people- Jews in the moment of their Exile
from Egypt and Serbian family through
their family baptism on the Feast Day of
the Family Patron. In any case, the
connection between Serbian Slava and
Jewish Passover Meal shouldn’t be
overlooked.
The usage of bread and wine in a religious
family feast would point to some important
parallels between Serbian Slava and
Jewish Passover Meal (see The Book of
Exodus 12). Both feasts are strictly
family celebrations that gather and
spiritually unite family around their
central object- Jews are gathered around the
Paschal Lamb and Serbs around Christ
(symbolized by the Loaf and Wine). If we
consider the fact that in the Gospel
Tradition Jesus Christ is presented as
“our (Christian) Passover Lamb” (The
Gospel of John 1,29.36; Paul’s First
Epistle to Corinthians 5,7), then the
resemblance between the two is even
stronger. In both Slava and Jewish
Slava and Jewish Passover Meal

8. The most celebrated Patron Saints among
the Serbs are: Saint Nicholas (19/12
according to the Gregorian Calendar),
Saint Michael (21/11), Saint John the
Baptist (20/1), Saint George the Great
Martyr (6/5), Saint Demetrius (8/11),
Saint Stephen (9/1- the Slava of the
Nemanjic Dynasty).
The most celebrated Patron
Saints
St. NicholasSt. Michael
St. John St. George

9. If Slava falls in a period of fasting (4
Great Fasts and the most of Wednesdays
and Fridays) the Feast consists of fasting
meals, based only on vegetables and fish,
fat-fee food. Otherwise, it is an ordinary
meal with plenty of meat on the table. Still,
the most important thing during the
celebration is the joyous atmosphere and
feeling of unity and love of God, family,
relatives and friends visiting, wishing to
share the moments of love, peace and love
with their loved ones.
Fasting

10. Presentation was made by:
High school
Ivana Tonsa
Darko Kostic
Milan Stojanovic
“Bora Stankovic” Nis.
Credits