January 27 / January 14
Saint Sava, Archbishop of Serbia
Sava was born in 1169. He was the son of Stefan Nemanja, the Grand Župan of Serbia. As a young man, Sava yearned for the spiritual life, for which he fled to the Holy Mountain, where he was tonsured a monk and lived ac- cording to the ascetic rule with rare zeal. Stefan Nemanja followed the example of his son and came to the Holy Mountain, where he was tonsured a monk and eventually fell asleep in the Lord as the monk Simeon.
Sava obtained the independence of the Serbian Church from the Byzantine emperor and the patriarch and became the first Archbishop of Serbia. Together with his father, he built Hilandar Monastery and, after that, many other monasteries, churches, and schools throughout the Serbian lands. On two occasions he made pilgrimages to the sacred places in the Holy Land. He restored peace between his two brothers, who were estranged because of a struggle for power. He restored peace between the Serbs and their neighbors. In establishing the Serbian Church, he also established the Serbian state and culture. He instilled peace between all the Balkan peoples and worked for the benefit of all—for which he was loved and respected by all who lived in the Balkans. He gave a Christian soul to the Serbian people—a soul that did not perish with the eventual collapse of the Serbian state. Sava reposed in Trnovo, Bulgaria, during the reign of Emperor Asen, on January 12, 1236, after becoming ill following the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of Theophany. King Vladislav translated his body to Mileševo Monastery, from which Sinan Pasha removed St. Sava’s relics, to burn them on Vračar hill in Belgrade on April 27, 1595.
2. The Venerable Martyrs: The Fathers of Sinai and Raithu
These holy martyrs were slain by the Saracens—the fathers of Sinai in the fourth century, and the fathers of Raithu in the fifth century: Isaiah, Sabbas, Moses and his disciple Moses, Jeremiah, Paul, Adam, Sergius, Domnus, Proclus, Hypatius, Isaac, Macarius, Mark, Benjamin, Eusebius, Elias, and others (4th-5th c.).
3. Saint Nina (Nino), Equal-to-the-Apostles, Enlightener of Georgia (335)
Nina was a relative of St. George the Great-martyr and Juvenal the Patriarch of Jerusalem. Her parents belonged to the nobility in Cappadocia, and— since her parents were tonsured in the monastic state—Nina was educated under the tutelage of Patriarch Juvenal. Hearing about the people of Georgia, the virgin Nina, from an early age, desired to go to Georgia and to baptize the Georgians. The Most-holy Mother of God appeared to Nina and promised to take her to this land. When our Lord opened the way, the young Nina indeed traveled to Georgia, where, in a short period of time, she gained the love of the Georgian people. Nina succeeded in baptizing the Georgian King Mirian, his wife Nana, and their son Bakar who, later on, zealously assisted Nina’s missionary work. During her lifetime, Nina traveled throughout Georgia, converting the entire nation to the Christian Faith. She did her work at the time of the terrible persecution of Christians at the hands of Emperor Diocletian. Having rested from her many labors, Nina reposed in the Lord in the year 335. Her body is entombed in the Church of the Holy Great-martyr George in Bodbe Convent. She worked many miracles during her life and after her death.
- Joseph Analytinus of Raithu Monastery (4th c.).
- Theodulus, son of St. Nilus of Sinai (5th c.).
- Kentigern (Mungo), first bishop of Strathclyde (Glasgow), Scotland (612).
- Stephen, abbot of Chenolakkos Monastery near Chalcedon (716).
- Acacius, bishop of Tver (1567).
- Meletius, bishop of Ryazan, missionary to Yakutia (1900).
- New Martyrs slain at Raithu Monastery near Kazan: hieromonks Joseph, Anthony, Barlaam, Job, and Sergius, and novice Peter (1930).
- . New Hiero-confessor John (Kevroletin), hieroschemamonk, of Verkhoturye (1961).
HYMN OF PRAISE
Saint Nina
A virgin most beautiful, noble Nina,
By providence became the Apostle to the Georgians,
In defiance of the persecution by Emperor Diocletian.
With the Cross she baptized King Mirian,
His wife Nana and his son Bakar,
And through them, all the people and the elite of the leaders.
With the Cross of the Son of God she baptized them all.
Saint Nina, Apostle to the Georgians.
From her youth Nina prayed to God
That Djul (the Rose)—Georgia—be baptized by her;
And the good God granted that for which she prayed.
From Nina’s hand the Cross shone
Upon gentle Georgia, where it shines even now,
Where Nina’s hand blesses even now.
There is Nina’s grave, over which a church glistens,
Glorifying Saint Nina and the Lord Christ.
To read the Reflection, Contemplation, and Homily for this day,
you can purchase your copy of the Prologue of Ohrid at our St. Sebastian Bookstore
or download our Kindle E-Book version at Amazon.com.