On this day, the Turks burned the relics of Saint Sava: For peace and tranquility, say these words!

San Sava, Photo: Tanjug

Mortal remains Saint Sava, one of the greatest Serbian saints, the first archbishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church, was buried in the Milesevo monastery. However, after a Serb uprising against the Turks, then-Sinan Pasha said that the relics were transferred to Belgrade and burned there, for punishment. This was done exactly 426 years ago, on this day, in 1594.

It turns out that the aforementioned burning took place in the place where the temple of San Sava in Vracar is today, because the documents say that the relics were burned on the hill of Vracar. But, at that time, Vracar was not that big and the place where Saint Sava burned was considered to be actually: Tasmajdan Park today.

Where the temple is now, there was supposedly a swamp, and in Slavija people used to fish, because there was a pond there. Sinan Pasha is said to have come by way of Constantinople (now Smederevo Road), to burn the relics of Sava.

Sinan wanted to burn the bones in a place as large as possible, so that as many citizens as possible could see the bonfire and ask about them, and that very place was the center of everything, from where everything could be seen.

Temple of Saint Sava, Photo: Tanjug / Sava Radovanović

However, in the early 19th century, Gligorija Vozarević, the man most deserving of the founding of the National Library, thought that he had found the cremation site, because he had found an unknown wooden cross on the outskirts. He replaced it with a new one in 1874, and the entire area was called “Vozarev krst”. Today, the area is called the Red Cross.

But that is not the end of the story, because the Committee for the Construction of the Temple of Saint Sava decided to build the building on top of Vracar, where the largest Orthodox shrine in the Balkans is located, believing that its relics were burned, because from there you can see a good part of Belgrade.

We may never know what the real truth is, but it should be kept in mind that during the 19th century, Tasmajdan was a city cemetery, where Prince Milos built a church, not far from the burning site, better known today as the Church of San Marcos, dedicated to his son. Mark

Sentence

On this occasion, on the day of the burning of the relics of Saint Sava, pray to the saint with these words:

– Great decorations among the saints, the wise Father Sava, we beg you, your servants, and belonging to you, we cry out: do not leave your children, father, but always be with us, as you promised, so that we can also glorify you in duty, to glorify you, to glorify your greatness and power, and to offer you a worthy song, shouting and saying: We glorify you, Holy, we glorify you, Lighthouse, we adore you, Father Sava, pray, we beg you, so that those who are saved can be saved. glorify your holy memory. AMIN