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
The Loaf of Slava....................5
Slava and Jewish Passover
Meal............................6
The most celebrated Patron
Saints...........................7
Fasting....................................8
Credits (The end)....................9
Slava (Patron Saint)
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
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.
Slava in the family
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 vendetta
s etc.), but they have never changed their
Slava. So, if two Serbian families have the
same Slava, even without having the same
urname, 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.
Preslava (little 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
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.
codification ofSt.
the Sava
Byzantine Law, that
implements the rich inheritance of the
Although
SlavaCivil
has been
present
Greco-Roman
Law,
St. among
Sava
the
Serbsatsince
ninth century,
already,
thethebeginning
of theSaint
13th
Sava
gaveintroduces
it the final
stamp asState
the
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community
mark of
the Serbian
Orthodox
and the Serbian
Orthodox
Church
to the
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that heofestablished
in 1219, beingand
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But the importance
of
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Therefore,
Saint
Sava
cannot
limited
to the
St. Sava
stands
at thebevery
beginning
of
establishment
of the
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Orthodox
the Serbian Law,
the Serbian
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only.Culture
The youngest
of the
the Serbian
and thesonSerbian
Serbian
Great
(Duke)
Education.
No Zupan
wonder, then,
thatStefan
in the
Nemanja,
Rastko
the liberation
age of 17 left
for
19th Century,
afterin the
of the
the
Mount
Athos St.
whereSava
he became
a monk.
Serbs
from Turks,
was elected
as
After
StefanSaint
Nemanja
left the throne
for
the Patron
of Serbian
Schools
his
middle and
son, ofStefan
Prvovencani
(the
worldwide
the Serbian
Education
Firstcrowned),
and joined
at
generally. At St.
Sava’s his
daysonevery
Mount
Sava,its with
the
Serbian Athos,
School Saint
celebrates
Patron
economic
support its
of his
father,
bought
a
Saint, celebrates
School
Slava
, which
is
actuallyandreminder
all Teachers
deserted
ruinedformonastery
on and
the
Pupils
are one big family They
with
northernthat
brinkthey
of Athos-Hilandary.
St.
as their Head.
not only
as served
a place
builtSava
a monumental
monastery
which
for
life of
monks but
also as law
the
At spiritual
Hilandary
important
medieval
cultural
for Serbs.
codes andcentre
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
especially
wine. InoftheSlava
rite of Breaking
ThetheLoaf
the Slava Loaf, the wine is poured over the
Loaf so that it makes the sign of the cross
The
remarkable
sign the
in the
over most
the Loaf,
symbolizing
veryrite of
Slava
Christ.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
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
Slava and Jewish Passover Meal
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
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 most celebrated Patron
Saints
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).
St. Nicholas
St. Michael
St. John
St. George
Fasting
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.
Credits
Darko Krstic
Presentation was made by: Ivana Tonsa
Milan Stojanovic
High school “Bora Stankovic” Nis
March 2011.