Sava II of Serbia

Saint Sava II, born Predislav, was the third Archbishop of Serbia, from 1263 to 1271, the middle son of King Stefan the First-⁠Crowned of the Nemanjić dynasty. The Serbian Orthodox Church honours him as a holy hierarch who followed in the footsteps of his uncle, Saint Sava, the first archbishop of the Serbs.

Family and monastic life

He was born around 1200 or 1201, the son of King Stefan the First-⁠Crowned and Eudokia Angelina. As nephew of Saint Sava, he was brought up by him. His elder brothers Radoslav, Vladislav and Uroš reigned in turn in Serbia, while their father became a monk at the end of his life, with the name Simeon, and departed to the Lord in 1227. Predislav cared nothing for worldly power and followed in his uncle's steps. He lived early on at the monastery of Hilandar on the Holy Mountain, where he was tonsured with the name Sava, after his uncle, and he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. His Life says that he remained there a long time, venerating the Tomb of the Lord.

It is told that on his way back from Jerusalem through Syria he took a mulberry sapling and planted it in the courtyard of the monastery of the Patriarchate at Peć.

Bishop and archbishop

Returning home, he was elected Bishop of Hum, with his seat at Ston near Dubrovnik. In his time the seat of the diocese was moved to the monastery of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul on the Lim, at Bijelo Polje. He showed himself a fighter against the Bogomils and a zealous defender of right belief. In 1263 he was elected the third Archbishop of Serbia and shepherded the Church for seven years, to the end of his life.

Repose and veneration

He departed to the Lord on 8 February 1271 and was buried in the church of the Holy Apostles at Peć. His Life was written before 1330. In 1861 Metropolitan Michael of Serbia composed and published the service to this saint. The saint's likeness is preserved in the frescoes of the monasteries of Studenica, Sopoćani, Dečani, Gračanica and Peć, and in the Patriarchate of Peć his repose is painted above his tomb. Saint Sava II is commemorated on 8 February, which is 21 February on the new calendar.