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Lives of the Serbian Saints

tr. Yanich and Hankey, 1921

The Life of Saint Simon Prvovenchani, Son of Stephen Nemanya

St. Simon was the son of the godly King Stephen Nemanya and the Princess Anna, and was given the name of Stephen in Holy Baptism—a good branch of a good root. He was the first-born of many brothers and sisters, gentle in his nature, of a loving heart and a spirit lit from God. When his father, zhupan of the Serbian people and first in dignity, was stricken in years and desired to lay aside the heavy burden of rule that he might end the days of his old age in prayer and spiritual exercises, in the presence of all the lords and nobles of all ranks, together with the bishops and the Holy Synod assembled, he called his eldest son Stephen before him, blessed him before them all, and gave into his hand the sceptre of rule. Then he spake to all the people assembled: “Behold, in the name of God, I raise up this my son to rule in my stead the state which was entrusted to me by God and by your love. Wherefore I bid you all to be obedient and faithful to him as you have been to me.”

When he came to the throne Stephen ruled by love, ever protecting those who were oppressed, feeding the poor, giving abundant alms to the aged and helpless, administering justice, treating his subjects as comrades, brothers and children, like one who knew that he must give account of his deeds at the Last Judgment. He watched over the Holy Orthodox Faith, cleansing it of all heresies. He built also churches, among which the most worthy of note is Zicha: in a word, he exercised all the Gospel virtues, following thus the Lord God who loves His chosen.

And it came to pass that there was brought from the Holy Mountain Athos a letter from his father, the monk Simeon, and his brother, the priest-monk Sava, in which they told him of their purpose to build a monastery which would be unlike all others, for it would be built “in the name of our family and of the Serbian people, who will in their prayers remember thee, and after thee thy sons and thy sons’ sons for ever.” The godly and Christian king and ruler of the Serbians rejoiced greatly because of this good purpose for his people and his country; and he sent to them much gold and silver, promising at the same time to give them all they needed for the monastery called Khilindar.

After a little time St. Sava wrote to him and told him concerning the death of their father, the saintly monk Simeon, and how, by the grace of the Lord, the body of this holy man gave forth healing oil, some of which he sent in a little bottle. When the zhupan his brother, Stephen, received the letter and the holy oil, he bowed himself to the ground and kissed the oil, giving thanks to the Lord for such a grace granted to his father’s dust.

At this time, when there was peace and quietness in the Serbian state on every side, the Tempter of mankind stirred up Vukan, Prince of Zeta and Humlie, the younger brother of the zhupan Stephen, and put in his heart the desire not only to free himself from Stephen’s lordship over Zeta and Humlie, but to depose him from his throne and make himself ruler over all the country. The Christ-loving Stephen, seeing himself in danger from his younger brother and recoiling from the shedding of blood on either side, wrote to the godly Sava on Mount Athos, praying him on this wise: “O brother and my holy father, so dear to my heart and soul, hear the voice of my lamentation, incline thine ear unto my sighings and show us lovingkindness for the Lord’s sake. When thou, my brother, and my father, didst depart from us, our country became foul with sin, civil war arose and blood was shed among a people of one race and faith. Very nearly was I taken prisoner, and because of our strife we are become a laughing-stock to those that are round about us. Wherefore I pray thee, O my father and brother, come quickly to our fatherland and bring with thee the body of our father, Simeon, that in some way, through thy holy prayers and thy presence in our midst, God may shine in His mercy upon us, our enemies be destroyed, and all that now is scattered may be made one again.”

The godly saint Sava, anxious to raise up and comfort the sorrowing heart of his brother in this trouble, and at the same time to fulfil the dying behest of his father, came back to his fatherland bearing with him the relics. Then was discord turned into peace, sorrow into joy, and their feuds into brotherly concord. His brother Vukan was reconciled and brought to obedience; repenting of his lawless deeds, he prostrated himself and vowed a vow that he would never again rebel against the lordship of his elder brother. So was the love between them made greater than before, and peace and quietness reigned in Serbia: the power of the state was strengthened: its borders were enlarged: and the Orthodox Faith grew and flourished.

At this time there came to the zhupan Stephen one of the princes of Bulgaria, Strez by name, a kinsman of John, Tsar of Bulgaria and Zagorye, whose realm Boris had taken. Now Strez was brave and a little inclined to evil, so that Boris had feared lest he should be killed by him and his kingdom taken. That he might prevent this he had set himself to persecute him so as to make an end of him. When Strez perceived that his life was in danger, he had fled to the benign Stephen and besought his protection. The Christ-loving Stephen had received him and all that followed him with affection, treating him as a brother and giving him the town of Prosek, on the river Nardar, with the land about it, that he might rule over it. After a while, when Strez had grown rich, he became proud and began to oppress his subjects, so that at length, for little or no fault, he used to slay his people, hurling them from the tops of the high cliffs into the river below. Such were his pleasures: and afterward he would make himself drunk with wine. When tidings of these things came to Stephen he was very sorrowful and his conscience smote him because he had suffered such a man to be ruler. Therefore he wrote a letter to him, giving him counsel, and beseeching him to cease from his barbarous and cruel ways. But Strez not only paid no heed to this gentle and friendly counsel, not only did he refuse to turn aside from his evil ways, but he became ever more barbarous and full of treachery. He made a league with the Greek and the Bulgarian tsar; and, receiving from the twain some armed forces, he made war on his benefactor. When the zhupan saw that he must resist this relentless foe, he first prostrated himself in prayer, saying: “Help me, O Lord: come, Lord, to my aid and strengthen me. Give me not over unto the will of mine adversaries, for the sake of the prayers of Thy Holy Mother and Thy servant my father Simeon. Behold, Lord, my enemy who would render me evil for good.” This he prayed with much else, and then gave orders to the commanders of his armies to make ready the soldiers for battle. But in the providence of God and by the mediation of the holy father Sava, Strez was brought to destruction before the battle. For he was seized by a strange fear which came on him from Heaven, and lifted up his hand against himself, piercing himself with his own dagger. When the leaders of his army saw this, some fled away homewards, others did homage to the zhupan Stephen.

When his brother, the holy father Sava, after going to the Holy Mountain Athos, returned some time later as archbishop of the whole Serbian people, Stephen was sick and could not go forth to meet him. Then St. Sava came to him and sprinkled him with holy water, and with his prayers raised him from the bed and healed him. With a twofold joy Stephen rejoiced, because his brother had come and because he had healed him. He praised the Lord with a loud voice, and falling at the feet of the archbishop, his brother, he poured forth his thankfulness from a full heart: and he gave great alms to the poor for his healing.

It came to pass after this that the king went to the monastery of Zicha to his brother the Archbishop Sava, with all his lords and nobles. It was the season of the Feast of the Ascension. The archbishop, while he celebrated the Holy Liturgy, called the prince, Stephen, to him at the altar and blessed him, and anointed him with the holy oil and dressed him in the royal purple. After that, he put a crown upon his head, girded him with the kingly sword, gave into his hand the sceptre of royal power, and sang, “Long live the King!” On the morrow all came again to the church, and after the reading of the Gospel the archbishop began to recite the creed of the Orthodox Faith and bade the king and all the assembly to repeat it with him. Which thing they did. Now all this came to pass in the year 1222.

When the Hungarian king heard that Stephen had been crowned king without his consent, he was envious of this glory and sent an envoy to him to declare war. The peace-loving King Stephen, condemning in his heart a strife which could only bring harm to both sides and wishing to prevent the bloodshed, besought his brother, the Archbishop Sava, to turn the King of Hungary from his sinful purpose. This he brought about by his wisdom and by the help of the Lord.

Not long after King Stephen fell ill and prayed his brother, St. Sava, to make him monk. But St. Sava would not, saying to him, “In due time will I do this thing.” When St. Sava had gone back to Zicha, the king fell ill again—so ill that he scarce breathed. A second time he called upon his brother to make him monk before he died. St. Sava made haste to come to the sick man, but he did not reach him before he died. Thus he had died without having received the monk’s habit and without settling who should succeed him on the throne. After he had breathed his last breath, came St. Sava: kneeling down he prayed to God that the soul which had left the body might return. After his prayer he made the sign of the cross upon the breast of the dead, saying, “Arise, brother, and speak with me.” Then did the dead arise as from a dream. He opened his eyes, and seeing the saint before him, took his hand and kissed it. The saint raised him up and made him be seated, and straightway made him monk, giving him the name Simon. Then did the monk Simon receive the Holy Sacrament and gave up his spirit to the Lord with the words, “Glory be to God for all things,” in the year of Our Lord 1224. His dead body was brought to Studenitza and there buried with honour in a marble tomb close to his father.

Some time after the holy Sava removed the remains to Zicha, whence, during the reign of Vladislav, they were brought again to Studenitza. When Urosh the First built the monastery Sopochani they carried the relics of this godly man to that glorious church, where they rested one hundred and fifty-two years, that is, till the fall of the Serbian kingdom under Lazar. After the death of his son, Stephen the Tall, they hid the sarcophagus with the relics of the godly man to keep them from the sacrilegious hands of the Turks, and so they continued for the space of two hundred and eleven years, no living man knowing of the place of their rest. In the year of Christ 1629 the godly man appeared thrice in a dream to the higumen of the monastery of Sopochani, bidding him to take him up from the darkness of the earth. A little while after he appeared also to the Serbian Patriarch, Paisi, and likewise to the Metropolitan of Rascia, bidding the latter to come to the fortress of Jeletch. And when he had so done, he met there the Patriarch Paisi, whereupon they set out together for the monastery Sopochani. At the end of the Holy Liturgy they went out in their vestments to the place shown to them in their dreams, and the patriarch ordered men to dig. And when they had made an end, they took the sarcophagus and placed the relics in the church of Sopochani with great rejoicing.

In the year 1686 the monks of Sopochani, in fear of the Turks, removed the sarcophagus to Montenegro and placed it in the church of the Holy Archangel, which is in the mountains; and there it remained fourteen years. After which, in the year 1701, they were again removed to Studenitza and remained there till 1719. In that year, war was declared against the Turks by the empires of Russia and Austria; and since the Turks, who wrought such evil upon the Orthodox and Serbian lands, began to burn the holy churches to the earth, the sarcophagus was taken by the monks to Kraljevo first, in the days of the Epiphany—whence it was borne to Jagodina, arriving there on the seventeenth day of January. From Jagodina to Gradska it was carried overland, and from Gradska to Belgrade by water. From Belgrade there came out to meet the relics of the saint, the metropolitan of the city, Dionysius, with all his clergy and much people. He brought them into the church, and there they rested from the first day of February to the eighteenth day of September. When peace was made between the peoples at war, and Serbia was left to the mercy (and lack of mercy) of the Turks, it was determined that some place which was free from danger must be sought for the sarcophagus, and so it came about that it was taken by water on the Danube to the monastery of Voylovitza, near Panchevo, in the Banat. From there it was brought back on the first day of December in the year 1791, to Rajinovatz, near Gradska, and from there again to Studenitza, whither it came on the nineteenth day of February of the following year.

But these relics, so sacred to the nation, were not destined to rest in peace, for even now there came no respite from movement. In 1804 Serbia arose in armed revolt under her leader Karageorge Petrovich against the hateful cruelties of the most accursed of the Turkish “dachilas” (rulers) in Belgrade. Although the rising of our warriors was successful, nevertheless in the space of ten years the Turks, ever enemies of the Orthodox Faith, came many times to Studenitza with fire and sword and pillage. Wherefore the monks of the monastery, foreseeing what would happen, were at pains to find in good time a fitting place for the sarcophagus of this godly man, and came in the year 1805 to the monastery of Vrachevshnitza. But here also was there no quiet refuge for the relics of the holy Simon: for after eight years, when our strength passed from us through jealousies and disputes among ourselves, the victorious Turks came with fire and sword upon men, villages and churches. And so the monks brought the sarcophagus away and carried it across the river Sava, on the twenty-first day of October in the year 1813, at Semlin, a frontier town of Austria. And afterwards it was handed over to the monks of the monastery of Fenek, near to the river, where it remained till the June of the year following, when it was taken to the monastery of Beochin on the far side of Frushka Gora and there rested till December.

When there came a convenient season and peace prevailed in Serbia through the labours of Prince Milosh Obrenovich, then was the time to bear back the sarcophagus, and it was brought to the monastery of Kalenich (December 8, 1816). Later, on the twentieth day of August, 1839, it was removed to the convent of Studenitza, where to-day it rests in peace.² The relics have power to heal all who come to them with faith in this protector of our nation.

Through his prayers grant us, Lord Jesus Christ, pardon for our sins and life everlasting. Amen.

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