SOURCE:

Dearly departed Bishop

Hrizostom Vojinovic (1911+1989)

“Orthodox Missionary”
Volume 237-238, Number 5-6, 1997
Published as the “Newsletter” of the Serbian Orthodox Church

Deep meaning of celebrating Slava (family patron) lies in what is the highest ideal of our people
- an ideal of a holy man, and that is: a man free from the injustice, vanity, a man filled with love
towards God and people, a man fearless of death, in a word: soulful Man!

When these Saints become considered as ideal throughout the Earth, then humanity will be
happy. Hence, our people are the bearer of an advanced ideals and salvation – Evangelic
ideals.

Rember you teachers

who preached the word of God;
watch the end of their life
and look upon Their faith.
(Hebrews 13:7)

Serbian Slava [family patron - Saint], or baptismal name

In the words of St. Paul, Christian family is a small church (Phil. 1:2). As every Christian church
is dedicated to one Saint, who is celebrated as its protector, so the Serbian families place
themselves under the auspices of a Saint, to whom they invoke as to a representative of their
prayer before the Lord, and who as a protector of the family is respected and regularly
celebrated from generation to generation, from father to son, each year on Slava.

Baptismal name - Slava is a wonderful expression of our Christian Orthodoxy that is deeply
rooted in the Serbian folk soul. Slava is a particular feature of the Serbian people, because it is
celebrated only among the Serbs (as a whole). The aim of these lines is to provide people with
a proper understanding and more worthily celebration their Slava.
 What is Slava?

Our ancestors received Christianity in the ninth century and, instead of the former idolatrous
faith, they accepted the belief in one God. After being enlightened by Christian teachings and
rejecting the idolatrous sacrifices, they prayed to the Lord for health, happiness and prosperity
of their home and of themselves. Although they prayed to God every day, our ancestors chose
one day of the year on which they gave thanks to God for all the goodness which He has
provided them. On that day they celebrated the memory of the Christian Saint, whom they
especially respected as their protector, whose Christian life was an example which they sought
to follow. Our ancestors invoke that Saint, who would be their representative and interpreter of
their prayers in front of Lord.

For their defenders and prayors before God, our ancestors took the Most Holy Mother of God,
or Christian Saints on whose day they were baptized as Christians (and they celebrated the
memory of their family Saint on the day of Saint’s birth, physical death or on the date when
Saint’s relics were transferred).

Man enlightened with the Christian doctrine has

come to an understanding that of God, who rules
the world, he should not be afraid nor pray with
fear as long as he lives according to God’s
commandments. Not out of fear but out of love a
man speaks to God and celebrates the memory of
the Saints in order that, following their blissful and
God-pleasing life, he can become worthy of all the
gifts that through God's grace he receives.

The custom of sacrifices, acquired in antic times, did not immediately and easily disappear from
the lives of newly baptized Christians. Missionary activity of the Greek and the Latin Church has
achieved only partial success among the newly settled peoples of the Balkans. They have failed
to fully Christianize polytheistic Slavic masses. Path for true and reasonable adoption of
Christianity was slowly prepared. Although they adopted Christianity, many still continued to
offer sacrifice to the defenders of their home and their families - Christian Saints - such as
before, at the time of idolatry. (Cattle, which was intended as a victim for the Saints, was
brought to the church where it was slaughtered, and its flesh served for the feast. Many people
continued practicing this custom for a long time).

It was only St. Sava’s movement, deeply Christian and national at the same time that played a
decisive role in the final Christianizing of Serbs. St. Sava and his disciples and missionaries
amongst the Serbian people, energetically approached an Evangelic enlightenment of Serbs.
That was the last and decisive stage of Christianizing the Serbian people. Missionary activity of
St. Sava’s Church, active in all areas of a national life, manifested primarily in the fight against
remnants of polytheism amongst people.

This included the celebration of Slava. The former offering of the sacrifice became forbidden, as
well as organizing of such feasts at the church. The purpose of the new provisions was to
eliminate all the polytheistic customs. It was determined that the memories of Saints can be
celebrated in the Church only according to the Christian principles, such as brining various fruits
of the earth can be brought for blessing and not for offering sacrifices and feasting.

Thus, St. Sava's church has a decisive importance in the creation of Slava, in a manner
according to which it is celebrated today. The origin and development of today's Serbian Slava
must be viewed in a general as part of Saint Sava’s activities. Saint Sava Serbian Church has
managed to create today;s Slava [Patron Saint celebration] as an exclusively Serbian-Orthodox,
national and religious family celebration.

The creators of Slava, as it is celebrated

today, therefore, are St. Sava and his
immediate disciples. Hence the fact that
only Serbs, who are constantly under the
influence of the St. Sava’s religious
teachings since the thirteenth century,
celebrate Slava.

Slava is, therefore, a result of missionary

activities of St. Sava’s Church, a form of its
struggle against idolatry, for the full
Evangelization of people in medieval
Serbia.

Educated by their first archbishop and his

followers, the Serbian people have
celebrated Slava for centuries according to
St. Sava’s teaching, and should continue
to do so.

It is mentioned, that the Slava celebration practiced in its previous (idolatrous and paganic) way
(as opposed to the current Christians Orthodox way of celebrating) was a custom not only
present amongst the Serbian people, but also amongst other Orthodox nations. But others
substituted the celebration of Slava [family patron Saint] with the celebration of their birthdays,
or days of those Saints whose names they bear. Birthday and namesday celebration is derived
from Slava (Slava is also celebrated by Bulgarians, Romanians and Albanians, but not in a
manner according to which Serbs do). Slava was constantly celebrated only by Serbs
regardless where they lived, and not just by the Orthodox Serbs. Slava was always celebrated
by Serbs who were of Roman Catholic denomination. (in places like Boka, Konavle,
Herzegovina, Dalmatia and Slovenia) and by those Roman Catholics whose ancestors were
Serbs. Hence the popular saying that it arose: "Where is Slava, there is a Serb(ian)."