Bishop Sava (Vuković)

Bishop Sava was born on April 13, 1930 in Senta. After graduating from secondary school he completed the St. Sava Seminary in Belgrade in 1950 and the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of the University of Belgrade in 1954. He did his postgraduate studies at the Old Catholic University in Bern, Switzerland. He obtained a Doctor of Divinity degree at the Faculty of Theology in Belgrade. His dissertation topic was “Typicon of the Archbishop Nikodim.”

He was professor at St. Sava Seminary in Belgrade prior to his election as a bishop. He received monastic vows at the Monastery “Vavedenje” (Entry of the Theotokos) in Belgrade on December 3, 1959. The monastic name he received was Sava. He was ordained hierodeacon on December 4, 1959. On June 3, 1961 he was ordained hieromonk. The Holy Bishops’ Assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Church elected him bishop on May 20, 1961 with title “vicar bishop of Moravica.” He was consecrated bishop on July 23, 1961 in the Patriarchal Cathedral in Belgrade by Patriarch German. Bishop Sava held the following positions: Professor of liturgies at the Theological College, member of the Orthodox Commission for Pan Orthodox Council, and representative of the Serbian Church for inter-confessional dialogues. The Bishops’ Assembly elected Bishop Dr. Sava on June 1, 1967 for a Bishop of the Eastern American and Canadian Diocese. He occupied this position until May 1977 when he was elected as Bishop of the diocese of Šumadija.

Holy Emperor Constantine and the Edict of Milan

In 2013 Christian world celebrates 1700 years since the day when the Providence of God spoke through the holy Emperor Constantine and freedom was given to the Christian faith. Commemorating the 1700 years since the Edict of Milan of 313, Sebastian Press of the Western American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church published a book by Bishop Athanasius Yevtich, Holy Emperor Constantine and the Edict of Milan. The book has 72 pages and was translated by Popadija Aleksandra Petrovich. This excellent overview of the historical circumstances that lead to the conversion of the first Christian emperor and to the publication of a document that was called "Edict of Milan", was originally published in Serbian by the Brotherhood of St. Simeon the Myrrh-gusher, Vrnjci 2013. “The Edict of Milan” is calling on civil authorities everywhere to respect the right of believers to worship freely and to express their faith publicly.

The publication of this beautiful pocket-size, full-color, English-language book, has been compiled and designed by Bishop Athanasius Yevtich, a disciple of the great twentieth-century theologian Archimandrite Justin Popovich. Bishop Athanasius' thought combines adherence to the teachings of the Church Fathers with a vibrant faith, knowledge of history, and a profound experience of Christ in the Church.

In the conclusion of the book, the author states:"The era of St. Constantine and his mother St. Helena, marks the beginning of what history refers to as Roman, Christian Empire, which was named Byzantium only in recent times in the West. In fact, this was the conception of a Christian Europe. Christian Byzantine culture had a critical effect on Europe; Europe was its heir, and then consciously forgot it. Europe inherited many Byzantine treasures, but unfortunately, also robbed and plundered many others for its own treasuries and museums – not only during the Crusades, but during colonial rule in the Byzantine lands as well. We, the Orthodox Slavs, received a great heritage of the Orthodox Christian East from Byzantium. Primarily, Christ’s Gospel, His faith and His Church, and then, among other things, the Cyrillic alphabet, too."

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