According to the church calendar, today is not a red letter day, but it is a patron saint’s day and a great holiday among Serbs.
Today is dedicated to the founder of the Serbian state and the founder of Orthodoxy in the Serbian people, Saint Simeon the Myrrh-flowing, that is, Stefan Nemanja, as he was called before he became a monk.
He was the founder of the Serbian ruling line, the Nemanjić dynasty, and died on this day in 1200. He ruled the eastern Serbian lands. When he managed to expand the state, he fought against the Bogumils and is considered one of the founders of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
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When he established the state and the Orthodox faith, he became a monk in the Studenica monastery in 1195 and received the name Simeon. He then went to the Vatoped monastery on Mount Athos, to his son, monk Sava. Together they began the renovation of the Hilandar monastery, which they received from the Byzantine emperor. In the Studenica monastery, there is still a vine that Saint Simeon planted. The people believe that a grain of this grape from Hilandar, with fasting and prayers to Saint Simeon, helps infertile women to have offspring.
Sava transferred his relics to Raška in 1208, in order to reconcile his older brothers Stefan and Vukan, who were fighting for power. His relics are stored in Studenica, his endowment.
Due to the miraculous flow of myrrh from his earthly remains, he was called the Myrrh-flowing.
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Source: Magazin Novosti, Foto: Weebly