The Saint Sava National College (

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

: ''Colegiul Național Sfântul Sava''),

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, named after Sabbas the Sanctified, is the oldest and one of the most prestigious high schools in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. It was founded in 1694, under the name of the Royal Academy of Bucharest. The College is the direct descendant of the Princely Academy of Saint Sava, which was divided in 1864 by

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

Alexandru Ioan Cuza into the University of Bucharest and the present high school. During the Communist era, its name was changed to ''

Nicolae Bălcescu Nicolae Bălcescu () (29 June 181929 November 1852) was a Romanian Wallachian soldier, historian, journalist, and leader of the 1848 Wallachian Revolution. Early life Born in Bucharest to a family of low-ranking nobility, he used his mother's ...

High School''. The name of the College comes from the Monastery of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified in Bucharest, in which it has been founded. To this day, it celebrates its birthday on 5 December, the feast day of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified.

History

In the 17th century Saint Sava was actually an old

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

built in

's historic centre, in the proximity of today's University Square. It was in the rooms of this monastery that Romania's first higher education institution was set up. The founding of this college in the late 17th century was brought about by a strong European influence, mostly Italian, that encouraged the rise of the national spirit. This assertion of a national awareness had the firm support of many writers and historians of the age. In

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...

(Southern Romania), the most remarkable representative of this trend was Constantin Cantacuzino, a writer and a

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Russian nobility, Russia, Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, Wallachia and ...

, who had been educated in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, Italy. He was a widely−travelled

aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...

and adviser to Prince

Șerban Cantacuzino Șerban Cantacuzino (), (1634/1640 – 29 October 1688) was a Prince of Wallachia between 1678 and 1688. Life and career Cantacuzino took part in the Ottoman campaign which ended in their defeat at the Battle of Vienna. According to Gaster (191 ...

. As Constantin Cantacuzino was determined to have a college similar to the Italian ones set up in Bucharest, his brother's coming to power in 1678 made it possible for him to achieve his goal. Saint Sava Princely Academy was therefore created by Wallachia's reigning Prince Şerban Cantacuzino and it was placed under the

aegis The aegis ( ; grc, αἰγίς ''aigís''), as stated in the ''Iliad'', is a device carried by Athena and Zeus, variously interpreted as an animal skin or a shield and sometimes featuring the head of a Gorgon. There may be a connection with a d ...

of the Prince and of

Dositheos II Dositheus II Notaras of Jerusalem ( el, Δοσίθεος Β΄ Ἱεροσολύμων; Arachova 31 May 1641 – Constantinople 8 February 1707) was the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem between 1669 and 1707 and a theologian of the Eastern Ort ...

, Patriarch of Jerusalem. Cultural and religious allegiance accounted for the fact that tuition was carried on in modern Greek, a symbol of Byzantine civilization. The first principal of the school was Sebastos Kyminitis, who had been educated in Constantinople. Saint Sava Academy thrived during the reign of Constantin Brâncoveanu's, who sketched out the curriculum and ensured the funds needed to run the school. A law given in 1707 demanded that "teachers should be understanding and principled; they should also have excellent reputation".

Notable teachers and alumni

Teachers (includes teachers at the Princely Academy)

Emanoil Bacaloglu Emanoil Bacaloglu (; – 30 August 1891) was a Wallachian and Romanian mathematician, physicist and chemist. Born in Bucharest and of Greek origin, he studied physics and mathematics in Paris and Leipzig, later becoming a professor at the Univer ...

* Constantin Kirițescu *

Gheorghe Lazăr Gheorghe Lazăr (5 June 1779 – 17 September 1823), born and died in Avrig, Sibiu County, was a Transylvanian, later Romanian scholar, the founder of the first Romanian language school in Bucharest, 1817. Biography A Habsburg Empire subject, ...

Titu Maiorescu Titu Liviu Maiorescu (; 15 February 1840 – 18 June 1917) was a Romanian literary critic and politician, founder of the ''Junimea'' Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of Romanian culture in the second half of ...

Eftimie Murgu Eftimie Murgu (28 December 1805 – 12 May 1870) was a Romanian philosopher and politician who took part in the 1848 Revolutions. Biography He was born in Rudăria (today Eftimie Murgu, Caraș-Severin County) to Samu Murgu, an officer in the I ...

Constantin Noe Constantin Noe (1883 – 6 June 1939) was a Megleno-Romanian editor and professor. He was born in 1883 in the Megleno-Romanian village of Lagkadia ( in Megleno-Romanian), then in the Ottoman Empire and now in Greece. He was one of the best st ...

Parteniy Pavlovich Parteniy Pavlovich ( bg, Партений Павлович, "Parthenius, son of Paul") (c. 1695 – 29 April 1760) was a Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox cleric, man of letters and traveller, regarded as one of the precursors of Paisius of Hilendar. ...

Eufrosin Poteca Eufrosin Poteca (; born Radu Poteca; 1786 – 10 December 1858) was a Romanian philosopher, theologian, and translator, professor at the Saint Sava Academy of Bucharest. Later in life he campaigned against slavery. He was the grandfather of the R ...

Ion Heliade Rădulescu Ion Heliade Rădulescu or Ion Heliade (also known as ''Eliade'' or ''Eliade Rădulescu''; ; January 6, 1802 – April 27, 1872) was a Wallachian, later Romanian academic, Romanticism, Romantic and Classicism, Classicist poet, essayist, mem ...

Alumni (includes alumni from the Princely Academy)

References

External links

*
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Sava National College Educational institutions established in 1864 High schools in Bucharest National Colleges in Romania 1864 establishments in Romania Saint Sava