Biography
Saint Sava was a medieval
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
and
Slavic saint and one of the most prominent disciples of
Saints Cyril and Methodius
Cyril (born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (815–885) were two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs".
They are credited wit ...
. Along with them and
Saint Gorazd
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...
,
Saint Clement of Ohrid
Saint Clement of Ohrid (Bulgarian, Serbian and Macedonian: Свети Климент Охридски, ; el, Ἅγιος Κλήμης τῆς Ἀχρίδας; sk, svätý Kliment Ochridský; – 916) was one of the first medieval Bulgarian ...
,
Saint Naum
Saint Naum (Bulgarian and Macedonian: Свети Наум, ''Sveti Naum''), also known as Naum of Ohrid or Naum of Preslav (c. 830 – December 23, 910) was a medieval Bulgarian writer, enlightener, one of the Seven Apostles of the First Bul ...
and
Saint Angelar
Saint Angelar (died probably soon after 885 AD) was a medieval Bulgarian saint and Slavic enlightener. He was one of the most prominent disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius. Along with them and Saint Gorazd, Saint Clement of Ohrid, Naum of Pre ...
he is venerated as a member of a group known as "Seven Saints". In 868 in Rome he and Saint Angelar were ordained as deacons by the bishops
Formosus
Pope Formosus (896) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 6 October 891 until his death on 4 April 896. His reign as pope was troubled, marked by interventions in power struggles over the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the K ...
and Gauderic, while Saint Gorazd, Saint Clement of Ohrid and Saint Naum were by the same bishops ordained as priests. In 885
Pope Stephen V
Pope Stephen V ( la, Stephanus V; died 14 September 891) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from September 885 to his death. In his dealings with Photius I of Constantinople, as in his relations with the young Slavic Orthodox c ...
issued a
Papal bull to forbid the use of Slavic liturgy and in 886 the earl of Great Moravia
Svätopluk I
Svatopluk I or Svätopluk I, also known as Svatopluk the Great (Latin: ''Zuentepulc'', ''Zuentibald'', ''Sventopulch'', ''Zvataplug''; Old Church Slavic: Свѧтопълкъ and Transliteration, transliterated ''Svętopъłkъ''; Polish language, ...
exiled the disciples of the two brothers. The route of Sava and the rest four of them to the
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire ( cu, блъгарьско цѣсарьствиѥ, blagarysko tsesarystviye; bg, Първо българско царство) was a medieval Bulgar- Slavic and later Bulgarian state that existed in Southeastern Europ ...
remains unclear. They resettled in Bulgaria, where they were welcomed by Boris and commissioned to establish theological schools.
Sava died in the late 9th century/early 10th century AD.
Eastern Orthodox saints
10th-century deaths
Medieval Bulgarian saints
{{saint-stub