The Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church () is a

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...

church in

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Built in 1894, the church was the first Serbian Orthodox church in America.

Amador County Amador County () is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 40,474. The county seat is Jackson, California, Jackson. Ama ...

had a large

Serbian-American Serbian Americans () or American Serbs (), are Americans of ethnic Serb ancestry. As of 2023, there were slightly more than 181,000 American citizens who identified as having Serb ancestry. However, the number may be significantly higher, as ...

population in the late 1800s due to the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

, and the county's Serbs established the St. Sava Church Organization of Amador County in 1886–87; the organization was responsible for purchasing land for and building the church, and the effort was led by

Sevastijan Dabović Sevastijan Dabović ( sr-Cyrl, Севастијан Дабовић; June 9, 1863 – November 30, 1940) was a Serbian-American monk and missionary who became the first Serbian Orthodox monk naturalized in North America. He is canonized as a Serb ...

. The church's original design had an Eastern Orthodox influence, complete with an

onion dome An onion dome is a dome whose shape resembles an onion. Such domes are often larger in diameter than the tholobate (drum) upon which they sit, and their height usually exceeds their width. They taper smoothly upwards to a point. It is a typical ...

; while the dome was later replaced by a

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

, the church's

stained glass windows Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

and use of icons still give it a distinctive Eastern Orthodox character. The church has been used for Serbian-American religious and social activities since its opening and is now part of the

Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Western America The Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Western America or Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Western America () is a Serbian Orthodox Church diocese located in the western region of the United States. Its headquarters are in Alhambra, California, Alhambra, Cali ...

. Next to the church there is the

Saint Sava Saint Sava (, ; Old Church Slavonic: ; Glagolitic: ; ; 1169 or 1174 – 14 January 1235/6), known as the Enlightener or the Illuminator, was a Serbs, Serbian prince and Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox monk, abbot of Studenica Monastery, Studeni ...

Cemetery where early

prospectors and parishioners and their descendants are buried. In 1922 there was a mining disaster that took place that impacted the town as a whole, but especially Italian and Serbian communities in

. There is a monument to eleven Argonaut Miners buried at Saint Sava's of

. The mass burial was held on September 22, 1922, for 47 migrant miners, among them 17 were from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, eleven were from Serbian lands in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

, and the others were from other European countries, namely Spain, Sardinia, Austria, Germany, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland. Two decades later, another disaster occurred in

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

at the Smith Mine where 74 miners perished, among them several Serbs. The church was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on March 6, 1986.

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* {{Serbian Orthodox churches, state=collapsed Eastern Orthodox churches in California Serbian Orthodox church buildings in the United States Churches in Amador County, California 19th-century Serbian Orthodox church buildings Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in California Churches completed in 1894 Historic American Buildings Survey in California Serbian-American history National Register of Historic Places in Amador County, California 1894 establishments in California Saint Sava

See also

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