Sava Janjić (; born 6 December 1965), born as Dragutin Janjić (Драгутин Јањић) 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 ...

archimandrite The title archimandrite (; ), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', , present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom a bishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots and monaste ...

and a

hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen (, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, or an archpriest in the Coptic Orthodox Church, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of ...

of the

Visoki Dečani The Visoki Dečani Monastery is a medieval Serbian Orthodox Christian monastery located near Deçan, Kosovo. It was founded in the first half of the 14th century by Stefan Dečanski, List of Serbian monarchs, King of Serbia. Dečani is by far t ...

monastery.

Biography

He was born in 1965 in

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

. He has a

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

father and

Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

mother. He grew up with his family in

Trebinje Trebinje ( sr-Cyrl, Требиње, ) is a city and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the southernmost city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is situated on the banks of the Trebišnjica river in the region of East Her ...

, where he spent his youth and schooling and finished middle and high school. He studied English language and Literature at the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

Joe Biden on a tour of the Decani Monastery 2009

He came to the

Crna Reka monastery The Crna Reka Monastery (, lit. "Black River Monastery") is a 13th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery located in Ribariće, Tutin, southwestern Serbia. The monastery is situated at the gorges of Ibar Kolašin, on the ("Black River"), and includ ...

in 1989. He spent three years there and received monastic tonsure in 1991. Together with the rest of the brotherhood, he moved to the

monastery with the desire to restore the spiritual reputation of this endowment of King

Stefan Dečanski Stefan Uroš III, , known as Stefan of Dečani ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Дечански, Stefan Dečanski, ( – 11 November 1331), was King of Serbia from 6 January 1322 to 8 September 1331. Dečanski was the son of King Stefan Milutin (). He ...

. He has been dealing with information technologies since 1994. He managed to bring the Church closer to the new technologies. Thanks to him, during the entire

NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Serbia and Montenegro, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombing ...

and the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...

, the world had information that could not be found anywhere else. He was ordained to the rank of

hierodeacon A hierodeacon (Greek: Ἱεροδιάκονος, ''Ierodiákonos''; Slavonic: ''Ierodiakón''), sometimes translated "deacon-monk", in Eastern Orthodox Christianity and all other Churches that follow Byzantine Rite is a monk who has been ordained a ...

on June 4, 1992, and on January 8, 1993, to the rank of

hieromonk A hieromonk,; Church Slavonic, Slavonic: ''Иеромонахъ''; ; ; ; ; Albanian language, Albanian: ''Hieromurg'' also called a priestmonk, is a person who is both monk and Priest#Roman Catholic and Orthodox, priest in the Eastern Christianity ...

. After that, he was the secretary of the late Bishop of Raška and Prizren, Artemije (Radosavljević). Together with him and Momčilo Trajković, he travelled the world during 1998 and 1999, trying to explain the truth about the situation in

Kosovo and Metohija The Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija (APKM) (; ), commonly known as Kosovo (; ) and abbreviated to Kosmet (from '' Kosovo'' and '' Metohija''; ) or KiM (), is an autonomous province that occupies the southernmost corner of Serbia, ...

to world statesmen. In 2011, at the suggestion of the Bishop of Raška and Prizren,

Teodosije Teodosije ( sr-cyr, Теодосије) is a Serbian variant of the Greek name ''Theodosius'', and may refer to: * Teodosije Hilandarac (1246-1328), cleric and writer * Teodosije, Metropolitan of Zeta (before 1446) * Teodosije, Bishop of Vršac ...

(Šibalić), he was elected hegumen - abbot of the monastery Visoki Dečani. Father Sava Janjić publicly advocated peace and reconciliation as the only way to resolve problems in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

and opposed equally to any form of aggressive nationalism. He continues to pursue peace and reconciliation. Fr. Sava reestablished his presence in the peace and reconciliation process and community by utilizing technology, engaging in frequent Facebook updates and Tweets, and commenting on cultural and religious issues in Kosovo and worldwide. Father Sava Janjić has continuously opposed ethnic discrimination and advocated a peaceful life among all

communities. He publicly opposed the idea of a land swap in Kosovo as a possible solution to the crisis. He has raised his voice many times also after the

war advocating protection of human and religious rights of Kosovo Serbs as well as the protection of Serbian Orthodox heritage in Kosovo. During the

war in 1999, Father Sava, the then Dečani hegumen and now Bishop Teodosije and Dečani monks organized humanitarian aid for all vulnerable communities. The Monastery also gave refuge to approximately 200 Kosovo Albanians from the Dečani area to save their lives from paramilitaries. In his many contacts with international politicians and leaders Father Sava Janjić has been particularly highlighting the need of long-term protection of

Kosovo Serbs Kosovo Serbs form the largest ethnic minority group in Kosovo (5–6%). The precise number of Kosovo Serbs is difficult to determine as they have boycotted national censuses. However, it is estimated that there are about 95,000 of them, nearly ...

as well as strong mechanisms of protection of Serbian Orthodox holy sites in

primarily due to post-1999

Destruction of Serbian heritage in Kosovo Serbian cultural and religious sites in Kosovo were systematically vandalized and destroyed over several historical periods, during the Ottoman rule, World War I, World War II, Yugoslav communist rule, Kosovo War and 2004 unrest. According to ...

Biography

References

See also