Sevastijan Dabović ( sr-Cyrl, Севастијан Дабовић; June 9, 1863 – November 30, 1940) was a

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 ...

monk and missionary who became the first

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 ...

monk naturalized in North America. He is canonized as a Serbian Orthodox saint.

Life

Sevastijan Dabović was born on 9 July 1863 in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

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 ...

, as the child of Serbian immigrants from the town of

Risan Risan ( Montenegrin: Рисан, ) is a town in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro. It traces its origins to the ancient settlement of Rhizon, the oldest settlement in the Bay of Kotor. Lying in the innermost portion of the bay, the settlement was prot ...

in the

Bay of Kotor The Bay of Kotor ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Boka kotorska, Бока которска, separator=" / ", ), also known as the Boka ( sh-Cyrl, Бока), is a winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated a ...

. At his baptism, he was named Jovan. Later, he was ordained as a monk (Sebastijan) during his schooling in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and became a

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 ...

in 1887, and a

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 ...

on August 16, 1892. In 1892, Sebastian was ordained as the first native-born Orthodox priest in the United States. He was soon sent to

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, to replace Fr.

Alexis Toth Alexis Georgievich Toth (also Alexis of Wilkes-Barre; March 14, 1853 – May 7, 1909) was a Russian Orthodox church leader in the Midwestern United States who, having resigned his position as a Byzantine Catholic priest in the Ruthenian Catho ...

as the priest of St. Mary's Church there. The first

parish in the United States was founded by Dabović in

Jackson, California Jackson (formerly, Botilleas, Botilleas Spring, Bottileas, Bottle Spring, and Botellas) is a city in and the county seat of Amador County, California. Its population was 5,019 at the 2020 census, up from 4,651 at the 2010 census. The city i ...

, in 1892. Dabović soon initiated the construction of the first Serbian Orthodox church in the United States, the Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Jackson, which was consecrated in 1894. Dabović is also credited with founding several additional Serbian Orthodox churches in the United States. Dabović was appointed as a missionary in

and

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. It is believed that he baptized more people than any priest in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the 180th meridian.- The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Geopolitically, ...

. Dabović's friend

Nikolaj Velimirović Nikolaj Velimirović (Serbian Cyrillic: Николај Велимировић; – ) was a Serbian Orthodox prelate who served as Bishop of Ohrid and Žiča from 1920 to 1956. An influential theological writer and a highly gifted orator, h ...

called him the "greatest Serbian missionary of modern times". Some of the places where he did this include

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

(the future St. Spiridon Cathedral), where he served as a temporary priest before Fr. Ambrose Vretta's arrival in November 1895;

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

; and

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the 2 ...

(the future Holy Trinity Church). He was known as an apostle to

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Hugueno ...

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

who settled in America. During the turn of the century, Sebastian corresponded with Rev. Francis J. Hall, D.D., of the Anglican confession on the subject of inter-relations between the two Communions. In 1902, he continued his missionary activities, returning to

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

as dean of the Sitka deanery. While he was in Alaska, he helped establish Saint Sava Church in Douglas. From 1904 to 1910, he led the Serbian Mission from its center at the Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Church in Chicago, where he also served as the parish priest. In 1910, Sebastian asked for a release from the Serbian parish so that he could return to missionary work. Then, a year or so later, he joined the faculty of the newly-opened St. Platon Seminary in

Tenafly, New Jersey Tenafly () is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 15,409, an increase of 921 (+6.4%) from the 2010 census count of 14,488, which in turn reflected an ...

. Shortly thereafter he asked release so that he could serve as a chaplain in the

Serbian army The Serbian Army () is the land-based and the largest component of the Serbian Armed Forces. Its organization, composition, weapons and equipment are adapted to the assigned missions and tasks of the Serbian Armed Forces, primarily for operatio ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Dabović also had ties to

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla (;"Tesla"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...

, a

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 ...

inventor who financially supported him. Dabović died on November 30, 1940, at the

Žiča Monastery The Žiča Monastery (, or ) is an early 13th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery near Kraljevo, Serbia. The monastery, together with the Church of the Holy Dormition, was built by the first monarch, King of Serbia, Stefan Prvovenčani, Stefan t ...

Kraljevo Kraljevo ( sr-Cyrl, Краљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Raška District in central Serbia. It is situated on the confluence of West Morava and Ibar River, Ibar, in the geographical region of ...

, which at the time was part of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

. He was buried at the monastery by Velimirović. Dabović's remains were transferred to Jackson in 2007. The Serbian Orthodox Church

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sa ...

Dabović at the Holy Assembly in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

on May 30, 2015. Dabović was awarded

Order of Saint Sava The Order of St. Sava () is an ecclesiastic decoration conferred by the Serbian Orthodox Church and a dynastic order presented by the house of Karađorđević. It was previously a Order (distinction), state order awarded by both the Kingdom of S ...

and

Order of Prince Danilo I The Order of Prince Danilo I () is an order, formerly of the Principality and later Kingdom, of Montenegro; it is currently a dynastic order granted by the head of the House of Petrović-Njegoš, Crown Prince Nicholas. It is awarded to promine ...

Writings

* The Lives of the Saints (1898) * The Holy Orthodox Church (1898) * Preaching in the Russian Church (1899)

References

From Orthowiki
Sebastian (Dabovich) - OrthodoxWiki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dabovic, Sevastijan 1863 births 1940 deaths American Christian missionaries American Christian monks American saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church People from Jackson, California People from Kraljevo Clergy from San Francisco Serbian monks Serbian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Saint Petersburg Theological Academy alumni