The relics of St. Savva of Storozhi were translated on this day in 1652. One particular visit to St. Savva’s monastery stands out for me personally, since I proposed to my future wife on the train back from Zvenigorod to Moscow. One of the contributions of our Venerable Father Sergius of Radonezh (d.1392), the Abbot of the Russian Land, was producing disciples who brought the light of the sanctity of their monastery to various corners of Muscovy. One of them was St. Savva. He left the world in his early youth, taking monastic vows in Makovets (where St. Sergius’ Monastery started), becoming one of the first disciples of St. Sergius. The monk Savva loved a silent life, avoided conversations with people and remained in constant ascetic labors. He was for all people an image of simplicity and humility; he acquired such deep spiritual wisdom that even “in the monastery of Sergius, he was the confessor of the entire brotherhood, a venerable elder and great teacher.” When Grand Prince Dimitri Donskoy, out of gratitude for the victory over Mamai, built the monastery of the Dormition of the Mother of God on the Dubenka River, Savva became its abbot, with the blessing of St. Sergius. Maintaining the simplicity of his ascetic life, he ate only plant foods, wore rough clothes, and slept on the floor. In 1392, the brethren of St. Sergius’ monastery begged Monk Savva to accept the office of abbot. In this capacity, he “kindly shepherded the flock entrusted to him, as much as possible and as much as his father, blessed Sergius, prayed to help him.” Tradition dates the appearance of a spring back outside the walls of the Lavra to the time of his abbacy. Prince Yurii Dimitrievich of Zvenigorod, a godson of St. Sergius, treated St. Savva with great love and respect. He chose Monk Savva as his confessor and begged him to come and bless his house. The monk hoped to return to his monastery, but the prince begged him to stay and found a new monastery “in his patrimony, near Zvenigorod, where there is a place called Storozhi.” Striving for a solitary and silent life, the monk accepted the offer from the Zvenigorod prince Yurii Dimitrievich and, before the icon of the Mother of God, he asked with tears for Her protection in this deserted place. On Mount Storozhi, where the guards who defended Moscow from enemies had once been stationed, he founded a small wooden church of the Nativity of the Mother of God (1377), and not far from it, he erected a small cell for himself. In 1399, he established a monastery there, lovingly accepting all those seeking the silent life. The Monk Savva toiled hard in establishing his monastery. He himself dug a well under the mountain, from which he carried water on his shoulders, surrounded the monastery with a wooden fence, and a mile away, in a ravine, he dug for himself a cell in which to live quietly. In 1399, the monk blessed his spiritual son, Prince Yurii, who was leaving for a military campaign, and predicted his victory over his enemies. Through the prayers of the holy elder, the prince’s troops were granted a quick victory. Through the labors of Monk Savva, a stone cathedral church of the Nativity of the Mother of God was built in the monastery. Saint Sava died at a ripe old age on December 3, 1406. The celebration of St. Savva’s memory was instituted at the 1547 Moscow Council. On January 19, 1652, the saint’s incorruptible relics were found. Source: “Prepodobnyi Savva Storozhevskii, Zveniogodoskii,” patriarchia.ru. |
