Receive this advice of mine as a good one. Despising the kingdom of the earth and wealth as ephemeral and unreal, having abandoned the world and the prettiness of the world and the beauty of the visible as vain and transitory, having taken upon the cross-bearing path of humility prepared by me, follow me, having chosen alienation and housing in the desert with me living , where having relinquished everything only by prayer and fasting thou shall understand God more purely, of which he through David said in advance, “Relinquish yourselves and comprehend that I am God”.

And as in thy life in the earthly kingdom thou were worthy of apostolic gifts, in the desert too you will adorn thyself with ascetic wreaths of humble monastic life. My soul however torn with grief for parting with thee with thy love and seeing thee shall console, as I shall do thine, o Master! And the good woman that is my mother should in God’s sake be free of all ties at home. Please, my master, do not grieve for the glory of the kingdom and for the many riches because of my words, as in the Gospel grieved the young man because of the words of my Jesus that taught him about perfection. As sure to me I am telling thee, and trust me, rather than the earthly kingdom, which – if thou, listening to me, reject and come to us – of the eternal kingdom of heaven I will be thy go-between. Now if thou instead despise my words, you cannot hope to see me there for thy lifetime. God’s peace and love of the hermit Holy Fathers, and I would say – prayer of my sinful self – may be in Jesus Christ with thee all, amen. Immediately folding the letter, he gave it for his father to the emissaries of his father.

Theodosius, Life of Saint Sava

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And suddenly they wrote his commandments, and they went out over the entire area of his state summoning abbots and, captains and sergeants and other nobles, big or small, setting a particular day for a congress, commanding that no one may abstain, because he wants to convene a great council. And he, while the emissaries toured, he distributed his riches well, to the poor and the weak, the lame and the blind, to the orphans and widows, he gave to all the wretched and doomed. And as the particular day approached, the nobles came gathering from all sides...

- Once again, I extend this word to you – he said – my beloved and God-gifted assembly!

Let me be enough of joy and happiness with you, of mundane rule together with warfare, of food and lavish in wealth and of tables and every worldly enjoyment of little value. I pray, therefore, that your love for me is released, that I, cross-bearingly, together with my son, reach the desert, where, giving up everything, I shall strictly examine my evil deeds and take care of them.

And when all heard this, thunder-suitable cry was raised from all, so much as that they thought that the place where they gathered was moving. His sons and sons of his sons, all noble in Lord and relatives by flesh, wept and mourned and tore their risas, and what they did not do and what suitable words they did not say lest they could prevent him from leaving. And they said - Do not leave us, master, father and teacher, lest we go with you too!

And he said unto them – Why are you weeping and by this weakening my soul? You have heard today a letter from my son, wherefrom he renounces me lest I leave to follow him, that he shall refuse to see me for life. I pray, therefore, anyone who I find dear, calm my heart and prevent me not from going, because I cannot suffer anymore without my son. And when he said this (they held that this happens at higher orders), all said unto him –May the Lord’s will be done!

And immediately he called upon his son Stefan. This Stefan’s virtues and military courage and the knowledge of God is not possible to recount upon. The autocrat father took him, with the eminent Bishop Kalinik and with all the nobles, entered into church of the saintly and the first-throned Apostles Peter and Paul. During the service and the prayers , the autocrat father and the holy Bishop by the Holy Cross and laying of hands on his blessed Stefan to be the Grand Župan, ruler and autocrat of all Serb lands. All the nobles bowed, and praying from God their lives from him, said – Many a year let it be, and it shall!

Theodosius, Life of Saint Sava

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“My sons, forget not my laws, but let your heart keep my words, because the length of living and the years of life and the world will be added to you. May charity and faith not leave you, bind them about your neck and write them on the table of your hearts, and ye shall find grace. And think well before God and men. Trust wholeheartedly in God and do not magnify yourselves with your wisdom. In all thy roads know that if your roads are righteous, your feet will not stumble. Do not be wise for yourselves, and fear the Lord and turn away from all evil; then your body will have healing and your bones rest. Obey the Lord from your fair labour and pay him the first from your righteous fruits, so that your barns are met with plenty of wheat, and so that your breweries would have wine to yield. My sons, do not lose power in the punishment of the Lord, nor you falter from him when you are tried by Him. For whom the Lord loves, the Lord scorns, and scourges every son whom He adopts. Blessed is the man that has found wisdom, and the mortal who has seen wisdom. Because it is better to buy wisdom than treasuries of gold and silver; she is dearer than precious stones; nothing wily can stand to her, and she is sweet to all who come near her. Every other coveted thing is unworthy of her, as duration of life and years of life are in her right hand, and in her left are riches and glory.”

Saint Sava, Life of Saint Simeon

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And he, the beatific, came forth to the Holy Mountain in month of November, on the 2nd day. The venerable and god-bearing fathers, who lived at Mount Athos, received him with joy and with great honours. He first moved in the Vatopedi Monastery, because there he found his prodigal lamb and having kissed him he took him on his shoulder, as it was appropriate, and placed him in his service.

And having stayed there for some time, this blessed one, just as here he justified his kingdom, there also he wished to find a place of salvation to all those who come from far and wide. He requested from the master, Emperor Alexios, a friend of his, an empty place for establishment of a monastery in Mount Athos. And he took me, a sinner, from Vatopedi to this place, and we moved into it. And our venerable father stayed with me in Mount Athos for one year and five months. Who can express the accomplishments and efforts of this beatific? For, in truth, everyone who lived in the surrounding area, admired him looking at his unutterable godly energies, and they came to him for blessings.

Saint Sava, Life of Saint Simeon

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Having found a desolate place called Hilandar, of the Entry of our Most Holy Lady, the Mother of God to the Temple, he, this holy and venerable old man, with the aforementioned Abba Sava, sent for to his son, whom he had left in their homeland to rule of all of the Serb land, that he may send enough supplies for the erection and restoration of the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos, telling him this:

“Dear child and a servant of Christ, know this! If the Lord God and the Most Holy Theothokos, with my blessings, left you to rule in thus place, I am writing you that I have found a deserted place in the midst the Holy Mountain, the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos, by the name of Hilandar.

“Do not be lazy, but haste with all thy strength to raise it, to build the temple of the Most Holy Theotokos in this country in remembrance of me, and again by me, to be for you and your offspring and grandchildren and in our race for ages unto ages. For you are the founder of this, just as by previous letter I transferred the Church of Most Holy Theotokos the Blessing-Giver in Studenica in my country, to you, alone, and to your offspring.

“I mention to thou, my child, the word of the prophet, who said, “Obey God and pray to him, and he shall give thou by the begging of thy heart.” “Reveal thy path, and he shall do, and shall present your righteousness as the light.”

„ So do not linger, nor sleep, but attempt, by making true these my words, to accomplish with my blessings thy work of good”.

Stefan The First-Crowned

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The next day he went in and said everything to the King, how they raised the monastery with his father in the Holy Mountain, and asked for the imperial confirmation. And he mentioned too the deserted imperial monastery called Zig to give unto him this monastery too with all the any dignity which it had at first, introducing by this communion with the emperor the emperor as the benefactor. And the Emperor rejoiced mostly to this and said, “Since I too shall be in be a partaker in you referring in the the sacred service to God, I shall vouchsafe your petition. Promptly he gave aforesaid monastery Zig with the metochions and all habitats to the are of Hilandar, having dubbed it imperial monastery. And that it shall not be governed by anyone Greek, with his imperial letter and gilded seal he established, and he gave with his own hand a sceptre to him, and commanded that it be kept in the churh, and that the brethren appoints the abbot that they have that sceptre in lieu of the emperor, and that it shall be deemed that the abbot is appointed as though by the emperor, and that he take the sceptre of power as though from imperial hands. And so divinely wise Sava, having completed all matters with the Emperor, endowed with many an honour, was released.

Theodosius, The Life of Saint Sava

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In the 11th day of that month I saw him getting ready to leave and I said unto him:

- Oh, blessed master Simeon! Already prepared is thy merciful departure to thy rest. Yes, I have already heard how you blessed your progeny, but now give unto them thy final blessing!

And he lifted up his hands, the tears began to speak:

“Holy Trinity, our God, I celebrate Thee and laud Thee and pray to Thee, and I implore thee you, for the third time I give my blessings to my progeny. Lord Almighty, God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac , Jacob, and the righteous seed, keep and strengthen them in the country of my former rule, and may the prayer of the Most Holy Theotokos, and mine, though sinful prayer, be with them now and unto ages of ages. And my preceding commandment I give unto them: Have love one for another! And whoever of them may deviate from what I commanded to them, the wrath of God shall swallow him and his seed!”

And to all of this I spoke:

- Amen

And when the 12th day of this month came, he said:

- My child, bring me the Most Holy Mother of God, because I have such vow that in front of her I shall find my dormition.

Saint Sava, Life of St. Simeon

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And when it was the night, as all bid their farewell and were blessed by him, they went into the cell to do the services and rest a little. While I and one hierarch were left it with him and stayed with him all that night.

And when it came to midnight, the blessed elder went to respite, and then he spoke no more to me.

And when there was night again, as all said goodbye and there was church service, the blessed old man’s face enlightened, and, raising his eyes to heaven, he said :

“Praise the Lord among his saints , Praise him and his forces even harder! "

And I said unto him :

- Who has seen you speak?

And he looked at me, saying:

“Praise Him for His forces too, Praise Him for His almighty rule!”

And having said this, he then dropped his divine soul and found dormition in the Lord.

I bowed to his face and wept bitterly and long, and as I arose I thanked God, seeing such an end of this venerable man.

Saint Sava, Life of St. Simeon

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When the time came for the morning doxology, as the abbot and all who were with him in the church were finishing it, and as they chanted what was established to commemorate the given saint, praying to God for relief of his rest, suddenly the church by the grace of the Holy Spirit as some became full with some beatific aromatics, sweetening everybody’s heart and soul, and making everyone merry and quiet, and all, astonished by the invisible, said: - Where this comes from? And behold, as though the wind whirls through the bushes about his grave, and those who were standing near went to see what happened and immediately saw that the marble tomb of the saint, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, was flooded by myrrh as though with water, and how fed from everywhere as a stream it flows to the church and senses. In awe, they lept to notify the abbot. And the abbot and all with him came about to see how the grave is from everywhere filled with fermenting myrrh, and were amazed by the source that flowed to the ground, but also horrified, leaving morning cants with fear and tears in their eyes crying out – Lord, have mercy! Then the abbot, remembering the words that the beatific said: when God glorifies his chosen one, if you send for me, I will come – he promptly commanded that he be called. The saint came joy and seeing what it was not unknown to him, gave praise to all-kindly God, and as though his father he embraced the sacred and myrrh-streaming tomb and kissed him and sprinkled him with outpouring of many tears and warm affection, Firstly the abbot, with the holy and fragrant myrrh made an omen of all his senses with the face of the cross. Thus he anointed the saint as well. Then the abbot anointed everyone there with holy myrrh, and the consecrated they were like from the father , and those who suffered from unclean spirits, and who were suffering from any disease, by touching the tomb and being anointed with holy myrrh received healing and health all of a sudden, and with great gratitude they celebrated God and the Venerable. And myrrh flowed not only from the holy relics, but also from the dry stone and lime where on the wall the holy figure of the saint was painted, because there were directed by God have the myrrh run for higher admiration, showing everyone how much love He has to the saints for their love of him. Because “I shall celebrate”, he said, “those who celebrate me”.

Theodosius, The Life of Saint Sava

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After his father's departure, Vukan was consumed disobedience and becoming a slave to envy, said to himself:

- The end of days of my father shall approach, and then shall I lay my vengeance. After the presentation of the holy elderly, they hovered at all manners causing enmity and evil to his brother Stefan the autocrat, and getting help from many non-kinsman people, they rebelled against him many times with the intent to inflict harm and to destroy him, enticed by the advice of the wicked. But while many nations he gathered and although by all means he tried, the aforesaid Great Prince Vukan – to capture the overwhelming city that was built on the prayer and the blessing of the, in fact trying to overwhelm the autocrat Stefan, he was dispersed, and none of his ideas could materialize. Because many times having been ashamed of him, and rebutted by him giving shoulders with non-kinsmen that were with him, they came back home in shame, and consumed with fear built walls in straits of the roads behind them from Stefan. In such hostility and chase between brothers was the Serb land in great troubles, as in some distress, being deserted due to many a plundering and bloodshed decaying to the end from hunger because of no cultivation, so many have spread in a foreign lands. Such was the fruit that the primordial evil sower and hater of good, the devil, was reaping.

Theodosius, The Life of Saint Sava

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Later on, the holy master of mine left me and my brother, with the blessing and a law to live and keep his commandments without fault and do what he commanded in all the days of our life, and that his offspring live in peace and without turmoil. Yet for my sins’ sake, this did go amiss.

Because he left the commandments of the master and of his father, and was a felon. He gathered the non-kinsmen out to his fatherland, he took away my lands and ravaged them, he failed to listen, as cruel as he is, the commandment of the Lord, who said, “Listen to thy father and thy mother”, and others. Yet although the regiments of non-kinsmen were numerous, the power of God indeed was not among them, by the covenant and the prayer of the Saint. Yet as the Prophet said, “They who are mighty shall fall, yet we shall arise and be righteous”, because we gave our hopes not in our arms, but in the power of the Lord God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, and in the true blessing and prayer of the holy master of ours, St. Simeon. That is why we erred not in our hopes. For vanguishing them by his power, he restored me back to the fatherland of mine.

“For this I incessantly pray to thee, our Reverend Father Sava, listen to the voice that I send to thee from my heart of hearts, despise not my prayers, and, having gathered the relics of the Holy and the Reverend, do us grace and bring thyself the sweet scent of the relics of the Holy One, to enlighten his fatherland with the bringing forward of the relics of his and the arrival of yours, because our country is defiled by our iniquities, was slain by bloods, and we fell prey as the bounty of non-kinsmen...”

Stefan the First-Crowned, The Life of Saint Simeon

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And when I spent eight years here, there had been many a turmoil in that area, because the Latins passed and took over Constantinople, former Greek land, all the way to our border, and stayed there in that holy place, having created a huge uproar.

And when they found out here about that turmoil, there came an epistle from the Christ-loving and god-bearing , chosen by God and blessed by the beatified father Simeon, Stefan Nemanja, who ruled his country, and of his brother, Grand Duke Vukan. I received their petition, which says:

“Here, in the country stirred up are the people, and the blessed our father, Lord Simeon, who was our master and our teacher, lies there. Because of this, we pray for thy prayer, for the Lord’s sake, do not scorn us but take venerable relics of Lord Simeon and move them here so that his blessing is present and is completed on us!”

And I, seeing how much they wish that which they plead and that it is necessary to fulfil it, raising my infirmity to that end I began to prepare. And seeing a good time to make it happened, by coming there I opened the tomb of the beatified old man, and I found his body honourably whole and unharmed, which was there in the grave for eight years. Because this befits those who pleased God, that after their death they are celebrated, God shall fulfil the will of those who fear him, and shall listen to their prayer”, “He shall preserve all their bones and none of them shall be broken”. And having taken his venerable relics, I set out. And even though there was great upheaval in these countries, with the help of God and the Holy Lady Theotokos and the prayers of the blessed and venerable and honourable gentleman our Father Simeon, I passed, as it has been said, through fire and water, whole and preserved and hurt by nothing.

Saint Sava, Life of St. Simeon