A Dream of Six Centuries: St. Sava’s Temple of Belgrade
Heading south from Budapest, Hungary into Serbia, a pilgrim crosses from a predominantly Catholic nation into a deeply Orthodox Christian one. At the point of confluence between the Danube and Sava rivers lies the city of Belgrade. Once known as the Roman outpost of Singidnum, the city has long been one of the most important of the Balkan region, but not always the capital of the Serbian people. At the time of the 12th century, the Serbian people were spread across much of what is today former Yugoslavia (a term which translated into English as “land of the South Slavs”) and, while Orthodox Christian, lacked a national church until an enigmatic monk by name of Sava, born a prince of a ruling Serbian family, began a lifelong ministry to his people.
In time, Monk Sava became the first administrative leader of the newly established Serbian Orthodox Church, and in generations following his death, was declared a national saint. During the long era of Serbian occupation under the Ottoman Turks, Saint Sava became a symbol of happier times under independent Christian rule, so much to the point that Ottoman Turkish rulers burnt his relics in an open field just outside the walled city of Belgrade in the final decade of the 16th century. On this spot, known as the Vračar Plain (field) in what is now well within the modern city, the Serbian Church has been working on the construction of the second-largest Orthodox place of worship in the world, known as Saint Sava’s Temple, across the span on three centuries.
Work first began on this monolithic structure in 1894, exactly three hundred and one years since the relics of Saint Sava were burnt. Thirty years after a planning committee was established, the church cornerstone was laid, with the delay in part explained by the First World War. Work was once again stalled at the outset of World War II and was not continued due to complications with the atheistic socialist government of post-war Yugoslavia until the mid-1980s. Now almost 40 years onward, Saint Sava’s Temple is nearing completion, with all major construction complete and only interior decorations needing to be finished.
Saint Sava’s Temple, by far the largest man-made structure in Belgrade, looms like a copper-topped giant around the city. Capable of housing 7,000 individuals, it rises just above 250 feet into the sky, with a length of just under 300 feet and a width of 265 feet. Built in the shape of a Greek cross, it features the largest dome of any purpose-built Orthodox Church after the Hagia Sophia, includes three galleries, a choir loft capable of holding 800 people, a 14-ton chandelier, includes almost 20 exterior crosses, 49 church bells, and an expansive, brilliantly lit crypt that is used for the burials of the patriarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Even more remarkable is that the entire interior dome of the church has been decorated with mosaics made of gold and other precious materials, with the central mosaic depicting the Ascension of Christ.
With the principal construction work having been completed in 2004, the temple has since been consecrated as the final work nears completion. In 2020, the newly-deceased patriarch of Serbia, Irinej, was laid to rest in the crypt of Saint Sava’s Temple, marking another step in the nearly half-millenium story of this remarkable place of worship.
Be Not Afraid!
Good Shepherd Travel offers trips to Belgrade, as well as Rome, Lourdes, Fatima, Ireland, and many other destinations across Europe. And of course, we love Jerusalem and the Holy Land best! For more information on how to begin preparing for a pilgrimage in late 2021 and 2022, contact Tony AbuAita at Tony@goodshepherdtravel.com.