Open AccessWhen was king Stefan the first-crowned included among the saints? A contribution to the study of royal “canonization” in medieval Serbia
Author(s) -
Danica Popović
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
zbornik radova vizantološkog instituta/zbornik radova vizantološkog instituta
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2406-0917
pISSN - 0584-9888
DOI - 10.2298/zrvi1350573p
Subject(s) - cult , serbian , brother , legitimacy , ancient history , state (computer science) , history , byzantine architecture , classics , art , law , politics , philosophy , political science , linguistics , algorithm , computer science
The surviving sources suggest that St Sava of Serbia was, as part of the programme of securing sacral legitimacy for the state and dynasty, setting the scene for the inclusion of his brother Stefan, the first-crowned Serbian king, among the saints. This part of the programme was not fully realized, but the focus of the cult was on the incorrupt relics. The cult of Stefan the First-Crowned was not rounded off until the seventeenth century, when the Patriarch Paisios wrote a vita and a service. The development of the cult over the centuries (from the 13th to the 20th century) was a direct reflection of changing historical circumstances and the prevailing ideology of rulership. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177003 (Srednjovekovno nasleđe Balkana - institucije i kultura