Son of Stefan Nemanja, the great Serbian ruler, born in 1169. As a young man, he longed for a spiritual life, which is why he fled to Mount Athos, where he became a monk and passed the entire ascetic constitution with rare zeal. Nemanja followed the example of his son, and he himself came to Mount Athos, where he became a monk and died as a monk Simeon.
Sava achieved the independence of the Serbian Church with the emperor and the patriarch, and became the first Serbian archbishop. Together with his father, he built the Hilandar monastery, and then many other monasteries, churches and schools in the Serbian land. He traveled in two waves to pay homage to the saints in the Holy Land. He reconciled his brothers, quarreling over power; he reconciled Serbs with their neighbors, and by creating the Serbian Church, he created the Serbian state and culture through it.