Organized by the Serbian Orthodox Church Municipality of Kotor and the Serbian Singing Society "Jedinstvo" (1839) Kotor, the traditional Saint Sava Academy was held last night in the Church of St. Nicholas in the Old Town, where the writer, screenwriter and kolimna singer from Belgrade, Mr. Vladimir Kecmanović, spoke.

On that occasion, Kecmanović said that preserving Saint Sava's soul is our most sacred task and that some words cannot be worn out by earthly use and that it is enough just to pronounce them.

"Such are the ones from which the name of St. Sava, formerly Rastko Nemanjić, a young man who exchanged his noble robe for a monastic robe and who, having renounced this world for the benefit of Heaven, created both earthly and Heavenly Serbia, founded the Serbian Church and laid the foundations of the Serbian nation, securing our people a place on the earthly and heavenly map of Orthodox peoples.

Such is the word Svetosavlje that denotes Serbian Orthodoxy, with everything that identifies it, but also everything that makes it special among other Orthodox peoples.

Such are the words from which Serbian Dalmatia was created, in which, measured by earthly time, his predecessors and ancestors sowed the seeds of Svetosavlje even before Rastko Nemanjić saw this world.

How is that possible?

It is possible because earthly time is an illusion, and the truth is heavenly eternity, which is the same as the moment.

And while we are on the subject of the moment, now is the time to pronounce the words that form the name of another great saint - the one whose relics today, just like the cell in which he spent a good part of his earthly life, connect the earthly moment with heavenly eternity - Saint Basil of Ostrog, glory and grace to him.

The poet Matija Bećković says that this saint guided his mother Ana through life even before she knew that she would give birth to him.

Let us add - he guided her just as Saint Sava guided his predecessors and ancestors, just as he guides us. Us who still belong to the Saint Sava tradition today, but also those who renounce it, just as the Saint of Ostrog heals the bodies and saves the souls of both.

This gathering is a good occasion to pronounce the words that created the Serbian Bay, the sister of Serbian Dalmatia, where, viewed from an earthly perspective, St. Saul managed to survive better than in the northern parts of the Adriatic coast.

This gathering is an occasion to pronounce the words Serbian Kotor, a city that was rooted in Orthodoxy even during the saint's earthly life, although under the political influence of Venice, a city whose inhabitants will accept St. Saul and will preserve it for centuries to come.

And, of course, this gathering is an occasion to pronounce the name of St. Nicholas in whose church we have gathered, the name of the great saint, who, like St. Sava and St. Basil, with his earthly and heavenly life, represents one of the miracles through which the Almighty reveals himself to us.

Kotor's connection with Saint Sava, as well as with Saint Nicholas, is part of the significance of these saints, just as it is part of the identity of this city.

This gathering is a good opportunity to put aside daily and multi-day political topics, as well as the evil that has been hitting Saint Sava for centuries and is hitting Saint Sava today.

Suffice it to say that preserving the soul of Saint Sava is the most sacred task we can set for ourselves.

Because, the Ostrog Gate was built from Saint Sava, which connects us to Heaven," said Kecmanović.

SPD Jedinstvo board member Petar Bukilica said that the academy began with the "Kotor anthem" to Saint Sava, "O Serbian young innocent child," slightly older than the well-known "Let us exclaim with love to Saint Sava."

As recorded, Bukilica continued, SPD Jedinstvo has traditionally organized "academic parties" dedicated to Saint Sava every year, practically since its founding in 1839.

He also recalled that in 1870, the Austrian authorities explicitly banned the public organization of the St. Sava Academy, as a reaction to the Boka Uprising of the previous year, but it was still held in the Society's premises in patriotic fervor, and continuity was not interrupted even in difficult times burdened by epidemics of various diseases, as it was in recent times, namely in the era of Covid 19.

"Today, we are only continuing the tradition started by our ancestors and we are trying to be worthy of their work. Our ancestors started this tradition in order to preserve their St. Sava name, to remain on the St. Sava path, but also to endure great personal sacrifices. They were often persecuted, arrested, imprisoned, beaten… Some paid with their heads, some took up guns, rebelled, went to war, but they did not renounce their St. Sava path,” said Bukilica, among other things, noting that our task today is to preserve the SPD Unity and to remain on the St. Sava path that our ancestors traced.

That we are on the right path, he concluded, is the best confirmation that we received at last year’s academy, which for the first time in our history, and on the occasion of the 185th anniversary of the SPD Unity, was personally attended by the Serbian Patriarch Porfirije, together with six bishops of our Church.

Last night’s academy in a full church was also attended by the President of the Kotor Municipal Assembly Maja Mršulja and the Secretary of the Secretariat for Culture, Sports and Social Activities Tatjana Kriještorac.

As part of the program of the Saint Sava Academy, the Children's and Mixed Choirs and the Mandolin Orchestra performed. Conducted by Mrs. Ivana Krivokapić and M.A. Mihajlo Lazarević. A solo performance was given by Prof. Aleksandra Magud, accompanied by the piano by Prof. Ana Mihaljević and Prof. Dejan Krivokapić, and a recital about Saint Sava was given by Irina Bulajić. From the youth of the Unity, we note the solo performances of Danica Matanović, Ivana Nikolić and Ognjen Nikolić.

On Savindan, January 27th at 10 am, the Holy Liturgy will be served with the cutting of the slava cake in the Church of St. Nicholas, and a reception by the City Music is planned for 11:30 am.

Vespers and the Children's Academy will be held at 4 pm in the Church of St. Peter of Cetinje in Prčanje, and at 18 Children's Academy in the Church of St. Nicholas in Kotor.

The rich program of the celebration of Saint Sava in Kotor is traditionally held under the motto of Unity "Let us all live in harmony, Saint Sava help you!"