Saint Sava Celebration in Cincinnati Parish
 
Cincinnati, OH - On January 27th, 2013, St. George Serbian Orthodox Church of Cincinnati, OH celebrated one of the most influential saints of the Serbs. On this mild Sunday in January, parishioners flooded the small knave to come together for Divine Liturgy to commemorate the first Archbishop of the Serbian Church, Saint Sava (Свети Сава).
    

This special day began with Divine Liturgy, where Sophia Stanisic read the Epistle and ending with a special hymn to commemorate Saint Sava and the Serbian people. Very Reverend Petar Petrovic gave an inspiring sermon, calling on all Serbian Christians to revitalize their commitment to God, to the Church, and to their families, many times using the life of Saint Sava as an example. He praised them for bringing their children to the Holy Temple on this important day of commemoration and urged them to continue these most important efforts for spiritual growth. Following Divine Liturgy, a special blessing of Saint Sava’s Kolach was given by Father Petar Petrovic, with all children in attendance participating. Father asked all in attendance, as is tradition of the Church, who would like to volunteer to be the sponsor for next year’s celebration. Sasa Lazic  and his wife Evelina with children Nina and Aleksander accepted the honor to sponsor next year’s celebration. Predrag Peric and family were this year’s sponsors of the Saint Sava celebration and they joined together with Father Petar and the Sasa Lazic family for a group picture and blessing. Following the veneration of the icons, the Cross, and the taking of the Antidoron, parishioners reconvened in the Church Hall for a special lunch provided by the Peric family.
    

The Church Hall recently acquired over 100 brand new chairs, which were put to capacity use this afternoon for Saint Sava’s luncheon. As Saint Sava was the patron saint of Serbian schools and schoolchildren, all children received a free lunch in his memory. The Church Hall was packed with cheerful families who enjoyed a delicious traditional Serbian-style meal, complete with Sarma, roasted pig, and a tremendous amount of cakes and sweets. At the conclusion of lunch, Dr. Slobodan Stanisic gathered all those children who had prepared a poem so that they could each take a turn to recite it in front of friends and family. After each child finished their recitation, they received a special gift from Dr. Slobodan and his wife Eileen, who both teach Sunday School twice a month at St. George, as well as a sweet gift of candy from Nina Carfora  her also wanted to thank the children for their efforts. Each chield also received a Prayer Book gift from St.George Church.

Dr. Stanisic gave a brief speech about Sunday School, its importance to the lives of the children, and urged parents to come together and bring their children as much as possible to Sunday School and to church, to volunteer in whichever way the can in order to help St. George Serbian Orthodox Church and to help cultivate the spiritual lives of each one of these children. We know how important children are to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and also the initiative that Saint Sava took toward children during his life here on Earth. We give thanks to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit who allowed us to come together to celebrate the Divine Liturgy of Christ and to also commemorate the life of one of Serbia’s most influential and pious standard bearers of Christ, Saint Sava.

Adam Meador