A Special Afternoon at St. Sava Monastery

Today was a second Sunday field trip after Fellowship Lunch. We drove to St. Sava Monastery for a special lesson on St. Mardarije prepared by St. Basil's graduate student seminarian, Dimitrije Stanojevic.

 Seminiarian Dimitrije prepared a map with pictures showing where certain milestones in the life of St. Mardarije took place, starting with his birthplace in Crna Gora/Montenegro. Each photo was described to those present.

 Starting at St. Mardarije's birthplace, the presentation took everyone through his entire lifetime up to the canonization of this new saint. Seminarian Dimitrije also demonstrated the proper way to approach and venerate the St. Mardarije relics. Each in attendance received a brochure and pamphlet specially prepared for today. Everyone also received an icon of St. Mardarije. 

 

In addition, Fr. Nectarije, a recently tonsured monk, was also at the monastery and he gave all those in attendance a chance to see and smell the beautiful fragrance of the relics of St. Sebastian from Jackson, California. We thank Fr. Nectarije for adding to this visit and making it even more special. It was an honor to have him be with the visitors today. It was a very special Sunday afternoon for those who attended. We thank Seminarian Dimitrije and Fr. Nectarije for making this a very memorable and spiritual experience. Seminarian Dimitrije is currently completing his graduate studies at Trinity International University, after completing his undergraduate degree at St. Sava Theological School and also seminary in Serbia before that. This year he will also need to take the university's graduate comp test which is based on a student's reading a list of 42 books on biblical topics. Each graduate student then must pass this extensive exam in order to continue and complete their studies at Trinity for a master's degree.

 We highly recommend a visit to the monastery. We are so grateful for the presentation we experienced today and also recommend that other groups, students, families, churches etc. plan a visit to St. Sava Monastery too. Thank you Dimitrije and Fr. Nectarije.

Saint Basil of Ostrog Serbian Orthodox Church