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Lives of the Serbian Saints

tr. Yanich and Hankey, 1921

The Life of the Saint and Most Blessed Martyr, Tsar Lazar, Ruler of the Serbian Land…

This saint and ever blessed Prince Lazar was the son of Lazar Pribatz Grebelyanovich, a man of great renown and high rank, who lived at the court during the reign of the Tsar Stephen Dushan. Since his father, owing to his high position, was engaged on manifold affairs of state in the court of the most glorious Tsar Stephen Dushan, there is no doubt that his son Lazar, called by Providence to build up once more the Serbian kingdom, lived at the court of that tsar also in his youth, and received that training which would befit his station.

From his youth Lazar was gentle, wise and brave, and of a high spirit, and all these gifts of the Lord the martyr Lazar kept throughout his troubled life. Adorned with such good qualities the young Lazar soon held a high position of honour. Not only did the tsar look upon him, but he entrusted to him some service for the state. Furthermore, he was called to be son-in-law of the tsar, taking to wife Militza, daughter of the great prince Vratko, of the Nemanya dynasty by the side of Vukan, son of the first Stephen Nemanya. Thus Lazar received the title of prince. After the unlooked for death of Tsar Dushan, the foundations of the Serbian state were weakened because of the greed for power among the Serbian nobles, who demanded each one, all for himself. And when the throne of the good and gentle Tsar Urosh was shaken by the plots of the crafty Vukashin, all the Serbian land fell into discord and bloodshed and lay under the yoke of Vukashin, the tsar murderer. Throughout this time St. Lazar grieved in secret, and, abiding by the counsel of wise men, waited for better times. He watched all that happened but he did not desire to do anything for the furtherance of the plan he had conceived, whereby those lands which of old time had been part of Dushan’s empire might be made one Serbian state. But when, by the judgment of God, the tsar murderer Vukashin received his reward, after his death St. Lazar arose to carry out his plan. He conquered many lands, especially Herzegovina, Rascia, Serbia and the Banat, holding that he had a right to the throne through his wife Militza, tsarevina.

Now when St. Lazar had become ruler in this way, there came to him a godly old man, the priest-monk Isaiah, from the Holy Mountain, and spoke with him concerning the anathema by which, in the time of Tsar Dushan, the Patriarch of Constantinople had excommunicated all the Serbian people;¹ and he showed to him how they might be reconciled. This proposal was pleasing to the tsar and he straightway took counsel with the Serbian patriarch, at that time Sava II; then they sent the aged Isaiah to Constantinople to pray the patriarch of that day, Theophanes, to remove the anathema from all Serbians, both dead and living. Isaiah received all that he would need, and taking with him two of his disciples from the Holy Mountain and an interpreter, went to the place as they had arranged. When the Patriarch Theophanes learnt the cause of the coming of Isaiah, he took counsel first with the emperor John Palæologus and with the whole synod, and then he removed the anathema from the tsar Stephen Dushan and Joannicius II, the first Serbian patriarch, and all who had died unto his time, and thus was renewed the spiritual union within the Church of Christ. Only one condition he made—that the Serbian people should wage war no more upon the Greeks and the countries round about. As a token of the sincerity of his peace and spiritual pardon, the patriarch Theophanes granted on his own behalf and in the name of all the synod that the archbishop of the Serbian people should bear the title of patriarch, but should have no jurisdiction over other countries.

When this had been accomplished in Constantinople, the patriarch and his whole synod wrote letters containing the decision of the council, and sent them by a special embassy to Prizren, the capital of the Serbian tsardom. These were read in church after the Holy Liturgy, thus announcing to all the removal of the anathema from the dead and the living. At this time the second Serbian patriarch, Sava, died, and by order of Tsar Lazar the synod was assembled at Pech, the seat of the patriarchate. There they elected the godly Ephrem, and he was placed in accordance with the canons on the patriarch’s throne. As a token of his new dignity, he placed the crown of the tsars on the head of Lazar, at the end of his first Holy Liturgy. Thus he conferred upon him the authority of tsar, in the year 1376, in the presence of the embassy from Constantinople, which returned afterwards to its own land.

When Tsar Lazar had once more united the Church and brought peace to his people, he began to do good works: he gave alms to the poor and the sick; he made imperial presents to the church of the Lord; and he built new and splendid churches. Thus, he gave to the hospital of Khilindar many villages for its support and enlarged its church with a new narthex; and in his fatherland he built a great and splendid church by the name of the Ascension of Our Lord, with cells like palaces. This church was called Ravanitza and was in the diocese of Branichevo.

But we must not fail to tell how that, after Tsar Urosh was killed and the kingdom of the tsar murderer Vukashin brought to an end—for he was vanquished by the Turks and slain by his servant—the Turkish power ever growing more and more in Europe, the Serbian state was forced to pay tribute to the Turks at times during the reign of Tsar Lazar. And though this man who built again the Serbian Empire would have liked to be rid of the burden which put the Serbian people and empire to shame, it was not possible to resist the great power of the Turks. So when Sultan Murat with his army took the town of Nish and made ready to conquer Serbia also, St. Lazar made a treaty, promising to give him yearly tribute and to send him a thousand Serbian men-at-arms. This came to pass in the year 1386. But Murat, like a wild beast seeking for prey, when he had gone back a little from the Serbian border, conquered the lands of their neighbours. Thus he became a danger to the peace of Serbia, for by these conquests he made himself her powerful neighbour. Such a captain of savage hordes, ready to carve his way to victory with fire and sword and ruthless violence, it was not easy to satisfy with tribute and presents, because for the slightest cause and at the least resistance his greedy soul, craving all that was not its own, was filled with rage. But in the year 1387 Lazar vanquished Murat and his army on the river Sitnitsa; the army was destroyed and Murat only saved himself by flight. He thereupon raised a great army against Lazar and his state in the year 1389 that he might avenge this defeat. The messenger bearing tidings of the misfortune which thus threatened the Serbians, came to a state rent by discord, envy, treachery and pride between the nobles and the leaders of the people. Those who were on the side of Tsar Lazar were few in number and dispirited; nor were they all of one mind. It is but just to say that a great number of the nobles and voievodes summoned by St. Lazar came to Kossovo field with their armed men. But some came too late and some came not at all. And because of this delay and the absence of Serbian leaders, the army of St. Lazar was small. To this must be added the treachery of Vulk Brankovich, the son-in-law of Lazar, the old disunion among the leaders, and the going forth in an ill moment of his second son-in-law Milosh Obilich. For this man was falsely slandered by Vulk to Lazar; and, in order to prove his faithfulness, he left the Serbian army just before the battle and came to the camp of the Turks. There he made his way to the powerful Sultan Murat and like lightning took his sword and thrust it through the body of the Sultan. From this wound the Sultan died soon after; but the Turks, enraged because of it, fell upon Lazar and his army. The battle was long and bloody, and if all those who had been summoned had come to it, and Vulk Brankovich with his horsemen had been faithful to his emperor and countrymen, the Turks would have been defeated. But though the Serbians fought bravely for Cross and freedom and were led by their tsar who gave his own life as a sacrifice, after long fighting they began to weaken. They had no other forces to support them, and, moreover, they saw their tsar fall from his horse. He mounted another: but his army supposing him to be fallen dead, began to save themselves by flight; nor did they hear the words of their leader who, from his fresh horse, cried to them to return. So, when misfortune came from all sides, the Turks were victors; and the tsar, with many of his nobles, was made prisoner. Being brought before Murat, he and all that were with him were beheaded and attained a blessed release. This defeat of the Serbian Empire came to pass in the year 1389, on the fifteenth day of June.

After the battle, when the Turks had left the field, the body of the blessed Lazar was brought to Prishtina and there buried in the church. Two years after the Tsarina Militza and her son, despot George, moved his remains to Ravanitza, a monastery he had built. From there, when the Turks came to Serbia, they were moved to the monastery of Ravanitza in Sirmie, where they lie in peace and without corruption to this day. The memory of this blessed martyr is kept alive by the Orthodox Serbians every year on the fifteenth day of June—the day of the battle and of his death.

Through his prayers grant, O Lord, that we may come to Thy Kingdom. Amen.

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