His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Porfirije consecrated on October 25, 2025, in Deževa, the birthplace of Saint Sava, the newly built church dedicated to the first Serbian Archbishop, and presided over the Holy Hierarchical Liturgy.

This holy act and solemn service in the newly built church celebrated the great jubilee of the Serbian Orthodox Church – 850 years since the birth of Saint Sava, the first Serbian Archbishop, an enlightener and founder of the spiritual and cultural identity of the Serbian people

To His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Porphyry was concelebrated by: His Eminences Metropolitans Joannikije of Montenegro and the Littoral, Justin of Žička, Jovan of Šumadija, Athanasius of Milesevo, Theodosius of Raška and Prizren, David of Kruševac, Hilarion of Timočka, Arsenij of Niš, Dimitrije of Zahumlje-Herzegovina and Ston-Littoral and Methodius of Budimlje-Nikšić; His Eminences Bishops Sergius of Bihać-Petrovica, Hesychije of Valjevo, Hierotheus of Šabac, Damascene of Mohacs and Hilarion of Novo Brdo; as well as a large number of priests, priest-monks, deacons and faithful people of the Church of St. Sava.

In his sermon after the reading of the Gospel Preface, His Holiness Patriarch Porphyry said, among other things:

- Here is a blessing for all of us! We are in our birthplace, because the one who gave birth to us was born here, the one who gave birth to us by the Holy Spirit, who gave birth to us in Christ and for eternal life, but also who shaped us as a people of letters, a people who bear the seal of Christ and the word of His Gospel, a word that gives birth to a spiritual culture that is life in Christ, a culture that is completely washed by the Gospel, the culture of Orthodoxy. We live by the word of Saint Sava, because this means that we live by Christ, that we live by the commandments of God, commandments that can all be reduced to the two-fold commandment of love, the commandment of community. The commandment of loving with one's whole being towards God and towards one's neighbor as oneself is the commandment of community. It is at the same time a call to fulfill our destiny as beings created in the image and likeness of God, and that means as beings of community. I congratulate everyone on this day and today's holiday and I pray to God, together with all of you, that the prayers of Saint Sava make us understand that man was created as a being of community, that a Serb was created as a being of community, and that means there will be no hatred, no exclusivity, no evil, no selfishness, no self-sufficiency, but there will be love, it will be Saint Sava's, it will be Orthodox, it will be Christ's.

You can read the sermon of His Holiness the Patriarch of Serbia, Mr. Porfirije, in full HERE.

During the Holy Liturgy, the First Hierarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church honored Priest Ivan Jeremić with the rank of archpriest.

After the end of the service, the host of the gathering, His Eminence Metropolitan Mr. Theodosius, addressed the gathering and first thanked His Holiness the Patriarch and his brother hierarchs for their service, and then all who participated in the construction of the Temple of Saint Sava in Deževa:

- This is the work not only of our Diocese, but of our entire Church, our state, our faithful people and all people of good will. We offer this gift to the Lord, and many have worked hard with their contributions to the construction of this temple. There were large contributions here, and there were also those like the widow's two mites that the Lord received with great value, as it is written in the Holy Gospel.

On this solemn occasion, at the proposal of the Metropolitan of Raska and Prizren, Mr. Teodosius, and by the decision of the Holy Synod of Bishops, a high decoration of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Order of Saint Sava, second degree, was awarded to Mr. Vujica Ćorović from Dramići in recognition of her active love for the Holy Mother Church, especially shown through her selfless assistance in the construction of the Temple of Saint Sava in Deževa.

Metropolitan Teodosije awarded Mrs. Mirjana Slavković from Kraljevo, the architect of the temple, with a hierarchal diploma for her constant love for the holy Orthodox faith and for her zeal for the temple of God and its splendor. The following benefactors also received diplomas: Mr. Lazar Sretenović from Novi Pazar, Mr. Radiša Biorac from Kozarevo, Mr. Milutin Žižić from Novi Pazar, Mr. Dane Pavlović from Novi Pazar, Mr. Želimir Anđelković from Kraljevo, Mr. Dejan Vujsić from Belgrade, Mr. Goran Mrješa from Novi Pazar and Mr. Ivan Veljović, director of the company “Novi Pazar – Put” d.o.o.

The ceremony was also attended by: Mr. Nikola Selaković, Minister of Culture; Mr. Dejan Vuk Stanković, Minister of Education; Mr. Dragan Glamočić, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management; Dr. Vladimir Roganović, Director of the Administration for Cooperation with Churches and Religious Communities.

In 2012, the Orthodox Serbs of the Deževje Valley, the birthplace of Saint Sava, laid the foundation stone for the Church of Saint Sava on the site of the ancient Cathedral Church. Near the church are the remains of the old Nemanjić church, and not far away is the Peter's Church, as well as the Đurđevi stupovi and Sopoćani monasteries. Here, Stefan Nemanja created the first Serbian state, where councils were held and important decisions for the history of the Serbs were made. Nemanja's sons – Vukan, Stefan Prvovenčani and Rastko – were born there, and other Nemanjićs grew up there: Radoslav, Vladislav, Uroš, Dragutin and Milutin… This temple in the homeland of the Nemanjićs was awaited for eight centuries, and today's celebration is a great joy for the Orthodox Serbs of the Raška region, who have kept a lively, prayerful memory of the ruling family and their most famous spiritual ancestor for hundreds of years.

Source/photo: Serbian Orthodox Church, TV Temple