LAZAR OF SERBIA

On June 28 (15), on the day of the historical battle on Kosovo field, the Church celebrates the memory of the holy prince Lazar of Serbia (1329–1389). The saint was a pious, believing ruler, a defender of the Orthodox Christians persecuted by invaders and a unifier of Serbian lands. It is he who is considered the founder of the future Russian Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos, as well as the restorer of communion between the Serbian and Greek Churches. Saint Lazarus is a very significant and culture-forming saint of Serbian Orthodox Christianity.

Personal piety and skillful rule make him akin in the ranks of saints to the Russian prince Alexander Nevsky (1221–1263), and in his determination to resist the invasion in Christian trust in the will of God with the holy Vladimir prince George (1198–1238), who fell in opposition to the Mongol army in the Battle on the Sit River. The era of Saint Lazarus was a time of rapid expansion of the Ottomans.

The Ottoman Empire, proclaimed in 1299, by that time united vast territories. Slowly but surely, the Ottomans surrounded Constantinople; The once powerful Byzantium was turning into a small city-state. Moving towards Europe, the Ottomans conquered more and more lands. Like the Mongols a century and a half earlier in Rus’, the Ottomans took advantage of the fragmentation of territories and the internecine strife of local Christian rulers.

The fundamental difference was that the Mongols were not originally religious, while the Ottomans sought to spread the power of Islam everywhere. From our perspective today, we know that after centuries their advance was eventually stopped. But then it seemed to many that all Christian territories would soon be captured. The plans of the Ottomans, based on Middle Eastern and Turkic legends, were to conquer not only Constantinople, this New Rome on the Bosporus, but also Italian Ancient Rome.

Serbia and the Balkans stood in the way of their advance, but many rulers became their vassals without resistance, often in a spirit of conformity. The future showed that such concessions were fatal for Orthodox unity, culture and education. However, many were then convinced that much more powerful than the Christian states of the time, a unified Ottoman state was capable of guaranteeing security, prosperity, and, which sounds very modern, a world without borders and a common market.

It is in this context that one should perceive the readiness with which the Serbian prince Lazar decided to confront a superior hostile force. This is how the battle of Kosovo took place. Saint Lazarus fought bravely but was eventually captured and executed by the Ottomans. After some time, his relics were found incorrupt.

The Serbian Orthodox Church calls Saint Lazarus the Great Martyr. In the first centuries of Christianity, this was the name given to martyrs for Christ who were of the royal family or had a very high social position. The Church of Serbia saw a repetition of the feat of the martyrs in his self-sacrifice. According to the life, before the battle on Kosovo Polje, Lazar was fully aware that he would not survive the battle, and his army was in danger of death.

In such a tragic insight, he completely surrendered himself into the hands of God, and the voice of God that he heard at the moment of this personal Golgotha ​​strengthened him.

The relics of Saint Lazarus were placed in the Ravanica monastery, built by him during his lifetime, in the central part of Serbia. The great shrine of the Serbian Church exudes signs to believers throughout. The memory of Saint Lazarus is a blessing to study the history and lives of the saints of the Local Orthodox Churches. It reminds us of how little we, Orthodox peoples and believers of different countries, know about each other.