The Order of St. Sava () is an ecclesiastic decoration conferred by the Serbian Orthodox Church and a dynastic order presented by the house of Karađorđević. It was previously a state order awarded by both the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes/Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
The state order was awarded to nationals and foreigners for meritorious achievements in the field of religion, education, science and the arts as well as for social and relief work. It was abolished in 1945 with the proclamation of the People’s Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the end of the monarchy, while continuing as a dynastic order, with appointments currently made by Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia.
The ecclesiastic order is awarded to ecclesiastic and secular persons with special merits.
History The Order of Saint Sava was established by Milan I of Serbia, four years after the country gained independence and its transformation from a principality into a kingdom in March 1882. It was first awarded in January 1883 to recognised civilians for meritorious achievements benefitting the Church, the arts and sciences, the royal house, and the state. In 1914, a change to the Order was made to allow soldiers of the Serbian Army who served with distinction to receive the honour, as well as to women for war merit and humanity The Order of St. Sava was thereafter awarded by the kings of Serbia and its successor Yugoslavia until the abolition of the monarchy in 1945.
Five grades were awarded: Knight Grand Cross, Grand Officer, Commander, Officer and Knight.
The first grade was a jewel, worn with a sash over the shoulder and also with a breast star. The second and third-grade laureates wore the Order on a neckband. The fourth grade was a medal with a triangular suspension, a rosette attached to the ribbon above the medal. The fifth grade had a triangular suspension without a rosette. The medals of the fourth and fifth grades were worn on the breast. All white ribbons had two light blue stripes.Orders and Medals Society of America, Medal collector No. 20/1969, About the OrderOfficial website of the Serbian Royal Family, About the Order
Several Order of St. Sava were bestowed to members of the British medical team during the First World War for "humanity and gallantry performed under fire", after their volunteer medical units followed the Serbian army during the Great Retreat through the mountains of Albania.
Since 1985, the Order has been awarded on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of St. Sava. This order is dedicated to ecclesiastic and secular persons, who have special merits for the Serbian Orthodox Church. According to the ordinance of the church, each person who received a medal of third grade may receive the medal of the higher grade as well as the first grade for future merits, provided that three years have passed at least since the previous award. The order is determined in three grades: the first one is white, the second red and the third blue coloured.Centre for Research of Orthodox Monarchism,
Laureates State order
Isaac Alcalay Xavier Arnozan, French physician, 1st Grade Agnes Bennett, New Zealand doctor Harry Woodburn Blaylock William Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of PortlandAcović 2013, p. 592 Thomas CookAcović 2013, p. 596 Randall DavidsonAcović 2013, p. 595 Mateo García de los Reyes (1872–1936), Spanish Navy officer Mary E. Gladwin, English-born American Red Cross nurse Helen Hanson, British doctor, 2nd grade William Hunter, 2nd Grade 1915University of Edinburgh, Untold stories of people during First World War Queen Kapiolani of Hawaii, Hawaii 1883 Helen Keller, 3rd Grade 1931Helen Keller Artifact Collection , American Foundation for the Blind Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinovich of RussiaAcović 2013, p. 628 Alois Jirásek, 1926 Dominik Mandić, Herzegovinian Franciscan Dragoljub Mihailović, 25 January 1928 Milutin MilankovićAcović 2013, p. 344 Alojzije Mišić, 10 November 1923 Peter Norman NissenLondon Gazette Nicholas Roerich, 1932 Marie of RomaniaAcović 2013, p. 369 Jessie Scott, New Zealand doctor Nikola Tesla, 2nd Grade 1892Tesla Society Switzerland, Man Who Illuminated The Planet, p. 7 Violetta Thurstan, English nurse, 1918 Đorđe Vajfert (I grade)Association of Serbian Banks, Knight of Serbia, Georg I. Weifert p. 181 Amelia Peabody Tileston (third degree), American canteen worker, 1920 Joca Vujić Dame Rebecca West, British author and journalist. Vladimir Rosing, Russian tenor and political activist, 5th Class, July 1922.
Ecclesiastical order Patriarch Alexy II, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Novak Đoković, 2011 Aleksandr Karelin, 2013 Emir Kusturica Patriarch Peter VII of AlexandriaAcović 2013, p. 601 Vladimir Putin Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn Rev. Marko B. Todorovich, 2015
See also List of ecclesiastical decorations
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