Life of St. King Stephen of Decani
King Stephen of Decani is one of the best known Saints of the
Serbian Orthodox Church. Through his holy and incorruptible relics
God has performed numerous miracles.
as the Serbian people suffer through another turbulent chapter in their
history, they would do well to bring to mind the exemplary character
of their martyred King Stephen Uros III (Decanski).
He was born the
eldest son of the saintly King Milutin (Stephen Uros II) and his wife
Elizabeth, a Hungarian princess. Living at the court of his parents,
the heir-apparent received a good education, his mind exercised by study
of the language and writings of his people, and his heart strengthened
by study of the Holy Scripture and the teachings of the Orthodox Faith.
The good fruit of his upbringing proved itself when King Milutin was
forced to send him as hostage to the Tartar chief Nogyi. In spite of
the potential dangers, Stephen was obedient to his father's will and
did not resist, trusting his life to the Lord. And his hope was not
in vain. He eventually made friends with one of the Tartar nobles, who
succeeded in assisting his safe return home.
When Stephen came of age, his parents arranged that he marry the daughter
of the Bulgarian King Smilatz, and the young couple were given the land
of Zeta, where they settled until such a time as Stephen would be called
to succeed his father to the throne. Meanwhile, King Milutin had remarried,
and his second wife, Simonide, plotted in order that their son Constantine
inherit the throne. She convinced Milutin that Stephen wanted to seize
the throne prematurely, and the deceived Milutin ordered that his son
be captured, that he be blinded to ensure that he never again entertain
such treachery, and that he be sent as a prisoner to Constantinople.
The coffin of St. King Stephan of Decani, 14th century
The prince was taken
together with his children, Dusan and Dusica, and when they were passing
through Ovcepole (Sheep's Field), the guards took red hot pokers and
blinded him. That night St. Nicholas appeared to Stephen in a dream:
"Be not afraid," he said, "your eyes are in my hands."
Comforted not a little by this vision, the sightless Stephen arrived
in Constantinople. The Emperor Andronicus pitied the young exile, and
received him graciously. He was soon settled in the monastery of Pantocrator,
where he impressed the monks by his meekness and his longsuffering acceptance
of the bitter trial that had come to him through his own father.
years passed. King Milutin was growing old. Hearing good reports about
his son, his heart softened, and he called Stephen home to Serbia. Before
leaving Constantinople, Stephen had a dream in which St. Nicholas appeared
to him a second time, holding in his hand a pair of eyes. When he awoke,
his sight was restored.
Three years later, his father died, and Stephen, always popular with
the people, was crowned King of Serbia by the holy Archbishop Nikodim
in the church at Pec. His halfbrother, Constantine, resented this turn
of events, and raised an army in order to wrest the throne away from
Stephen. Desiring to avoid bloodshed, King Stephen addressed a letter
"Put far from thee thy desire to come with a foreign people to
make war on shine own countrymen; but let us meet one another, and thou
shalt be second in my kingdom, for the land is great enough for me and
thee to live. I am not Cain who slew his brother, but Joseph who loved
him, and in his words I speak to thee. Fear not, for I am from the Lord.
You prepared evil for me, but the Lord has given me good, as you now
was unmoved and gave orders to attack. In the ensuing battle, his army
was defeated and he himself was slain. For the next ten years, King
Stephen ruled in relative peace, and the Serbian land prospered. His
son Dusan proved to be an able military leader and was successful in
battles with the Bulgarians and the Greeks, who were envious of the
now powerful Serbian state and rose up against it. Grateful to the Lord
for these victories, King Stephen set about with Archbishop Daniel,
Nikodim,s successor, to find a place to build a church. They settled
upon a place called Decani, and there, in 1327, King Stephen himself
laid the cornerstone for what was to become one of the most magnificent
and enduring specimens of Serbian church architecture. Inside it was
graced by splendid icons, to which more were added in the sixteenth
century by the hand of the celebrated Slav iconographer, Longinos.
St. King Stefan of Decani, fresco Decani Monastery, 14th
click for a larger size image
Saint Stephen gave generously to the needy.
He also made liberal donations to churches and monasteries on the Holy
Mountain, in Jerusalem, Alexandria, and to the monastery of Pantocrator
in Constantinople. Nor did he forget his debt to the wonderworker Nicholas:
he commissioned a silver altar and sent it together with some icons
to the church in Bari, Italy, where the Saint's holy relics are located.
St. King Stefan - a woodcarving (miniature)
Having in a true Christian manner endured the grievous trials and afflictions
which he met through the years, the good king deserved to live out the
rest of his life in peace. But it was only fitting that he who suffered
as a martyr in life should be granted an opportunity to receive in death
a martyr's crown. His final trial was the most agonizing. Dusan's successes
on the field of battle had given him an appetite for power and glory,
and, encouraged by his entourage of nobles, he decided to hasten his
father's death. In 1331, St. Stephen was taken prisoner to a fortress
in the town of Zvecan and cruelly murdered (by some accounts he was
hung, according to another he was strangled).
Almost immediately Dusan was struck by remorse. He earnestly and tearfully
repented of his treachery, and the next year, on the feast of the Holy
Apostles Peter and Paul, he had his father's remains transferred from
Zvecan to Decani, where they were placed in a marble tomb. In 1339 the
tomb was opened, and his body was found to be incorrupt. That same day
saw many miracles of healing. Especially did the holy king prove to
heal diseases of the eyes, and at his relics blind people received their
Fr. Kozma Vasilopoulos
The Orthodox Monastery of St Michael, Sidney
relics of St. King Stephen of Decani
Signature of St. King Stefan in his Decani Monastery
Foundation Charter, 14c.
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