The Slava (lit. "celebration"; Serbian Cyrillic: Слава), also called Krsna Slava (Крсна Слава, "christened Slava") and Krsno ime (Крсно име, "christened name"), is an exclusively Serbian Orthodox Church tradition of the ritual glorification of one's family's patron saint among Serbs, but also Serbs in Montenegro and Macedonia. The family celebrates the Slava annually on the saint's feast day. Unlike other major Orthodox Christian nations, i.e. Greeks, Russians, Romanians, Bulgarians, Georgians etc., Serbs do not celebrate individual name days, as when a person named after a saint would celebrate that saint's feast day, but instead they do it collectively as the name day of a certain family and/or clan.
Serbs usually regard the Slava as their most significant and most solemn feast day
On November the 26th we celebrate Saint John Chrysostom – our „Slava“.
Saint John Crysostom was born in Antioch (Syria) in 354AD, into a rich Greek family, as a son of a Duke, with many siblings. He studied Greek philosophy and realizing Greek Paganism, he adopted the Christian faith. He was baptized by patriarch Melentius from Antioch. Not long after, his parents also received baptism. After the death of his parents, John became a monk, and he entirely devoted himself to the study of the Saint Scripture and St. Pauls Epistlee; he wrote the book "On the Priesthood," and soon afterwards the Patriarch ordained him to priesthood. He got known due to his accomplishments, brilliant mind and a strong word, and of that he was elected as the Patriarch of Constantinople by the desire of Emperor Arcadius. The nation celebrated and adored him, but thanks to his strong views and criticizing pagan opponents he often got into trouble, and was sent to exile on two occasions. For six years he led the church wisely and diligently and in that short time, he did a lot. He sent missionaries to the pagan Celts and Scythians; he spread merciful activity of the Church; he suppressed simony (selling absolution for money); he wrote a rite of the Divine Liturgy; ashamed heretics and disfigured Empress Evdoksija; he provided a translation and explanation of the Saint Scripture and St. Pauls Epistle thanks to his clear mind and incredible diligence. Moreover he left the Church many precious books of his sermons.
In 407 AD for the Holy Cross's day, at a place called Comana in Armenia, with God's name on his lips, the soul of Chrysostom the Patriarch moved to Paradise. The transfer was performed in January the 27th, however, during the Crusades, in 1204 his relics were transferred to the Vatican and later placed in the church of Sv. Peter, while the head is kept in the Church of the Dormition in Moscow.
An extensive article on St. John Chrysostom can be found in the Lifes Of The Church Fathers by Justin Popović, who made the prayer for St. John Chrysostom in monastery „Ćelije“ in 1960. Here's what he wrote of John: "... the Spirit's all-golden mouth, divinely inspired poet, exploiter wistful of Christ, silver-tongued, honey-pouring... ".
("Religious Education on the occasion of 2000. Christianity")
