The Charter of Despot Stefan to Mileševa Monastery

by later critical editions, which revealed all the subtleties of its language, style and historical context.

The charter to Mileševa Monastery begins with a quotation from Holy Scripture - more precisely, from the Proverbs of Solomon; in the introductory part of the charter, Despot Stefan expresses his awareness that he received his authority from God, but also that the royal position he holds is transient. In the Despot's words echo the words about the transience of earthly power, glory and wealth from the book traditionally attributed to the All-Wise Solomon himself - the Book of Ecclesiastes.

Far from a pessimistic understanding of reality, Despot Stefan declares how a man ought to rule after the example of God. Since he received his authority from the Hand of God, from the God who opens wide His hand and fills all things with good, the Despot will not be merely a receiver of good things, but also one who gives. He underlines that the kingdom, that is, the earthly authority he received from God, is transient in character. But God is also the giver of eternal goods, of the Kingdom of God, which will be inherited by those who love God and their neighbor - those whom Christ unites. And here the Despot mentions Saint Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming and Saint Sava, who are his intercessors before the throne of God, through whose prayers God so many times preserved and delivered him. Grateful for his deliverance from ruin and death, since through the prayers of Saint Sava and Saint Simeon God granted him life a second time, Despot Stefan offers his “small gift” to Mileševa Monastery. He entreats his heirs and future rulers - aware that life lasts only as long as it pleases the Lord of life and death - to leave his bequest unaltered.

The Mileševa charter is not merely a legal document - it is a record of the soul of a ruler who by his deeds bridged the earthly and the heavenly, history and eschatology, past and future. It bears witness to a time when the Serbian lands stood at a turning point, but also to the unshakable bond of the Serbian rulers with their saints, their Church and their people. Its words, written on parchment more than six centuries ago, still resound today as a testimony to the unbroken thread of the spiritual and state tradition of the Serbian people.

The Charter of Despot Stefan to Mileševa Monastery of 1414 or 1415

“By me kings reign, and the mighty hold dominion” [Prov. 8, 15–16], said, through the All-Wise Solomon, the King of the ages, the Lord Almighty. Since we have received this transient kingdom from His mighty hand and abundant goodness, a created being ought, as far as is possible, to be like Him who opens wide His hands and all that lives