The Life of the Holy and Right-Believing Stefan the Tall, Despot of Serbia

the consecration of the church took place at Pentecost in the year 1418, by the Serbian Patriarch Kirilo (1407–1419). The Despot raised his endowment in Resava as an expanded and enlarged Ravanica, which his father Saint Lazar had built. The church of Resava is adorned within with the most beautiful frescoes and icons, and without it is enclosed and fortified by a stone city-fortress with 11 tall towers. The right-believing Despot of Serbia raised this monastery for the monks above all for God-pleasing hesychia and prayerful stillness, and so that in its church “the rite of the God-chosen Supper of the Lord” might be celebrated, that is, the Holy Eucharist or Liturgy, by which all creation and the whole human race are saved. But the book-loving and wisdom-loving Despot also created on that same holy place the renowned Resava copying school, where learned monk-copyists wrote out divine books for the enlightenment of the Despot’s people, for the Despot desired “to adorn morals with the wisdom of books, and by their grace to enlighten souls and draw them to the knowledge of God.” Such was this God-loving and man-loving ruler of Serbia, that he desired that “life in all his land should truly be as the Church of God, and not as the other peoples live, like beasts and against nature.” Such a life, however, is attained only through the churches and schools of God, when the living and true God is glorified and the right and saving teaching of the Lord is studied. Therefore the holy Despot raised churches and schools. Seeing such piety and love for the Church in their lord, all his noble magnates at once began to follow his example. Therefore many of them began to raise churches and monasteries throughout the Despotate. For as in the age of the holy Nemanjići, so now in the age of the holy Lazarevići, the holy virtue of founding endowments was practiced by all. Thus, in the time of this pious Despot of Serbia Stefan, at his urging and with his abundant help, these holy monasteries and churches were built and painted: the monastery of Koporin, the church of St. Stephen, a monastic endowment with the founding participation of the holy Despot as well; the monastery of Rudenica near Kruševac, raised by the nobleman Vukašin and his wife Vukosava, whose founder (ktitor) was also Despot Stefan with his brother Vuk; the monastery of Jošanica near Jagodina, the church of St. Nicholas, the endowment of the family of one of the Despot’s noblemen; the monastery of Sisojevac near Ravanica, the church of the Transfiguration, the endowment of the spiritual father Sisoje the Sinaite, whose founder was also Despot Stefan with his mother; the monastery of the Mother of God in the village of Radošin near Resava, the endowment of the Despot’s voivode Radoslav Mihaljević; the church of St. Nicholas in Ramaća below Rudnik, the endowment of one of the Despot’s noblemen. Finally, the renowned monastery of Kalenić in Levač, the church of the Entry of the Most Holy Mother of God into the Temple, the endowment of the Despot and of his protovestiarios Bogdan with his wife Milica and his brother Petar. It was raised in 1413 and wondrously painted by the icon painter Radoslav. But besides these enumerated, many other monasteries and churches were raised at that time,25 so that the Despot’s Serbia at that time, together with the old monasteries and churches, had over two thousand temples of God and “dwellings” of prayer and ascetic struggle. But as usually happens everywhere, so it was here too. The crafty envier and hater of good, the devil, envied the holy God-pleaser and lover of Christ Stefan, and therefore raised against him his own