Sevastijan Dabović

Sevastijan Dabović (Serbian Cyrillic: Севастијан Дабовић; June 9, 1863 – November 30, 1940) was a Serbian-American monk and missionary who became the first Serbian Orthodox monk naturalized in North America. He is canonized as a Serbian Orthodox saint.[1]

Saint
Sevastijan Dabović
Севастијан Дабовић
Dabović in the 1930s
BornJune 9, 1863 (1863-06-09)
San Francisco, California, United States
DiedNovember 30, 1940(1940-11-30) (aged 77)
Žiča Monastery, Kraljevo, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Venerated inthe Eastern Orthodox Church
CanonizedMay 30, 2015, Church of Saint Sava, Belgrade, Serbia by the Serbian Orthodox Church
FeastNovember 30

Life
Icon of Sevastijan Dabović in the Church of Saint Jovan Vladimir in Bar, Montenegro
Dabović's relics are interned at the Church of St. Sava in Jackson, California

Sebastijan Dabović was born on 9 July 1863 in San Francisco, California, as the child of Serbian immigrants from the town of Risan in the Bay of Kotor. At his baptism, he was named Jovan. Later, he was ordained as a monk (Sebastijan) during his schooling in Russia and became a hierodeacon in 1887, and a hieromonk on August 16, 1892.

Dabović was appointed as a missionary in California and Washington. It is believed that he baptized more people than any priest in the Western Hemisphere. Dabović's friend Nikolaj Velimirović called him the "greatest Serbian missionary of modern times".[2]

The first Serbian Orthodox parish in the United States was founded by Dabović in Jackson, California in 1892.[3] Dabović soon initiated the construction of the first Serbian Orthodox church in the United States, the Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Jackson, which was consecrated in 1894.[4] Dabović is also credited with founding several additional Serbian Orthodox churches in the United States.

Dabović also had ties to Nikola Tesla, a Serbian American inventor who financially supported him.[5]

Dabović died on November 30, 1940 at the Žiča Monastery in Kraljevo, which at the time was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He was buried at the monastery by Velimirović. Dabović's remains were transferred to Jackson in 2007.[6]

The Serbian Orthodox Church canonized Dabović at the Holy Assembly in Belgrade on May 30, 2015.[1]

Dabović was awarded Order of Saint Sava and Order of Prince Danilo I.[7]

References
  1. "Communique of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church". Serbian Orthodox Church. May 30, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  2. Vujanov, Ivana (June 1, 2015). "Севастијан Џексонски, отац српског православља у САД" [Sevastijan of Jackson, the father of Serbian Orthodoxy in the United States]. Dnevnik (in Serbian). Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  3. Veković, Marko (2015). "Political Functions of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States (1945–1991)". In Donabed, Sargon George; Quezada-Grant, Autumn (eds.). Decentering Discussions on Religion and State: Emerging Narratives, Challenging Perspectives. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books. p. 182. ISBN 978-0-73919-326-6.
  4. Kurian, George Thomas; Lamport, Mark A., eds. (2016). "Orthodox Churches". Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States. 5. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 1702. ISBN 978-1-44224-432-0.
  5. Petrovic, Sreko (July 11, 2021). "Spiritual character of a Serbian genius". Serbian Orthodox Church. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  6. "Archimandrite Sevastijan Dabovic pass away yesterday at the Zica monastery (First Colum, Second Bloc part)". Politika. December 2, 1940. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  7. Acović, Dragomir (2012). Glory and honor: Decorations among Serbs, Serbs among decorations (in Serbian). Belgrade: Službeni Glasnik. p. 569.
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