​The Nomocanon of Saint Sava is embedded in the foundations of Serbian identity and stands as proof of continuity—not only ecclesiastical, but also of statehood, legal order, cultural development, politics and civilisation—it was stated today in Banja Luka at a scientific and professional conference dedicated to this document.

The Minister of Scientific and Technological Development and Higher Education of the Republic of Srpska, Prof. Draga Mastilović PhD, said that Serbs understand what Saint Sava represents in their historical consciousness—that he is a synonym for the unity of the Serbian people, which is particularly important today for Serbs and for preserving the culture of remembrance.

He emphasised that the foundations of Serbian statehood and spirituality lie in the Nemanjić era, which should be brought into the focus of research in Serbian historiography, as it is not merely a part of our history, but something that in fact preserved the Serbian people through long centuries of subjugation, and continues to do so today.

"Because who today safeguards Serbian Kosovo and Metohija? It is safeguarded precisely by the unextinguished vigil lamps of the Nemanjić dynasty," said Minister Mastilović.

Dušan Pavlović, Director of the Centre for Socio-Political Research of the Republic of Srpska, noted that Saint Sava and his brother Stefan the First-Crowned succeeded, in a geopolitical situation similar to today's, in using the crisis to lay the foundations for the creation of a successful Serbian state that developed to the level of an empire.

"We are entering a time when we will either unite all the strengths of the Serbian people, culture and other resources in order to be able to develop, or we face the danger or challenge of diminishing in number or disappearing," said Pavlović.

Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Belgrade, Đorđe Bubalo, said that the Serbian people are not sufficiently aware of the importance that the Nomocanon of Saint Sava has for the Serbian ideas of statehood and church organisation, as well as for the continuity of Serbian ethnic identity.

He stated that the Nomocanon cannot be separated from the autocephaly of the Serbian Church, and that this document proves that Saint Sava was the first Serbian legislator.

Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Belgrade, Dalibor Đukić, emphasised that the Nomocanon is the foundation of medieval Serbian statehood, as well as of the renewal of Serbian statehood throughout the centuries.

"The Serbian people, wherever they may be, base their statehood on the idea of restoring what Saint Sava began. The Nomocanon is the most extensive source of Serbian medieval law, it has had the widest reception in Serbian history and has spread throughout the entire Orthodox world," said Đukić.

He added that no document authored by a Serb has had such a history as the Nomocanon of Saint Sava, which remains in force today and constitutes the positive law of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

The scientific and professional conference "Saint Sava and the Nomocanon – culture, statehood, geopolitics and civilisation" was organised by the Centre for Socio-Political Research on the occasion of the 850th anniversary of the birth of Saint Sava, and brought together eminent experts from the region.