In the name of the father and the son

A Word from the Director
Milovan Vitezović has left us the legacy of his many years of meticulous work, a two-hundred-page dramatic epic, “In the Name of the Father and the Son”. Four full-length plays could be produced from this valuable material. Since I directed a play about Saint Sava at a children’s theatre some 30 years ago, based on the first part of this Vitezović’s dramatic legacy, I have now decided to focus on the final part, which contains the biographical facts of Saint Sava’s life from taking his monastic vows to the end of his life. The plot follows how he organised the church, the state, introduced laws, education, hospitals, acted as a diplomat, reconciled warring factions... all the way to his death in Trnovo.  
It is both dramatically demanding and deeply challenging to create a play about a historical figure like Saint Sava. This is a man who, in his youth, renounced everything worldly and became a monk, and by dedicating his entire life to God, became capable of doing more for the earthly world than any other man.   
Milan Karadžić

A Word from the Dramaturg  
The play, which the ensemble of the National Theatre will perform for the first time on Saint Sava’s Day in 2024, directed by Milan Karadžić, represents the adaptation of the fourth quarter of Milovan Vitezović’s grand dramatic epic. This dramatic work is of multiple importance, both as the result of decades of research, talent, and effort by poet and playwright, M. Vitezović, and as his legacy addressing one of the most significant themes in our history, which many directors will be able to revisit in the future and interpret through all available dramatic mediums.  
Our theatre production focuses on the historical figure of Prince Rastko Nemanjić, from his decision to become a monk on Mount Athos until the end of his earthly life. The dramatic tension in every scene arises from the fact that a young man renounced all worldly things to serve God, which consequently allowed him to achieve more for his people and land than anyone else ever did. Witnessing his deep, sincere faith in Christ, Monk Sava laid the foundations of the Serbian state, translated the Nomocanon into the Zakonopravilo, secured the autocephaly of the Serbian Orthodox Church, built endowments, established schools and hospitals - in short, he shaped the identity of our people, which remains the foundation of our existence today. Then he passed away and became a living saint, revered, celebrated, and prayed to before his icon by all Orthodox nations across the globe.
The play “In the Name of the Father and the Son” tells the story of Monk Sava as he walked the earth as an archpastor performing good deeds, while in essence, it speaks of the unimaginable potential of a human being born of unwavering faith - it speaks of Saint Sava.  
Ivana Dimić
Premiere: January 27, 2024