Varnava the New Confessor (Serbian: Варнава Нови Исповедник; 31 January 1914 – 12 November 1964) was the titular bishop of Hvosno and a saint of the Serbian Orthodox Church. His feast is October 30 on the Julian calendar. He is one of the American Saints along with Alexis Toth, Alexander Hotovitzky, Herman of Alaska, and Peter the Aleut.

Saint

Varnava the New Confessor
Bishop, Hierarch, New Confessor
BornVojislav Nastić
31 January 1914
Gary, Indiana, United States
Died12 November 1964(1964-11-12) (aged 50)
Beočin Monastery, SFR Yugoslavia
Canonized15 May 2005, Žitomislić Monastery by Serbian Orthodox Church
FeastOctober 30 (Julian calendar)

Life

edit
 

He was born Vojislav Nastić in Gary, Indiana, on January 31, 1914, into a family of Serbian immigrants. His parents were Atanasije and Zorka Nastić, and the family attended the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, which is now located in Merrillville. Nastić was baptized there, later served as an altar boy, and was first recognized as a prodigy in reciting Serbian traditional epic poetry.[1][2]

While Nastić was still a child, the family returned to their homeland. He attended high school in Sarajevo, graduating in 1933. He continued his education at the University of Belgrade's Faculty of Orthodox Theology, graduating in 1937. After graduating, he taught as a catechist in two high schools in Sarajevo.

In 1940, Nastić took monastic vows in the Mileševa Monastery, receiving the monastic name Varnava (Barnabas). Varnava was ordained hierodeacon by Metropolitan Bishop Petar of Dabar-Bosna. Varnava remained in Sarajevo during World War II.

After the war, he was ordained hieromonk and raised to the rank of protosyncellus by Bishop Nektarije of Zvornik and Tuzla. In its first regular session, the Holy Assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Church elected Varnava the auxiliary bishop to the Serbian Patriarch with the title Bishop of Hvosno, with the responsibility of administering the Diocese of Dabar-Bosnia. On 28 August 1947, he received the episcopal consecration by Patriarch Gavrilo,[3] bishop Nektarije, and bishop Vikentije of Zletovo and Strumica.

References

edit
  1. ^ Glass, Thomas E. (1 January 1974). Crisis in Urban Schools: A Book of Readings for the Beginning Urban Teacher. Ardent Media. p. 34. ISBN 9780842202985.
  2. ^ Dorson, Richard M. (1 January 1970). "Is There a Folk in the City?". The Journal of American Folklore. 83 (328): 185–216. doi:10.2307/539108. JSTOR 539108.
  3. ^ V. Migliorati (1948). "Diversivi polemici e realtà della persecuzione religiosa in Jugoslavia" [Polemic distractions and truth on the religious persecution in Jugoslavia]. La Civiltà Cattolica (in Italian). III. Rome: Società Grafica Romana (So.GRa.RO): 44–46. Archived from the original on 4 July 2019.
edit
  • "September, 2005 issue of Clergy Messenger" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 August 2008. Retrieved 1 May 2007. (329 KiB), the newsletter of the Clergy Brotherhood of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the USA and Canada, with a biography of St. Varnava
  • Communique from the annual Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church for 2005


This article incorporates text from Varnava (Nastic) at OrthodoxWiki which is licensed under the CC-BY-SA and GFDL.