CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STUDY OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY OF ST. SAVA IN THE FIELD OF OVERSEAS WORK (1888)

Abstract

To block the spread and strengthening of Bulgarian influence in Old Serbia and Macedonia after 1885, the Kingdom of Serbia had to intensify its educational and propaganda work in these areas. This work should not have irritated the suspicious and already rather hostile Turkish authorities, but should have been based on peaceful and legal methods, is it should have been run by a school, a church and a book. All these tasks should have been accomplished as soon as possible, because Serbia was far behind the Bulgarians and Greeks in undertaking cultural and educational activities in Turkey. Some Serbian educational societies and patriotic organizations also played a significant role in spreading the Serbian national idea among the Serbian population in Old Serbia and Macedonia. One of those patriotic associations was the Society of Saint Sava, which was founded in Belgrade at the beginning of the second half of 1886. The main initiator for the founding of this society was Svetomir Nikolajević, a distinguished professor of general history and literature at the Great School in Belgrade. The entire activity of the Society was directed towards the Serbian lands in Turkey, ie Old Serbia and Macedonia, and included: cultural and educational work, the establishment of a school in Belgrade where cadets were educated and publishing. For a relatively short time the Society of St. Sava became an important center for spreading the Serbian national idea and organizing national action in the unliberated Serbian lands under the Turks.