Life
Saint Milica the Serbian was born around 1335 into a noble Serbian family descended from the Nemanjić dynasty through the female line, from the lineage of Prince Vukan, son of Stefan Nemanja. She married the Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, a pious and righteous man who reunited the fractured Serbian nobility and restored inner peace to Serbia. The marriage of Milica and Lazar was filled with deep love and Christian life; they had several sons and daughters, the most prominent being Stefan the Tall and Vuk Lazarević, as well as daughters who became wives of powerful feudal lords.
Her life was shattered by the Battle of Kosovo on June 15 (28), 1389. Prince Lazar fell on the Field of Kosovo heroically, together with the flower of the Serbian chivalric nobility, defending Christian Serbia from the Ottoman conquerors. Milica was thus left a widow with young children, and the land was left without a ruler. In this critical danger for the Serbian people, Princess Milica showed exceptional steadfastness and wisdom: she took the regency, governing Serbia until her son Stefan came of age. Through peaceful means she sought an agreement with the Porte that would preserve Serbian feudal autonomy, sacrificing much in the process — but preserving the people from total destruction.
After the stabilization of affairs, Milica devoted herself entirely to the monastic life. She received the monastic tonsure under the name Jevgenija, and then the great schema under the name Evfrosinija. With all her heart she gave herself to prayer, ascetic life, and church-building. Her most significant founding achievement was the construction of the monastery of Ljubostinja in Šumadija, which became the center of Serbian women’s monasticism. There Milica spent the last years of her earthly life, surrounded by nuns for whom she was both mother and model.
As a founder, Milica restored and equipped several churches and monasteries damaged in the wars. She wrote letters to Serbian nobles and Ottoman officials, mediating in conflicts and assisting prisoners. Her humanity and almsgiving were spoken of throughout the Balkans — every poor man and every refugee family could count on her help. The nun Jevgenija reposed on November 11 (24), 1405, in the monastery of Ljubostinja. Following her canonization the Church fixed her feast on July 19 — close to the memory of Kosovo and of her righteous husband Lazar, whose commemoration is also celebrated at that time.
Saint Milica is a model of the Christian woman and mother who, even when faced with the deepest earthly grief — the loss of a husband and danger to children and people — does not lose faith or goodness, but transforms suffering into a strength for charity and prayer.
Tropar (Tone 5)
Venerable Mother Milica, princess in heart and nun in soul, thou who didst transform the sorrow of Kosovo into prayer and didst give the monastery of Ljubostinja as a gift to Christ — beseech God to guard the Serbian land from affliction and to grant peace to the souls of the faithful.
Kontakion (Tone 4)
Blessed widow and pure nun, O Milica of Serbia, who didst wisely guard the people and the Church in difficult times — cease not to intercede with Christ God for thy people and for all who turn to thee with trust.