Jovan Vladimir was buried in Prespa, in the same church in front of which he was martyred. At that time, saints were recognized without any formal rite of
canonization. Vladimir was the first ruler of a Serbian state who was elevated to sainthood. In around 1215—when Krajina was under the rule of Serbian Grand Prince
Stefan Nemanjić—the relics were presumably removed from this church and transported to Dyrrhachium by the troops of
Michael I, the
despot of
Epirus. At that time Despot Michael had briefly captured from Serbia the city of
Skadar, which is only about east of the church. Jovan Vladimir was mentioned as the patron saint of Dyrrhachium in a Greek
liturgical text. In 1368 Dyrrhachium was taken from the
Angevins by
Karlo Thopia, an
Albanian lord. In 1381 he rebuilt, in Byzantine style, a church ruined in an earthquake in the narrow valley of the stream Kusha, a tributary of the
Shkumbin River—near the site of the town of
Elbasan in central Albania (built in the 15th century).
The church was dedicated to Saint Jovan Vladimir, as the inscription which Thopia placed above its south entrance declared in Greek, Latin, and Serbian. The saint's relics were kept in a
reliquary, a wooden casket, which was enclosed in a
shrine, in height, within the church. Serbian scholar
Stojan Novaković theorized that Vladimir was buried near Elbasan immediately after his death. Novaković conjectured that the earthquake which ruined the old church happened during Thopia's rule, and that Thopia reinstated the relics in the rebuilt church. If Vladimir was previously buried in Duklja, Novaković reasoned, he would not be absent, as he was, from Serbian sources written during the reign of the Nemanjić dynasty, who ruled over Duklja (later named Zeta) from 1186 to 1371. Novaković did not consider the idea that the relics might have been removed from Duklja to Dyrrhachium in around 1215. The monastery became the see of the newly founded Archbishopric of Dyrrhachium in the second half of the 18th century. in 1967 the reliquary with the saint's relics was moved to
St Mary's Church in Elbasan. The dilapidated monastery was returned to the Church in the 1990s. The restoration of its church and other buildings was completed in 2005. Since around 1995 the relics have been kept in the Orthodox cathedral of
Tirana, the capital of Albania, and are brought back to the monastery only for the saint's feast day. Each year on the Feast of Saint Jovan Vladimir, a great number of devotees come to the monastery, popularly known as
Shingjon among Albanians. In the morning, the reliquary is placed at the center of the church under a canopy, before being opened. After the morning liturgy has been celebrated, chanting priests carry the reliquary three times around the church, followed by the devotees, who hold lit candles. The reliquary is then placed in front of the church, to be kissed by the believers. The priests give them pieces of cotton that have been kept inside the reliquary since the previous feast. There are numerous stories about people, both Christians and Muslims, who were healed after they prayed before the saint's relics. On the eve of the Feast of Saint Jovan Vladimir, an
all-night vigil is celebrated in the churches dedicated to the saint, as is celebrated in other Orthodox churches on the eves of their patron saints' feasts. The liturgical celebration of Vladimir's feast day begins on the evening of 21 May, because, in the Orthodox Church, the liturgical day is reckoned from one evening to the next. Despite the name of the service, the all-night vigil is usually not held throughout the entire night, and may last only for two hours. In the Church of St Jovan Vladimir near Elbasan, it lasts from 9:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.
Hymns either to Jovan Vladimir or to another saint whose commemoration falls on
22 May, are chanted, on that liturgical day, at set points during
services in all Orthodox churches. Saint Jovan Vladimir is the patron saint of the modern-day town of
Bar in south Montenegro, built at its present location in 1976 about from the site of the old town of Bar, which was destroyed in a war and abandoned in 1878. A religious procession celebrating the saint passes on his feast day through the town's streets with church banners and icons. The procession is usually led by the
Serbian Orthodox Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral. Although Vladimir was only a prince, he is referred to as "king" in the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja. According to Russian scholars Ivan Yastrebov and
Pavel Rovinsky, the cross was originally kept in the
Prečista Krajinska Church, in which Kosara had interred Vladimir. The peak of
Islamization of the Krajina region was reached at the end of the 18th century. After World War II,
Yugoslavia's socialist government discouraged public religious celebrations, and the procession was not held between 1959 and 1984. The procession arrives at the peak before dawn, and at sunrise the morning liturgy begins. After prayers have been offered, the procession goes back to Velji Mikulići, again following the cross. The participants would formerly gather on a flat area from the peak, on Saint Jovan Vladimir The Greek
akolouthia on Saint Jovan Vladimir, containing his hagiography, prayers to him, and hymns to be chanted in church services on his feast day, was printed in Venice in 1690. The book was reprinted with small changes in 1774 and 1858. It was written from oral traditions by the deputy of the Orthodox Archbishop of Ohrid,
Cosmas, who resided at the Monastery of St Jovan Vladimir, near Elbasan. Copies of the book were distributed to other Orthodox churches and individuals. The akolouthia was also published in 1741 in
Moscopole, an
Aromanian center in southeastern Albania, as part of a compilation dedicated to saints popular in that region. A shorter hagiography of the saint, based on his life contained in this akolouthia, was included in the
Synaxarium composed by
Nicodemus the Hagiorite, printed in Venice (1819) and Athens (1868). Cosmas's text was the basis for the
Church Slavonic akolouthias on the saint, which appeared in Venice (1802) and Belgrade (1861). The latter was printed as part of the third edition of
Srbljak, a compendium of akolouthias on Serb saints, published by the Serbian Orthodox Church. In Cosmas's writing, the saint was named "Jovan from Vladimir"; his father was
Nemanja (historically, Grand Prince of Serbia from 1166 to 1196), and his grandfather was
Simeon (Bulgarian Tsar from 893 to 927). He married a daughter of Samuel, the tsar of Bulgaria and
Ohrid. He succeeded his father as emperor of Albania, Illyria, and Dalmatia. After Byzantine Emperor Basil defeated Tsar Samuel, Emperor Jovan defeated Basil. He also fought against the
Bogomil and
Messalian heretics. From his early youth, Jovan Vladimir longed for the Kingdom of God. After he was married, he prayed day and night, and abstained from intercourse with his wife. She was a heretic like her brother, whom she incited to kill Jovan. When the two brothers-in-law rode together, accompanied by soldiers, the heretic suddenly struck Jovan with a sword at a
mountain pass named Derven, but could not cut him. Only when Jovan gave him his own sword was the murderer able to cut off his head. Jovan caught it in the air and rode on to the church he had built near Elbasan. There he put his head down, saying, "Lord Jesus Christ, in your hands I place my spirit," and died; it was AD 899. He was buried in the church, which then became the scene of many miracles. According to Vladimir's life in Church Slavonic, he succeeded his father Petrislav as the ruler of Serbian lands; he ruled from the town of Alba. He was captured and imprisoned by the Bulgarian ruler Samuel. After marrying Samuel's daughter Kosara, he returned to his country. Emperor Basil, having overcome Bulgaria, attacked the Serbian lands, but Vladimir repulsed him. Basil advised the new Bulgarian ruler, Vladislav, to kill Vladimir by trickery. Vladislav invited Vladimir to visit him, as if to discuss the needs of their peoples. When Kosara came to him instead, Vladislav received her with apparent kindness; therefore Vladimir came as well. Vladislav was able to cut off his head only after Vladimir gave him his own sword. The saint then carried his severed head to the church he had built near Alba, and died there; it was AD 1015. He was buried in the church. During Vladislav's siege of Dyrrachium, Vladimir appeared before his murderer when he dined, and slew him while he cried for help. The saint's relics then gushed
myrrh, curing various illnesses. The
kontakion which is contained, among other hymns, in the Church Slavonic akolouthia published as part of
Srbljak, praises the saint: in the first edition of the Greek akolouthia on Saint Jovan Vladimir, by Isabella Piccini (1690) In a Bulgarian liturgical book written in 1211, Vladimir was included in a list of tsars of the First Bulgarian Empire: "To
Boris, . . . Samuel, Gavril Radomir, Vladimir, and Vladislav, ancient Bulgarian tsars, who inherited both the earthly and the heavenly empires,
Memory Eternal." According to
the earliest work of Bulgarian historiography composed in 1762 by
Paisius of Hilendar, Vladimir, also named Vladislav, was a Bulgarian tsar and saint. His father was
Aron, Tsar Samuel's brother. His wife and her brother murdered him because of his pure life and Orthodox faith. Paisius combined Ivan Vladislav and Jovan Vladimir into one character attributed with Vladislav's parentage and Vladimir's sainthood. An important model for the
iconography of Saint Jovan Vladimir is an engraving in the 1690 edition of the Greek akolouthia. It is a work by Venetian engraver Isabella Piccini. A portable icon of the saint was created in 1739 at the
Ardenica Monastery in southwestern Albania. It depicts him seated on a throne, surrounded by twelve panels showing scenes of his life and miracles. Žefarović's frescos in Bođani are regarded as the earliest work showing
Baroque traits in the
Serbian art. Žefarović created in 1742 in Vienna a
copperplate with scenes of the saint's life and miracles. Its printed impressions were disseminated to many Orthodox Christian homes in the Balkans. The same author included him among the rulers and saints whom he illustrated in his
Stemmatographia. A
lithography in the 1858 edition of the Greek akolouthia shows the saint wearing a crown with a double lily wreath, his right foot on a sword. He holds a cross, a sceptre, and an
olive branch in his right hand, while his crowned severed head is in his left hand. He wears an
ermine cloak and a robe with floral designs, adorned with large gems surrounded by pearls. The Greek text beneath the illustration names the saint as Jovan Vladimir, the pious Emperor of all Albania and Bulgaria, the graceful
Wonderworker and
Great Martyr, and true Myrrh-gusher. In his hagiography included in the Synaxarium of Nicodemus the Hagiorite, the saint is referred to as Emperor of the Serbs (τῶν Σέρβων βασιλεύς). Tradition has it that the Monastery of St Naum had a
bell tower named after the saint, in the foundation of which a portion of his relics was placed. In the western fringe of Macedonia, which is now part of Albania, Jovan Vladimir was remembered as a saintly ruler, cut down by his father-in-law, an emperor, who believed the slanderous accusation that he was a womanizer. The enraged emperor, accompanied by soldiers, found Vladimir on a mountain pass named
Qafë Thanë (also known as Derven), on the road between the Macedonian town of
Struga and Elbasan. He struck his son-in-law with a sword, but could not cut him. Only when Vladimir gave him his own sword was the emperor able to cut off his head. Vladimir took his severed head and went towards the site of his future church. There stood an oak, under which he fell after the tree bowed down before him. The saint was interred in the church which was subsequently built at that place and dedicated to him. According to a legend recorded in the Greek hagiography, Jovan Vladimir built the church near Elbasan. Its location, deep in a dense forest, was chosen by God, and an eagle with a shining cross on its head showed it to Vladimir. After the saint was decapitated, he brought his head to the church, and was buried inside. A group of
Franks once stole the casket with his miraculous relics. The casket turned out to be extremely heavy, breaking the backs of the
hinnies on which the Franks carried it. They eventually placed it in the Shkumbin River to take it to sea, but the river flooded, and the casket—radiating light—went back upstream towards the church. The local inhabitants took it out of the water and returned it to the church in a festive procession. A group of thieves stole, on a summer day, horses that belonged to the Monastery of St Jovan Vladimir. When they came to the nearby stream of Kusha to take the horses across, it appeared to them like an enormous river. They moved away from it in fear, but when they looked back from a distance, the stream appeared small. As they approached it again, the Kusha again became huge and impassable. After several such attempts to cross the stream, the thieves realized that this was a miracle of the saint, so they released the monastery's horses and ran away in horror. In the 19th century, a possible legend about Prince Vladimir was recorded by
Branislav Nušić in the city of
Korçë, in southeastern Albania. Ruins on a hilltop above Korçë were said to be the remnants of the court of a Latin (Catholic) king, whose kingdom neighbored the state of an Orthodox emperor. The king asked for the hand of the emperor's daughter, who agreed to become the king's wife only if he constructed an Orthodox church. The king did so, and she married him, but on the first night of their marriage, she killed him. She then became a nun, and the king's body was taken somewhere—he was not buried near his court.
Macedonian Slavs inhabiting Saint Achillius Island in the
Small Prespa Lake in Greece told of an emperor named Mirče. He lived on their island, where he was killed by a cousin of his out of jealousy, and his body was taken via Ohrid to Albania. ==Notes==