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Archimandrite Our venerable father '''Sebastian Dabovich''' (now St. Sebastian of Jackson and San Francisco) was a prominent Serbian priest in the Russian Mission in America in the 1890s and early 1900s. He founded numerous churches and was the author of several books. He died in Serbia in 1940, and is currently being considered for was [[glorification|glorified]] as a sainton May 29th, 2015. His feast day is commemorated on [[November 30]].

Born John Dabovich (Jovan (JohnDabović) Dabovich in San Francisco, California on [[June 21]], 1863, to Serbian immigrant parents from Sassovae, Serbia, [[Archimandrite]] Sabastian Sebastian grew up with the church in San Francisco where his parents operated a store. After finishing high school he served his [[parish]] as a [[reader]] and teacher.

In 1884, he was assigned to assist at [[Cathedral_of_St._Michael_the_Archangel_(Sitka,_Alaska)|St. Michael's Cathedral in Sitka, [[Alaska]] before he was sent to Russia to prepare for a life as a [[missionary]] [[priest]]. After three years of study at the [[St. Petersburg Theological Academy|St. Petersburg]] and [[Kiev Theological Academy|Kiev Theological Academies]], John was [[tonsure]]d a [[monk]] in 1887 with the name Sabastian Sebastian and [[ordination|ordained]] a [[deacon]]. Following his ordination, Dn. Sabastian Sebastian returned to San Francisco where he served as deacon at the San Francisco [[cathedral]]. He also taught at the pastoral school in San Francisco.

On [[August 16]], 1892, Dn. Sabastian Sebastian was ordained a [[priest]] by [[Bishop]] [[Nicholas (Ziorov) of Warsaw|Nicholas]]. He was soon sent to Minneapolis, Minnesota to replace Fr. [[Alexis of Wilkes-Barre |Alexis Toth]] as the priest of [[St. Mary Cathedral (Minneapolis, Minnesota)|St. Mary's parishChurch]] there. While there he also taught at the Missionary School. After a year, Fr. Sabastian Sebastian returned to San Francisco where he organized [[St. Sava Church (Jackson, California)|the first Serbian Orthodox Church, dedicated to St. Sava]], in Jackson, California. Additionally, Fr. Sabastian Sebastian was also asked by Bishop [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]] to be a member of the [[Orthodox Church in America|North American Mission]] administration. Additionally, he was a legitimate force in helping organize the Orthodox Christians - particularly in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, though his [[missionary]] work brought him as far south as Arizona - into communities that were capable of supporting churches. Some of the places where he did this include Seattle (the future [[St. Spiridon Cathedral (Seattle, Washington)|St. Spiridon Cathedral]]), where he even served as a temporary priest before Fr. [[Ambrose Vretta]]'s arrival in November of 1895, Wilkenson, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and Butte, Montana (the future [[Holy Trinity Church (Butte, Montana)|Holy Trinity Church]]). In 1902, he continued his [[missionary ]] activities, returning to Alaska as [[dean]] of the Sitka deanery. While he was in Alaska, he helped establish [[St. Sava Church (Douglas, Alaska)|St. Sava Church in Douglas]].

As more Serbians emmigrated emigrated to the United States, Abp. Tikhon asked Fr. Sabastian Sebastian to lead a Serbian Mission in the North American [[diocese]]. With his appointment to head the mission, Abp. Tikhon elevated Fr. Sabastian Sebastian to [[archimandrite]] on [[August 15]], 1905. For the next five years ArchArchim. Sabastian Sebastian led the Serbian Mission from its center at the Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Church in Chicago, Illinois, where he was the parish priest.

In 1910, ArchFr. Sabastian Sebastian asked for a release from the Serbian mission so that he could return to [[missionary ]] work. Then in 1913, he joined the faculty of the newly opened [[St. Platon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Tenafly, New Jersey)|St. Platon Seminary]] in Tenafly, New Jersey. Shortly thereafter feeling a call to service the church in his ancestral Serbia, ArchFr. Sabastian Sebastian asked for a release from the American Mission. He went on to serve as a [[chaplain]] in the Serbian army in the Balkan Wars and World War I. Other than for brief visits to the United States in 1915 and 1917, ArchFr. Sabastian Sebastian spent the rest of his life serving the [[Church of Serbia|Church of Yugoslavia]].  Arch. Sabastian reposed in Yugoslavia on [[November 30]], 1940 and was buried at the Monastery of Zicha.

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051115162448/http://www.transfigcathedral.org/faith/corner/Dabovich.pdf Archimandrite Sebastian Dabovich: The First Serbian Orthodox Apostle], by Alexander Vallens (2005) *[http://www.saintspiridon.org/?page_id=21 History of St. Spiridon's Cathedral Seattle]