Lineage and Marriage
Militsa was the daughter of Prince Vratko Nemanjić, known in Serbian epic poetry as 'Jug Bogdan.' Through him she descended from Vukan Nemanjić, the eldest son of Stefan Nemanja and Grand Prince of Serbia, placing her in a collateral but elder branch of the ruling Nemanjić dynasty. Her brother was župan Nikola, buried in 1379 at the Monastery of St. Nicholas in Kuršumlija.
She married Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, with whom she had eight children: three sons (Dobrovoj, who died in infancy; Stefan Lazarević, later Serbian Despot; and Vuk Lazarević) and five daughters (Jelena, Mara, Dragana, Teodora, and Olivera). Her daughters' marriages bound the family to neighboring powers: Mara wed Vuk Branković, Dragana married Emperor Ivan Shishman of Bulgaria, and Olivera was given to the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I.
Regency and Statecraft
Prince Lazar was killed on June 15, 1389, at the Battle of Kosovo, fought to defend the Church and Serbian land against the advancing Ottoman forces. The OCA synaxarion records that Militsa lived through 'the terrible times of the Turkish Yoke.'
After Lazar's death, Militsa served as regent and co-ruler for her young son Stefan from 1389 to 1393. She faced an attack by Hungarian forces under Sigismund in November 1389, pressure from the powerful nobleman Vuk Branković, and renewed Ottoman threats on the border in the summer of 1390, ultimately accepting Ottoman suzerainty in order to preserve the realm.
Around 1390 she founded the monastery of Ljubostinja. She also conducted diplomacy in person on her son's behalf: in 1398/99 she traveled to Sultan Bayezid I's court at Edirne, accompanied by the nun Euphemia, to plead for Stefan, and the two were received generously; in 1403 she again went to the sultan at Serres to advocate for him.
Sources record that Militsa was also a writer. She issued 'A Mother's Prayer' with her sons at Dečani monastery in 1397, and composed 'My Widowhood's Bridegroom,' a mourning poem for her husband.
Monastic Life and Repose
When Stefan reached adulthood around 1393, Militsa took monastic vows and withdrew to her foundation at Ljubostinja, where she eventually served as abbess. The OCA synaxarion records that she had received the baptismal name Euphrosynē, and she is also remembered under the monastic name Euphrosyne; other historical accounts record the monastic name Eugenia (Jevgenija) and later Euphrosine (Jefrosina).
She died on November 11, 1405, and was buried at the Ljubostinja monastery. Her death was a significant loss to the diplomacy of the Serbian Despotate.
