01/08/2012
Sabas - Founding father
Sabas was born in Mutalaska, Cappadocia, in 439AD. He was grown in the Coenobium of Cappadocia for 10 years, then at the age of 18 he came to Jerusalem. He moved to the Judean desert and stayed in the Coenobium of Euthymius for 12 years. At the age of 30 he was granted the permission to live in seclusion, and wandered for 5 years in the desert. Sabas lived about 10 years in a cave near the future location of the monastery. He found this remote site in Kidron creek, with its local spring, a perfect place for the seclusion. Sabas established, at the age of 45, a Laura in Mar Saba (483AD) - a cluster of caves or cells of hermits residing around the central monastery.
Sabas directed the Great Laura of Mar Saba for nearly 50 years. During the years the place was expanded in order to accommodate the hundreds of monks who resided here, and walls were constructed in order to provide protection.
Sabas helped to establish more monasteries in the desert: He and his monks established during this time a total of 13 (!) monasteries in the Judean desert - 7 Lauras and 6 Coenobiums. Several older monasteries came under his management - including the famous Monasteries of Euthemius and Theoktistus. In his times the number of hermits grew from hundreds to thousands. The author of the "Life of Sabbas", Kyrillos of Skythopolis, summarized his lifetime mission as "converted the desert to a city".
His influence reshaped the customs and living habits of the monks. He was the first among the desert hermit fathers who formulated a set of written rules for the conduct and way of life for the desert monks in the Judean desert.
After Sabas
After his death in 532 at the age of 93, Sabas was buried in the yard of the monastery. By now, the Monastery was a small center for monks. This formed a Laura (Lavra) - a term in Orthodox Christianity meaning a cluster of caves or cells of hermits residing around a central monastery.
During the years the place was expanded in order to accommodate the hundreds of monks who resided here, and walls were constructed in order to provide protection.
Hermit in a cave - drawing by Rina
Sabbas - painting in St. Gerassimos
After the Byzantine period
During the Persian invasion (614AD) the monastery was damaged, and restored in 629. After being robbed in 796 its was further fortified in the 9th C AD.
The Crusaders expanded the fortifications in the 12C. When the Crusaders left the Holy Land they transferred Saba's bones to Venice, which were returned here only in 1965.
During the Turkish rule the monastery was raided several times by the local Bedouins. It was also damaged in a 19th C earthquake, but was restored in 1840 by the Russians.
