Saint SABAS, Abbé en
Palestine (+ 531)
Né en Cappadoce, il entra
tout jeune dans un monastère de cette région. A 18 ans, le voilà parti pour
Jérusalem. Il rêve de solitude et pour cela s'en va rejoindre saint Euthyme qui
l'envoie faire un stage de vie communautaire à la laure de saint Théoctiste(*)
près de la Mer Morte: "La vie solitaire n'est pas faite pour cette
jeunesse." pense saint Euthyme. Dix ans durant, Sabas apprend à être
moine. Puis il s'établit dans une grotte, seul devant Dieu durant la semaine,
avec ses frères pour la liturgie du dimanche. Mais de nombreux moines le
rejoignent car "la sainteté attire les disciples comme le miel attire les
ours. " Il doit fonder la Grande Laure. A 55 ans, le Patriarche de
Jérusalem le nomme archimandrite des ermites de Palestine. Les controverses théologiques
divisent ses moines. Lui-même soutient le concile de Chalcédoine. Il se fait le
promoteur d'un monachisme modéré, obtient de l'empereur l'abolition des impôts
sur les artisans et fait indemniser les pauvres paysans. Ses reliques qui, lors
des invasions arabes, avaient été conduites à Venise, ont été rendues par Paul
VI aux moines melkites du couvent de Mar Saba (saint Sabas) en 1965.
(*) compagnon d'ascèse de
Saint Euthyme le Grand (+467) dont on fait mémoire le 3 septembre au calendrier
orthodoxe.
Près de Jérusalem, en
532, saint Sabas, abbé. Né en Cappadoce, il s’en vint au désert de Juda, où il
instaura une nouvelle forme de vie érémitique en sept monastères appelés
laures, qui regroupaient des solitaires sous l’autorité d’un supérieur ; il passa
de longues années dans la grande laure, qui depuis a porté son nom, brillant
par son exemple et l’éclat de sa sainteté et combattant avec vigueur pour la
foi de Chalcédoine.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/225/Saint-Sabas.html
Saint Sabas
Abbé
(439-531)
Saint Sabas, né près de
Césarée, en Cappadoce, de parents nobles et pieux, fut mis, à l'âge de cinq
ans, sous la tutelle d'un oncle fort méchant; il s'enfuit et se réfugia dans un
couvent. C'était la Providence qui avait conduit ses pas; il embrassa
généreusement toutes les saintes rigueurs de la vie monastique. Dix ans plus
tard, le désir de visiter les Lieux sanctifiés par la vie mortelle du Sauveur
le conduisit à Jérusalem. Ayant fait son pèlerinage, il résolut de se fixer au
milieu des célèbres anachorètes de la Palestine et vécut jusqu'à l'âge de
trente ans sous la direction du saint solitaire Théoctiste. Mais il lui
semblait que Dieu demandait de lui davantage, et, croyant n'avoir encore rien
fait, il s'enfonça dans la solitude voisine pour y vivre avec Dieu seul.
Renfermé dans une petite
grotte, il y passait cinq jours de la semaine sans prendre aucune nourriture,
uniquement appliqué à la prière, au chant des psaumes et au travail manuel.
Chaque samedi, il apportait au monastère qu'il avait habité tous les paniers
qu'il avait tressés, passait le dimanche avec ses frères et revenait à son
ermitage. Plus tard, il se retira sur les bords du Jourdain, où le démon le
tourmenta par des spectres horribles, des hurlements affreux, des menaces, des
coups, et surtout des apparitions séduisantes. Le Saint, armé de la prière,
remporta autant de victoires qu'il eut à livrer de combats, jusqu'à décourager
son redoutable ennemi.
Sabas, toujours poussé
par le désir d'une solitude de plus en plus profonde, se retira sur des rochers
abrupts; il y établit, pour monter et pour descendre, un gros câble à noeuds
qui lui servait de rampe. Il lui fallait aller chercher de l'eau à deux lieues
de là et la monter sur ses épaules. Sa nourriture consistait uniquement en
racines sauvages; mais, en revanche Dieu nourrissait son âme de l'abondance de
Ses consolations.
Sabas fut découvert par
la vue de la corde qui pendait du rocher, et dès lors sa solitude se changea en
affluence énorme de pèlerins qui venaient lui demander communication des biens
célestes dont il était rempli. Beaucoup demeuraient ses disciples, et il groupa
dans la vallée un grand nombre de petites cellules pour les recevoir. De grands
Saints, attirés par la renommée de ses vertus, vinrent eux-mêmes le visiter. Il
s'arrachait parfois à sa solitude, quand la gloire de Dieu le demandait, et
plusieurs fois la cour de Constantinople fut édifiée de ses vertus.
Abbé L. Jaud, Vie
des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, Tours, Mame, 1950
SOURCE : http://magnificat.ca/cal/fr/saints/saint_sabas.html
Фреска церкви Рождества Христова в Великом Новгороде. XIV век.
Saint SABBAS
Fondateur du monastère de la Grande Laure à Jérusalem, mort en 532. Culte
introduit au VIIème siècle à Rome par les moines d’ordre qu’il avait fondé,
chassés par les musulmans : ils s’établirent sur l’Aventin et édifièrent un
monastère (Cella Nova) dont l’église fut consacrée à St Sabbas. Sa fête fut
ensuite introduite au calendrier au XIIème siècle.
La secrète et la
postcommunion du Commun des Abbés,Os iusti, sont modifiées pour éviter
l’allitération latine : « Sabbas, abbas », Sabbas, abbé.
Dom Guéranger, l’Année
Liturgique
L’Église Romaine se borne
aujourd’hui à l’Office de la Férié ; mais elle y joint la Commémoration de
saint Sabbas, Abbé de la fameuse Laure de Palestine, qui subsiste encore aujourd’hui
sous son nom. Ce Saint, qui mourut en 533, est le seul personnage de l’Ordre
monastique dont l’Église fasse mention en ses Offices dans tout le cours de
l’Avent ; on pourrait même dire que parmi les simples Confesseurs, saint Sabbas
est le seul dont on lise le nom au Calendrier liturgique en cette partie de
l’année, puisque le glorieux titre d’Apôtre des Indes semble mettre saint
François Xavier dans une classe à part. Nous devons voir en ceci l’intention de
la divine Providence qui, pour produire une plus salutaire impression sur le
peuple chrétien, s’est appliquée à choisir, d’une manière caractéristique, les
Saints qui devaient être proposés à notre imitation dans ces jours de
préparation à la venue du Sauveur. Nous y trouvons des Apôtres, des Pontifes,
des Docteurs, des Vierges, glorieux cortège du Christ Dieu, Roi et Époux ; la
simple Confession n’y est représentée que par un seul homme , par l’Anachorète
et Cénobite Sabbas, personnage qui, du moins, par sa profession monastique, se
rattache à Élie et aux autres solitaires de l’ancienne Alliance, dont la chaîne
mystique vient aboutir à Jean le Précurseur. Honorons donc ce grand Abbé, pour
lequel l’Église grecque professe une vénération filiale, et sous l’invocation
duquel Rome a place une de ses Églises ; et appuyons-nous de son suffrage
auprès de Dieu.
Glorieux Sabbas, nomme de
désirs, qui, dans l’attente de Celui qui a dit à ses serviteurs de veiller
jusqu’à sa venue, vous êtes retiré au désert, de peur que les bruits du monde
ne vinssent vous distraire de vos espérances, ayez pitié de nous qui, au milieu
du siècle et livrés à toutes ses préoccupations, avons cependant reçu, comme
vous, l’avertissement de nous tenir prêts pour l’arrivée de Celui que vous
aimiez comme Sauveur, et que vous craigniez comme Juge. Priez, afin que soyons
dignes d’aller au-devant de lui, quand il va paraître. Souvenez-vous aussi de
l’État monastique, dont vous êtes l’un des principaux ornements ; relevez ses
ruines au milieu de nous suscitez des hommes de prière et de foi comme aux
anciens jours ; que votre esprit se repose sur eux, et qu’ainsi l’Église, veuve
d’une partie de sa gloire, la recouvre par votre intercession.
Bhx Cardinal
Schuster, Liber Sacramentorum
Saint Sabbas, abbé.
Station au monastère de
Cella Nova.
Le culte de ce célèbre
fondateur de la laure palestinienne qui porte encore son nom (+ 532) fut
introduit à Rome au VIIe siècle, par quelques-uns de ses moines qui vinrent se
réfugier dans la Ville éternelle après que les Arabes se furent rendus maîtres
de Jérusalem. Sous le nom de Cella Nova ces moines érigèrent donc un monastère
sur le petit Aventin, là où, autrefois, Silvie, mère de saint Grégoire le
Grand, avait consolé par les exercices de l’ascèse les dernières années de son
veuvage. C’est ainsi que le culte de saint Sabbas pénétra dans la liturgie
romaine, jusqu’à devenir très célèbre au moyen âge.
En effet, quand, au Xe
siècle, l’abbaye de Saint-Sabbas fut au nombre des plus puissantes et des plus
fameuses de la Ville, le nom de son Saint Titulaire fut inscrit jusque dans les
brèves laudes ou litanies qu’on avait l’habitude de réciter dans les occasions
les plus solennelles, c’est-à-dire quand le Souverain Pontife célébrait le
divin Sacrifice et était couronné du regnum.
Il y a quelques années,
des fouilles pratiquées dans la basilique aventine de Saint-Sabbas ont mis au
jour l’abside de l’église primitive, plusieurs peintures d’inspiration
biblique, bon nombre de tombeaux rappelant les premiers habitants grecs du
sanctuaire, ceux précisément chez qui trouva au VIIe siècle une gracieuse
hospitalité l’évêque saint Grégoire d’Agrigente comme nous le narre son
contemporain Léonce.
En Occident, la dévotion
envers saint Sabbas demeura à peu près localisée à Rome ; les latins n’ont
jamais attribué beaucoup d’importance à cette grande figure du monachisme, à
qui pourtant les Orientaux donnent les titres de « plein de l’Esprit de Dieu, le
sanctifié, l’habitant de la Cité sainte, l’étoile du désert, le patriarche des
moines ». Sa vie, riche en mérites et en œuvres insignes pour la paix de
l’Église, alors déchirée par les hérésies, fut écrite par Cyrille de
Scythopolis.
La messe de saint Sabbas
est commune à tous les saints abbés, Os iusti.
Saint Sabbas se distingua
par un grand amour de l’orthodoxie et un grand zèle pour faire accepter par
toutes les églises les définitions dogmatiques du concile de Chalcédoine.
La première condition pour
faire de sérieux progrès dans la voie de la sainteté, c’est de professer une
parfaite orthodoxie, et le moyen le plus sûr pour éviter les écueils qu’on
rencontre facilement sur le chemin du paradis, c’est ce que saint Ignace
définissait dans ses exercices : Sentire cum Ecclesia, c’est-à-dire être
pénétré du même esprit qui anime l’Église catholique.
Dom Pius Parsch, le Guide
dans l’année liturgique
Ce n’est pas une fête
proprement dite, on fait simplement mémoire du saint à la messe de l’Avent.
Jour de mort : 5 décembre
532. Tombeau : à Venise. A Rome, une antique église lui est dédiée sur
l’Aventin, elle appartient au Collège Germanique. Image : On le représente en
Abbé, avec une pomme à la main. Ayant été un jour tenté de manger une pomme, en
dehors des repas de règle, il fit vœu de ne plus manger de pommes. Sa vie : Le
martyrologe dit : « A Mutala en Cappadoce, saint Sabbas abbé ; en Palestine, il
fut, par la sainteté de sa vie, d’une grande édification, il combattit sans
relâche pour la foi orthodoxe contre les adversaires du concile de Chalcédoine.
»
A Jérusalem il bâtit un
célèbre « Laura » (c’est ainsi que les orientaux appellent les monastères) et
ce monastère porta son nom. Quand, plus tard, les Arabes s’emparèrent de la
ville, les moines s’enfuirent à Rome et y construisirent un monastère. C’est
ainsi que le culte de Saint-Sabbas se répandit à Rome. Dans l’Église d’Orient
le saint est très honoré. On le désigne par ces titres : « Le porteur de Dieu,
le saint, l’habitant de la ville sainte, l’étoile du désert, le patriarche des
moines. » Sa vie a été écrite par saint Cyrille de Scythopolis.
Pratique : Durant
l’Avent, spécialement, nous devons nous imposer de petites mortifications, c’en
sera une de ne rien manger entre les repas. En nous dominant ainsi, nous
fortifions notre volonté et nous nous préparons à surmonter les grandes
tentations. Quand on célèbre la messe de Saint-Sabbas, on prend la messe du
commun des Abbés Os iusti.
SOURCE : http://www.introibo.fr/05-12-St-Sabbas-abbe
Свети Антоний и Свети Сава от църквата „Свети Димитър“ в Тушин, Егейска Македония, Гърция.
Saint Sabas le Consacré (439-533)
abbé en Palestine
Sabas, aujourd'hui
citoyen de la métropole céleste, eut pour patrie, en Cappadoce, le village de
Moutalaska, dépendant de la métropole de Césars. Il eut des parents chrétiens
et fort bien nés, nommés Jean et Sophie;
Quelque temps ayant
passé..., il entra au monastère de Flavianai, à vingt stades du village de
Moutalaska ; on lui enseigna dans tout le détail la discipline monastique, et
il apprit par cœur le Psautier.
Alors qu'il passait sa
dixième année dans ce cénobe (de Palestine)..., l'abbé Longin lui permit de
vivre en solitaire les cinq jours de la semaine dans la grotte susmentionnée.
Une fois reçue la permission tant désirée, notre père Sabas resta cinq ais
(469-474) mener ce genre de vie. Le soir du dimanche, il sortait du monastère,
emportant pour son ouvrage de la semaine des feuilles de palmiers ; il passait
les cinq jours sans prendre absolument aucune nourriture, et, le samedi, de bon
malin, il arrivait au cénobe apportant son travail manuel des cinq jours,
cinquante couffins achevés.
Il vécut seul en ce ravin
durant cinq ans Il y menait la vie d'Ermite, conversant avec Dieu... Et ainsi,
en la quarante-cinquième année de son âge (483), il se voit confier par Dieu la
direction d'autres âmes., Il commença donc à accueillir tous ceux qui venaient
à lui. Beaucoup des anachorètes dispersés ça et là.., se joignaient à lui...
À chacun de ceux qui
venaient à lui, il procurait un lieu commode avec une petite cellule et une
grotte. Ainsi, par la grâce de Dieu, sa communauté s'éleva au nombre de soixante-dix
moines, tous inspirés de Dieu. Tout d'abord, sur la colline qui est l'extrémité
septentrionale du ravin, il bâtit une tour, voulant se saisir du lieu, qui ait
encore inoccupé.
Puis il établit les
premiers fondements de la Laure.
À mi-hauteur du ravin, il
édifia un petit oratoire où il bâtit un autel consacré... Il n'avait pas
accepté lui-même de recevoir les ordres, car il était extrêmement doux et
vraiment humble, imitant en cela Christ le vrai Dieu,
Ayant fait venir le
bienheureux Sabas, [le patriarche Salluste] l'ordonna prêtre… Prenant avec lui
le bienheureux Sabas et les autres moines, il descendit à la laure en compagnie
du stavrophylaque Kyrikos. Il fit la dédicace de l'église créée par Dieu, et,
dans l'abside créée par Dieu, bâtit un autel consacré après avoir déposé sous
celui-ci beaucoup de reliques de saints et victorieux martyrs.
Cela se fit le 12
décembre de la quatorzième indiction, en la cinquante-troisième année de la vie
du bienheureux Sabas ; en cette môme année, l'empereur Zénon étant mort,
Anastase reçut en succession le trône impérial.
Extraits de la "Vie
de Sabas" par Cyrille de Stavropolis
SOURCE : http://crypte.fr/synaxaire/sabaslesanctifie.html
SAINT SABAS
SAINT SABAS, ou Sabbas (
Savva, Sava dans les langues slaves, Saba dans les langues latines ) est un
saint des Eglises d' Orient et de l' Eglise catholique. Fêté le 5 décembre.
Saint Sabas naquît vers
443 dans une famille chrétienne grecque d'Asie Mineure en
Cappadoce qui le fit étudier au monastère Sainte-Flaviane près de Césarée
de Cappadoce ( aujourd' hui devenue Kayseri ville turque d' Asie Mineure).
Très tôt il eut la vocation
monastique, malgré la tradition militaire de sa famille. A 17 ans, il obtint la
bénédiction de son supérieur pour accomplir un pélerinage en Terre Sainte.
Il y fréquenta des moines ermites ( anachorètes) qui vivaient dans des grottes
ou dans le désert, comme Saint Jean-Baptiste. Il fit la connaissance du vieux
moine Saint Euthyme le Grand qui convertissait beaucoup d' Arabes nomades et
avait été le conseiller spirituel de l' impératrice Eudoxie, épouse de l'
empereur byzantin Théodose II.
Mais dans un premier
temps, le vieux moine qui n'avait pas l' habitude de recevoir de jeunes
moines le recommanda à un autre père, Saint Théoctiste qui se chargea de son
instruction et l' introduisit dans une vie plus érémitique. Ensuite il revint
trouver Saint Euthyme, et ils parcoururent la région du Jourdain et de la Mer
Morte. Il recueillit son dernier souffle en 473 et s'ensuivirent plusieurs
années de solitude et de contemplation dans les grottes du désert.
Finalement s' agrégèrent
à lui des ermites qui ne se rassemblaient que lors des vigiles et de la
liturgie du dimanche, et pour prier dans une laure (monastère). Les
moines expérimentés vivaient aux alentours de la laure, tandis que les plus
jeunes menaient une vie plus communautaire selon la règle de Saint Basile.
Petit à petit Saint Sabas
organisa la laure où il fit construire une église et structurer le noviciat,
tandis que les plus jeunes moines qui n'avaient pas l'âge adulte étaient
envoyés à un autre abbé Saint Théodose.
En 492 Sabas, qui avait
été rejoint par de nombreux moines, reçut l'ordination sacerdotale et le
patriarche Salluste de Jérusalem le choisit pour remettre de l'ordre dans
le monachisme de cette époque. Il fut nommé archimandrite (abbé)
exarque de tous les anachorètes de Palestine, tandis que son ami Saint
Théodose recevait la responsabilité des moines cénobites ( communautaires).
L'opposition à Saint
Sabas fut sévère, car l'archimandrite bousculait les habitudes des plus anciens
et recommandait plus d' étude et de discipline. Certains moines eurent raison
de lui et il dut partir fonder une nouvelle laure près du lac de Tibériade.
Sur le plan doctrinal,
Saint Sabas défendit le CONCILE DE CHALCEDOINE qui avait eu lieu en 451 et qui
définissait notamment la personne du Christ et ses deux natures divine et
humaine. Au contraire le monophysisme surtout développé en Asie Mineure ( dans
l' ancienne Arménie) en Cilicie et en certains endroits d'
Egypte rencontrait les faveurs de beaucoup, et de l' empereur byzantin
Anastase en particulier. Saint Sabas dut se rendre à Constantinople pour le
faire renoncer à son hérésie et ...car un saint est souvent réaliste, lui
demander d' alléger les impôts des Palestiniens !
Il revint au monastère de
la vallée du Cédron où il vécut très âgé au milieu des chrétiens de Palestine
et mourut en 532.
Ce monastère de
Saint-Sabas ou Mar Saba* connut jusqu' à nos jours tribulations et
dévastations. Il se situe en Cisjordanie, aujourd'hui administrée par l' Etat
d'Israël, toujours entouré de vastes murs donnant sur des grottes vides,
car le monastère est devenu depuis longtemps cénobitique. A ses pieds les
ruines d' un palais d' Hérode dresse ses colonnes, et au loin Bethléem se
profile avec ses minarets et ses églises...
A l' intérieur des murs
du monastère, la liturgie byzantine en langue grecque continue de se déployer
depuis 1600 ans, là où vécut Saint Jean Damascène deux siècles plus tard
au temps des invasions qui ne cessèrent jamais alentours !
liens :
http://ut-pupillam-oculi.over-blog.com/article-5210533.html
http://ut-pupillam-oculi.over-blog.com/article-4776022.html
http://ut-pupillam-oculi.over-blog.com/article-5323738.html
*Le monastère connut d'
importantes restaurations en 1840 commandées par l' empereur Nicolas Ier de
Russie. En 1900, il comptait une cinquantaine de moines, aujourd' hui ils sont
une quinzaine. Le monastère est fréquemment visité par les pélerins ( en
particulier les jeunes couples ) qui viennent prier Saint Sabas dont le
corps est exposé dans une châsse dans la petite chapelle centrale.
En 645 un groupe de
moines de Mar Saba fuyant les Arabes se réfugia à Rome, où ils fondèrent
le monastère grec de Saint-Sabas ( titulaire actuel le cardinal Medina ) ou
Cellae Novae en référence aux cellules des ermites du monastère de Mar
Saba. Ses moines jouèrent un rôle diplomatique important en représentant
le pape lors de délégations à Constantinople. Ensuite le monastère passa aux
bénédictins. L' église reconstruite au Xème et au XIIIème siècles conserve
des reliques du saint dans la crypte. Elle est confiée aux Jésuites.
SOURCE : https://ut-pupillam-oculi.over-blog.com/article-4787961.html
.jpg)
Константинополь. 985 г. Миниатюра Минология Василия II. Ватиканская библиотека. Рим.
Also
known as
Sabbas the Sanctified
Sabbas the Great
Sabas….
Sava….
Profile
Spiritual student
of Saint Euthymius
the Great at age 20. Anchorite from
age 30, living in a cave, devoting himself to prayer and manual
labor. He wove ten
willow baskets each day. On Saturday he would take them to the local monastery,
led by Saint Euthymius,
and trade them for a week’s food, and a week’s worth of willow wands for more baskets.
Took over leadership of the monks upon
the death of Saint Euthymius.
Co-superior with Saint Theodosius
over 1,000 monks and hermits in
the region.
Sabbas was a simple man
with little education,
but with a firm belief in the spiritual benefits of simple living. The
combination of his lack of education and
his severe austerities caused some of his charges to rebel. Sabbas tired of the
squabbling, and he missed his time in prayer,
so he fled to TransJordania. There he found a cave inhabited by a lion;
the lion moved
on, finding a new home, and giving the cave to the holy man. A distorted
version of this tale reached the rebellious monks;
they seized on it, reported to the patriarch that
Sabbas had been killed by a lion,
and requested a new leader be appointed. As this message was being formally
presented to the patriarch,
Sabbas walked into the room. This led to a confrontation during which the
complaints of the monks were
aired. However, the patriach took Sabbas’s side, and the two restored order and
discipline to the lives of the anchorites.
Sabbas led a peaceful
uprising of 10,000 monks who
demanded the end of the persecutions of Palestinian bishops of
Anastatius I.
At age 90, Sabbas travelled to Constantinople where
he successfully pled for clemency from Justinian for Samarians who
were in revolt.
Born
439 at
Motalala, Cappadocia
532 of
natural causes
relics enshrined in Venice, Italy
man holding the rule of
his monastery in his hand
man seated at the edge of
a cliff
man praying in
a cave with
a lion nearby
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Francis
Xavier Weninger
Roman
Martyrology, 1914 edition
The
Liturgical Year, by Father Prosper
Gueranger
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
images
video
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
MLA
Citation
“Saint Sabbas of Mar
Saba“. CatholicSaints.Info. 15 May 2022. Web. 6 January 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-sabbas-of-mar-saba/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-sabbas-of-mar-saba/
Icons "Sabbas the Sanctified", "Repentance of Peter". Vladimir, end of XII - begin of XIII c.
SAINT SABAS
Patriarchal Abbot in
Palestine
(439-531)
Saint Sabas, one of the
most renowned patriarchs of the monks of Palestine, was born in the year 439,
near Caesarea. At the age of fifteen, in the absence of his parents, he
suffered under the conduct of an uncle, and weary of the world’s problems
decided to forsake the world and enter a monastery not far from his family
home. After he had spent ten years in religious life, his two uncles and his
parents attempted to persuade him to leave the monastery to which he had
migrated in Palestine. He replied: “Do you want me to be a deserter, leaving
God after placing myself in His service? If those who abandon the militia of
earthly kings are severely punished, what chastisement would I not deserve if I
abandoned that of the King of heaven?”
When he was thirty years
old, desiring greater solitude, he began to live an angelic life so far above
nature that he seemed no longer to have a body. The young sage, as he was
called by Saint Euthymius, Abbot of a nearby monastery, dwelt in a cavern on a
mountain near Jerusalem, where he prayed, sang Psalms and wove baskets of palm
branches. He was forty-five years old when he began to direct those who came to
live as hermits, as he did, and he gave each of them a place to build a cell;
soon this was the largest monastery of Palestine. He left the region when
certain agitators complained of him, for he considered himself incapable of
maintaining good discipline. The Patriarch of Jerusalem, Sallustus, did not
easily credit the complaints, and instead ordained Sabas a priest, that he
might say Mass for his disciples — for they had been displeased by his lack of
desire for that honor. He was at that time fifty-three years old. The Patriarch
presented him to them as their father, whom they should obey and honor, and
made him Superior of all the Palestine monasteries. But several monks remained
obstinate, and Saint Sabas again went elsewhere, to a cavern near Scythopolis.
As the years passed, he
was in charge of seven monasteries; but his influence was not limited to
Palestine. The heresies afflicting religion were being sustained by the emperor
of Constantinople, who had exiled the Catholic Patriarch of that city, Elias.
Saint Sabas converted the one who had replaced Elias, and wrote to the emperor
that he should cease to persecute the Church of Jerusalem, and to impose taxes
on the cities of Palestine which they were unable to pay. In effect, the people
were reduced to extreme misery. The emperor died soon afterwards, and the pious
Justin replaced him. Justin restored the true faith by an edict and recalled
the exiles, re-establishing the exiled prelates in their sees.
When Saint Sabas was
ninety-one years old, he made the long journey to Constantinople to ask
Justinian, successor to Justin, not to act with severity against the province
of Palestine, where a revolt had occurred by the non-submission of a group of
Samaritans. The emperor honored him highly and wished to endow his monasteries
with wealth, but the holy Patriarch asked him to use the riches he was offering
to build a hospice for pilgrims in Jerusalem, to decorate the unfinished Church
of the Blessed Virgin, to build a fortress where the monks could take refuge
when barbarians invaded the land, and finally, to re-establish preaching of the
true Faith, by edicts proscribing the various errors being propagated. The holy
Abbot lived to be ninety-two years old, and died in 531, in the arms of the
monks of his first monastery.
Source: Les Petits
Bollandistes. Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral:
Paris, 1882), Vol. 14.
SOURCE : http://www.magnificat.ca/cal/engl/12-05.htm
Article
(Saint) Abbot (December 5)
(6th
century) A Cappadocian by birth who became one of the most famous of
the Palestinian monks,
in whose discipline he established a much-needed Reform. He himself was
remarkable for his austerity of life and for scrupulous exactitude in the
observance of his monastic Rule.
In various journeys to Constantinople he
rendered great service to the Eastern Church, then much troubled by the
Eutychian heretics.
He died A.D. 532,
at the age of ninety-four.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Sabbas”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info.
6 December 2016. Web. 6 January 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-sabbas/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-sabbas/
New Catholic
Dictionary – Saint Sabbas
Article
Sometimes spelled Sabas.
Confessor of the faith; abbot. Born in 439 at Mutalaska, Cappadocia; died in
532 at Laura Mar Saba, near Jerusalem. At the age of eight he entered a
Basilian monastery. In 456 he went to Jerusalem, and for five years lived in a
cave under the spiritual guidance of Saint Euthymius. In 483 he founded the
Laura Mar Saba, was ordained in 491, and in 494 was made archimandrite of all
the monasteries in Palestine. He was active in opposing Origen and the Monophysites.
A basilica and monastery on the Aventine were named in his honor. Represented
holding the rule of his monastery in his hand, seated on the edge of a
precipice, or praying in a cavern, nearby a lion. Relics in Venice. Feast,
Roman Calendar, 5
December.
MLA
Citation
“Saint Sabbas”. New Catholic Dictionary. CatholicSaints.Info.
9 August 2013. Web. 6 January 2026. <https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-sabbas/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-sabbas/
St. Sabas
Feastday: December 5
Birth: 439
Death: 532
Sabas was born at
Mutalaska, Cappadocia, near Caesarea. He was the son of an army officer there
who when assigned to Alexandria, left him in the care of an uncle. Mistreated
by his uncle's wife, Sabas ran away to another uncle, though he was only eight.
When the two uncles became involved in a lawsuit over his estate, he again ran
away, this time to
a monastery near Mutalaska. In time the
uncles were reconciled and wanted him to marry, but he remained in the
monastery. In 456, he went to Jerusalem and
there entered a monastery under St. Theoctistus. When he was thirty, he became
a hermit under the guidance of St. Euthymius, and after Euthymius' death, spent
four years alone in the desert near
Jericho. Despite his desire for solitude, he attracted disciples, organized
them into a laura in
483, and when his one hundred fifty monks asked for a priest and
despite his opposition to monks being ordained, he was obliged to accept
ordination by Patriarch Sallust
of Jerusalem in
491. He attracted disciples from Egypt and
Armenia, allowed them a liturgy in
their own tongue, and built several hospitals and
another monastery near Jericho. He was appointed archimandrite of
all hermits in
Palestine who lived in separate cells, but his custom of going off by himself
during Lent caused
dissension in the monastery, and sixty of his monks left to revive a ruined
monastery at Thecuna. He bore them no illwill and aided them with food and
supplies. In 511, he was one of a delegation of
abbots sent to Emperor Anastasius I, a supporter of Eutychianism, which Sabas
opposed, to plead with the Emperor to mitigate his persecution of
orthodox bishops and
religious. They were unsuccessful. Sabas supported Elias of Jerusalem when
the Emperor exiled him, was a strong supporter of theological orthodoxy, and
persuaded many to return to orthodoxy. He was a vigorous opponent of Origenism
and monophysitism. In 531, when he was ninety-one, he again went to
Constantinople, this time to
plead with Emperor Justinian to suppress a Samaritan revolt and protect the
people of Jerusalem from
further harassment by the Samritans. He fell ill soon after his return to
his laura from
this trip and died on December 5 at Laura Mar
Saba, after naming his successor. Sabas is one of the most notable figures of
early monasticism and
is considered one of the founders of Eastern monasticism. The laura he
founded in the desolate, wild country between Jerusalem and
the Dead Sea, named Mar Saba after him, was often called the Great Laura for
its preeminence and produced many great saints. It is still inhabited by monks
of the Eastern Orthodox Church and
is one of the three or four oldest monasteries in the world. His feast day is December
5th.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=758
St. Sabas
Born in Cappadocia
(modern-day Turkey), St. Sabas is one of the most highly regarded patriarchs
among the monks of Palestine and is considered one of the founders of Eastern
monasticism.
After an unhappy
childhood in which he was abused and ran away several times, St. Sabas finally
sought refuge in a monastery. While family members tried to persuade him to return
home, the young boy felt drawn to monastic life. Although the youngest monk in
the house, he excelled in virtue.
At age 18 he traveled to
Jerusalem, seeking to learn more about living in solitude. Soon he asked to be
accepted as a disciple of a well-known local solitary, though initially he was
regarded as too young to live completely as a hermit. Initially, St. Sabas
lived in a monastery, where he worked during the day and spent much of the
night in prayer. At the age of 30 he was given permission to spend five days
each week in a nearby remote cave, engaging in prayer and manual labor in the
form of weaving baskets. Following the death of his mentor, St. Euthymius, St.
Sabas moved farther into the desert near Jericho. There he lived for several
years in a cave near the brook Cedron. A rope was his means of access. Wild
herbs among the rocks were his food. Occasionally men brought him other food
and items, while he had to go a distance for his water.
Some of these men came to
him desiring to join him in his solitude. At first he refused. But not long
after relenting, his followers swelled to more than 150, all of them living in
individual huts grouped around a church, called a laura.
The bishop persuaded a
reluctant St. Sabas, then in his early 50s, to prepare for the priesthood so
that he could better serve his monastic community in leadership. While
functioning as abbot among a large community of monks, he felt ever called to
live the life of a hermit. Throughout each year —consistently in Lent—he left
his monks for long periods of time, often to their distress. A group of 60 men
left the monastery, settling at a nearby ruined facility. When St. Sabas
learned of the difficulties they were facing, he generously gave them supplies
and assisted in the repair of their church.
Over the years St. Sabas traveled throughout Palestine, preaching the true faith and successfully bringing back many to the Church. At the age of 91, in response to a plea from the Patriarch of Jerusalem, St. Sabas undertook a journey to Constantinople in conjunction with the Samaritan revolt and its violent repression. He fell ill and, soon after his return, died at the monastery at Mar Saba. Today the monastery is still inhabited by monks of the Eastern Orthodox Church, and St. St. Sabas is regarded as one of the most noteworthy figures of early monasticism.
SOURCE : http://www.ucatholic.com/saints/saint-sabas/
Chiesa di San Saba, Aventine Hill, Roma
St. Sabbas
(Also spelled Sabas).
Hermit, born at Mutalaska
near Caesarea in Cappadocia, 439; died in his laura 5
December, 532. He entered aBasilian monastery at
the age of eight, came to Jerusalem in 456, lived five years in a
cavern as a disciple of St.
Euthymius, and, after spending some time in various monasteries,
founded (483) the Laura Mar Sabe (restored in 1840) in the
gorges of the Cedron, southeast of Jerusalem.
Because some of his monks opposed
his rule and demanded a priest as
their abbot, Patriarch Salustius of Jerusalem ordained him
in 491 and appointedarchimandrite of
all the monasteries in
Palestine in 494. The opposition continued and he withdrew to the
newlaura which he had built near Thekoa. A strenuous opponent of the Monophysites and
the Origenists he
tried to influence the emperors against them by calling personally
on Emperor Anastasius at Constantinople in 511 and
on Justinian in 531. His authorship of "Typicon S. Sabæ"
(Venice, 1545), a regulation for Divine worshipthroughout the year as well
as his authorship of a monastic rule bearing the same title (Kurtz in
"Byzant, Zeitschrift", III, Leipzig, 1894, 167-70), is doubtful.
After him was named the Basilica of St. Sabas with its
former monastery on
the Aventine at Rome.
His feast is
on 5 December. Other saints of
this name are:
St. Sabbas,
a Goth, martyred 12
April, 372, by being drowned in the Musæus, a tributary of the Danube;
St. Sabbas, also
a Goth, martyred with
about seventy others at Rome,
under Aurelian;
St. Julianus Sabbas,
a hermit near Edessa,
d. about 380;
St. Sabbas the Younger,
a Basilian abbot,
6 February, 990 or 991, at the monastery of St.
Caesarius inRome;
St. Sabbas, Archbishop of Serbia,
d. at Trnawa, 14 January, 1237.
Sources
A Life in Greek by Cyril
of Scythopolis was edited by Cotelier in Eccl. Graecae Monum., III (Paris,
1686) 220-376, and by Ponjalovskij together with an Old-Slavonian version (St.
Petersburg, 1890); another old Life in Greek was edited by Koiklydes
(Jerusalem, 1905).
Ott, Michael. "St.
Sabbas." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York:
Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 5 Dec.
2015<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13286b.htm>.
Copyright © 2020 by Kevin
Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13286b.htm
Relics of St. Sabbas the Sanctified in the Catholicon (main church) of the Eastern Orthodox Mar Saba monastery in Palestine (now West Bank).
Weninger’s
Lives of the Saints – Saint Sabas, Abbot and Confessor
Article
Saint Sabas was born in
Cappadocia, in the district of Caesarea. When hardly five years of age, he was
given into the care of his uncle, Hermes, as his parents were obliged to be
absent from home for several years. After some years, Sabas, disgusted with the
world, in which he saw nothing but selfishness and avarice, went into a
monastery, where he served the Lord during ten years with great zeal. At the
expiration of this time, he went, with the permission of his superior, to Jerusalem
to visit the holy places and the cloisters of the hermits of Palestine. The
most renowned of these, at that period, was that of which Saint Euthymius was
superior. Sabas, desiring to reach the highest degree of spiritual perfection,
begged to be received into it, and his wish was fulfilled. His conduct while
there was so exemplary, that it served as a mirror to all the other religious.
He was the first and most fervent at prayers; the most industrious at work; the
quickest in obedience; the most severe in chastising his body, and the most
edifying in all his actions. His superior sent him, after some time, to
Alexandria, where his parents resided; but when he perceived that they desired
to retain him, he’ escaped secretly and returned into the monastery. He left it
again, however, soon after, and retired into a solitary cave, where he lived
five years in still greater austerity than before. By the inspiration of the
Almighty who had chosen him as an instructor for many others, he then selected
another solitude, where he dwelt with several others who desired to live under
his guidance. God sent him, through kind-hearted people, so much money, that he
was enabled to build a large monastery, which, in a short time, was occupied by
150 monks. Scarcely was this monastery finished, when he found it necessary to
build another, which was, in the course of time, followed by five more, so
rapidly did the number of his disciples increase. The miracles he wrought by
divine aid, and the holy life he led, spread his fame over all Christendom.
Hence, when the Emperor Anastasius most barbarously persecuted the Catholics in
the East, the patriarch of Jerusalem requested our holy abbot to go, with some
pious hermits, to Constantinople and endeavor to prevent the emperor from
further cruelties. Sabas, although already 70 years old, cheerfully undertook
this fatiguing journey. When he arrived at Constantinople, he entered the
imperial hall, and Anastasius saw a bright Angel walking before the Saint.
Awe-struck at this, he hastily rose from his throne, and going to meet Sabas,
received him with every mark of courtesy, listened to him most respectfully,
and granted him all he asked.
At that time the city was
ravaged by a most terrible famine and by many contagious diseases, but notwithstanding
this, the inhabitants were miserably oppressed by fresh imposts. Sabas, pitying
them, represented to the emperor the general distress, and exhorted him to
abolish the new taxes. The emperor granted his request immediately, but
Marinus, the chief treasurer, resisted, and advised the king not to alter the
laws. The Saint menaced Marinus with divine punishment, in case he refused to
retract his wicked advice. Marinus did not heed the menace, and soon
experienced the wrath of God; for, the oppressed people revolted, made an
attack upon his house and set fire to it. He would doubtless have lost his
life, had he not saved himself by flight. This occurrence brought the emperor
to relinquish his purpose; and Saint Sabas was so beloved by the inhabitants of
the city, that they paid him all honor as to their greatest benefactor. To
escape from this, the holy man hastened to leave the city, and reached his
solitude in safety, where he continued in the exercise of good works, until the
89th year of his life, when* at the request of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, he
made a second journey to Constantinople. His mission was to ask the assistance
of the emperor against the Samaritans who had invaded Palestine and persecuted
the Christians. The emperor Justinian, who had heard much of the holiness of
Saint Sabas, requested the patriarch of the city to bring the Abbot to the
palace. When the Saint entered, the emperor saw a bright crown on his head, and
rising to receive him, embraced him most warmly, and not only promised him the
required aid, but immediately issued the necessary orders to the imperial
officers in Palestine. During the audience, the clock struck three, the hour at
which the Saint was wont to recite a portion of his daily prayers. He,
therefore, went out to pray, and when told that it was not becoming to leave at
the very moment when the em- peror was occupied in granting a petition, the
Saint replied: u The Emperor does his duty, and I do mine.” After the Saint’s
requests had all been granted, he returned to Jerusalem, and thence to his
beloved solitude, where, with increasing years, he increased in holiness. In
531, he ended his holy life by a happy death* in the 92d year of his age. The
many miracles which were performed at his intercession, were evidence of the
happy life he had commenced in heaven.
Practical Considerations
The entire life of Saint
Sabas was a continual exercise of good works. The same may be said of a great
many other Saints. To understand this, and to follow Saint Sabas, it is necessary
to know that there are two kinds of good works: the first are those which are
commanded by God or by the Church; the second, those which are not expressly
commanded, but recommended as very agreeable to the Lord. The latter are called
volun tary good works. The Saints have always endeavored not only to per- form
those good deeds which are expressly commanded, but also such as are not
commanded. All good Christians should do likewise. They should serve the Lord,
not like slaves, but like children. A slave does nothing but what is commanded
him, and that only for fear of punishment. An affectionate son does not only
that which his father commands, but also what he knows is agreeable to his
father, although it has not been expressly commanded; because he loves his
father. For he that loves, does everything that he knows is agreeable to the
beloved. In this man- ner our divine Lord acted towards His heavenly Father, as
He Himself says: “For I do always the things that please him.” (John 8) Thus
also did the Saints act, because they endeavored to be true children of God.
Hence we find so much in their lives of voluntary fasts and abstinences, of
long prayers at night, of frequent visits to the churches, of reading devout
books, of practising divers penances, of avoiding entertainments in themselves
not sinful, of leaving all temporal goods, of their flight to convents and into
deserts, and of continual mortification in eating, drinking, sleeping, talking,
seeing, hearing, and bearing heat and cold. If you wish to be a true child of
God, follow Christ and His Saints. Before all things, practise those good works
which are commanded, and then also those which are not commanded, but which are
agreeable to your God. You daily have opportunities to do this; make use of
them. Make today the resolution which the holy king David made, who practised
many good works which were voluntary. Thus, for instance, during the day, he
prayed seven times; he rose in the middle of the night to praise the Lord; wept
bitterly over his sins every day; fasted most austerely; wore a rough
hair-shirt and abstained from refreshing himself with a draught of water, which
had been offered him when very thirsty. “I will voluntarily sacrifice to thee.”
(Psalm 77) This was his resolution, which he faithfully kept. “I will sacrifice
to thee of my own accord, and praise thy name.” Let this also be your
resolution.
MLA
Citation
Father Francis Xavier
Weninger, DD, SJ. “Saint Sabas, Abbot and Confessor”. Lives
of the Saints, 1876. CatholicSaints.Info.
2 June 2018. Web. 5 December 2020.
<https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-sabas-abbot-and-confessor/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-sabas-abbot-and-confessor/
Pictorial
Lives of the Saints – Saint Sabas, Abbot
Article
Saint Sabas, one of the
most renowned patriarchs of the monks of Palestine, was born in the year 439,
near Csesarea. In order to settle a dispute which had arisen between some of
his relations, in regard to the administration of his estate, while still
young, he forsook the world and entered a monastery, wherein he became a model
of fervor. When Sabas had been ten years in this monastery, being eighteen
years old, he went to Jerusalem to visit the holy places, and attached himself
to a monastery then under control of Saint Euthymius, but on the death of the
holy abbot our Saint sought the wilderness, where he chose his dwelling in a
cave on the top of a high mountain, at the bottom of which ran the brook
Cedron. After he had lived here five years, several came to him, desiring to serve
God under his direction. He was at first unwilling to consent, but finally
founded a new monastery of persons all desirous to devote themselves to praise
and serve God without interruption. His great sanctity becoming known, he was
ordained priest, at the age of fifty-three, by the patriarch of Jerusalem and
made Superior-General of all the anchorites of Palestine. He lived to be
ninety-four, and died on the 5th of December, 532.
MLA
Citation
John Dawson Gilmary Shea.
“Saint Sabas, Abbot”. Pictorial Lives of the
Saints, 1922. CatholicSaints.Info.
14 December 2018. Web. 5 December 2020.
<https://catholicsaints.info/pictorial-lives-of-the-saints-saint-sabas-abbot/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/pictorial-lives-of-the-saints-saint-sabas-abbot/
The
Liturgical Year: Saint Sabas, Abbot
The Roman Church confines
herself to-day to the Office of the Feria; but to that she joins a
Commemoration of Saint Sabas, Abbot of the celebrated Laura of Palestine, which
still exists under his name. This Saint, who died in 533,
is the only one of the Monastic Order of whom the Church makes any mention in
her Liturgy during the whole period of Advent; we might even say that he is the
only simple Confessor whose name occurs in the Calendar of this part of the
year; for, as regards Saint Francis Xavier, the glorious title of Apostle of
the Indies puts him in a distinct class of Saints. Here again we should
recognise Divine Providence, which has selected, for these days of preparation
for Christmas, those Saints whose characteristic virtues would make them our
fittest models in this work of preparation. We have the feasts of Apostles,
Pontiffs, Doctors, Virgins: Jesus, the Man-God, the King and Spouse of men, is
preceded by this magnificent procession of the noblest of his servants: simple
Confession has but a single representative, the Anchoret and Cenobite Sabas,
who, by his profession of the monastic life is of that family of holy
solitaries, which began with the Prophet Elias under the Old Testament, and
continued up to the time of Saint John the Precursor, who was one of its
members, and will continue on during the New Covenant until the last Coming of
Jesus. Let us, then, honour this holy Abbot, towards whom the Greek Church
professes a filial veneration, and under whose invocation Rome has consecrated
one of her Churches. Let us beg his prayers by this Collect of the holy
Liturgy:
Collect
May the intercession, we
beseech you, O Lord, of the blessed Abbot Sabas, recommend us to you; that what
we cannot hope for through our own merits we may obtain by his
prayers. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
O Sabas, you man of desires! in your expectation of that Lord, who has bid his servants watch until he come, you withdrew into the desert, fearing lest the turmoil of the world might distract your mind from its God. Have pity on us who are living in the world, and are so occupied in the affairs of that world, and yet who have received the commandment which you did so take to heart, of keeping ourselves in readiness for the Coming of our Saviour, and our Judge. Pray for us, that when he comes, we may be worthy to go out to meet him. Remember also the Monastic State, of which you are one of the brightest ornaments; raise it up again from its ruins; let its children be men of prayer and faith, as of old; let your spirit be among them, and the Church thus regain, by your intercession, all the glory which is reflected on her from the sublime perfection of this holy State.
– from the book The Liturgical Year: Advent, by the Very
Reverend Dom Prosper Gueranger, Abbot of Solesmes, translated from the French
by the Revered Dom Laurence Shepherd, Monk of the English-Benedictine
Congregation, 2nd edition; published in Dublin Ireland by James Duffy, 15
Wellington-Quay, 1870
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/the-liturgical-year-saint-sabas-abbot/
December 5
St. Sabas, Abbot
From his life excellently
written by Cyril, monk of Palestine, in 557, author of the life of St. John the
Silent, of that of St. Euthymius, and of this of St. Sabas, which is correctly
published by Bollandus, 20th of January, and in Greek by Cotelerius Monum. Gr.
t. 3. pp. 220, 574. These acts in Metaphrastes are adulterated by certain
counterfeit additions. See Assemani, t. 5, p. 410.
A.D. 532
ST. SABAS, one of the
most renowned patriarchs of the monks of Palestine, was born at Mutalasca, in
Cappadocia, not far from Cæsarea, the capital, in 439. The name of his father
was John, and that of his mother, Sophia: both were pious, and of illustrious families.
The father was an officer in the army, and being obliged to go to Alexandria in
Egypt, took his wife with him, and recommended his son Sabas, with the care of
his estate, to Hermias, the brother of his wife. This uncle’s wife used the
child so harshly that, three years after, he went to an uncle called Gregory,
brother to his father, hoping there to live in peace. Gregory having the care
of the child, demanded also the administration of his estate, whence great law
suits and animosities arose between the two uncles. Sabas, who was of a mild
disposition, took great offence at these discords about so contemptible a thing
as earthly riches, and, the grace of God working powerfully in his heart, he
resolved to renounce for ever what was a source of so great evils among men. He
retired to a monastery called Flavinia, three miles from Mutalasca, and the
abbot received him with open arms, and took great care to see him instructed in
the science of the saints, and in the rules of a monastic profession. His uncles,
blinded by avarice and mutual animosity, were some years without opening their
eyes; but at last, ashamed of their conduct towards a nephew, they agreed
together to take him out of his monastery, restore to him his estate, and
persuade him to marry. In vain they employed all means to gain their point.
Sabas had tasted the bitterness of the world, and the sweetness of the yoke of
Christ, and his heart was so united to God, that nothing could draw him from
his good purpose. He applied himself with great fervour to the practice of all
virtues, especially humility, mortification, and prayer, as the means to attain
all others. One day, whilst he was at work in the garden, he saw a tree loaded
with fair and beautiful apples, and gathered one with an intention to eat it.
But reflecting that this was a temptation of the devil, he threw the apple on
the ground, and trod upon it. Moreover, to punish himself, and more perfectly
to overcome the enemy, he made a vow never to eat any apples as long as he
lived. By this victory over himself, he made great progress in all other
virtues, exercising himself by day in labour, accompanied with prayer, and by
night in watching in devotions, always flying idleness as the root of all
evils, sleeping only as much as was absolutely necessary to support nature, and
never interrupting his labours but to lift up his hands to God. Though he was
the youngest in the house he soon surpassed all the rest in fervour and virtue.
So tender was his charity and compassion, that once when he was serving the
baker, who had put his wet clothes into the oven to dry, and, forgetting them,
had put in fire, seeing him much troubled for his clothes, he went into the
oven and fetched them out through the flames without hurt. When Sabas had been
ten years in this monastery, being eighteen years old, with the leave of his
abbot, he went to Jerusalem to visit the holy places, and to edify himself by
the examples of the eminent solitaries of that country. He passed the winter in
the monastery of Passarion, governed at that time by the holy abbot Elpidius.
All the brethren were charmed with his virtue, and desired earnestly that he
would fix his abode among them: but his great love of silence and retirement
made him prefer the manner of life practised by St. Euthymius. He cast himself
at the feet of that holy abbot, conjuring him with many tears to receive him
among his disciples. St. Euthymius judged him too young to continue in his
laura with the anchorets; so extreme a solitude being only proper for the most
perfect; for a laura consisted of a cluster of separate cells or hermitages in
a desert. Euthymius, therefore, recommended him to the monastery below the
hill, which was under the conduct of Theoctistus and a kind of noviceship to
the laura, from which it lay about three miles distant, the laura itself being
twelve miles from Jerusalem.
Sabas consecrated himself
to God with new fervour, working all day, and watching in prayer a good part of
the night. As he was very lusty and strong, he assisted all his brethren in
their offices, and prepared himself the wood and water for the house with
extraordinary care and cheerfulness. He served the sick with singular diligence
and affection; and was always the first and the last at the divine office, and
in every regular duty. A temptation put his virtue to the trial. He was sent by
his abbot as companion to another monk on certain affairs to Alexandria. There
his parents knew him and desired to engage him to accept his father’s post and
estate in the world; but he gave them to understand that would be to apostatize
from the service of God which he had chosen. They pressed him at least to
accept a large sum of money for his necessaries; but he would only take three
pieces of gold, and those he gave all to his abbot on his return. When he was
thirty years of age he obtained leave of St. Euthymius to spend five days
a-week in a remote cave, which time he passed without eating any thing, in
prayer and manual labour. He left his monastery on Sunday evening, carrying with
him palm-twigs, and came back on Saturday morning with fifty baskets which he
had made, imposing upon himself a task of ten a-day. Thus he had lived five
years, till St. Euthymius chose him and one Domitian for his companions in his
great yearly retreat in the deserts of Rouban, in which Christ is said to have
performed his forty days’ fast. They entered this solitude together on the 14th
of January, and returned to their monastery on Palm-Sunday. In the first
retreat Sabas fell down in the wilderness, almost dead with thirst. St.
Euthymius, moved with compassion, addressed a prayer to Christ, that he would
take pity on his young fervent soldier, and, striking his staff into the earth,
a spring gushed forth; of which Sabas drinking a little, recovered his strength
so as to be enabled to bear the fatigues of his retreat.
After the death of St.
Euthymius a relaxation of discipline crept into that monastery: on which
account Sabas, sensible that a religious house in such a condition is like a
general shipwreck, in which every one must save himself as he can, retired into
a desert toward the East, in which St. Gerasimus lived. The devil here
endeavoured to affright him by appearing in divers shapes of serpents and
beasts: but the servant of God, armed with prayer and faith, surmounted all his
assaults. Four years the saint had spent in his wilderness in a total
separation from all commerce with men, when, directed by an admonition of
heaven, he chose his dwelling in a cave on the top of a high mountain, at the bottom
of which ran the brook Cedron. The water of that torrent not being there
drinkable, he fetched what he used from a spring, five miles off, through a
very rough and steep way. He was obliged to hang a cord down the descent to
hold himself by in mounting it. Wild herbs which grew on the rocks were his
food, till some countrymen who found him by this cord, brought him on certain
days a little bread, cheese, dates, and other little things which he might
want.
After he had lived
here five years, several resorted to them, desiring to serve God under his
direction. He was at first unwilling to consent; but charity overcoming the
resistance which his humility raised, he founded a new laura, which at first
consisted of seventy persons, all desirous to devote themselves to praise and
serve God without interruption. He marked to each the place to build their
cell; and, having prayed to God that that they might find water, caused a pit
to be dug at the foot of the mountain, where a spring was discovered which subsisted
in succeeding ages. He built also a little chapel with an altar. The number of
his disciples was shortly increased to one hundred and fifty; which obliged him
to extend his laura on the other side of the torrent. He watched over all, and
provided for their necessities with an incredible attention. He taught them to
overcome their passions, to discover and defeat the artifices of the devil, and
to pray with fruit and holy perseverance. To cut off all necessities and
pretexts of ever leaving their solitude, by the help of certain charitable
persons, he supplied them with all things in a manner suitable to persons dead
to the world. He had no priest in his community, and he thought no religious
man could aspire to that dignity without presumption. He grieved, however, to
depend upon the opportunity of some strange priest for the celebration of the
divine mysteries. Certain factious spirits in the community formed a schism
against their holy abbot, and accused him to Sallust, then lately made bishop
of Jerusalem. The prelate found their invectives groundless, except that the
want of a priest was a real defect in the community. He therefore compelled
Sabas to receive that sacred character at his hands. The abbot was then
fifty-three years old. The reputation of his sanctity drew persons from very
remote countries to his laura. Our saint assigned a particular chapel for the
Armenian monks, where they performed the first part of the divine office, which
consists of prayers and instructions in their own tongue: but met in the great
church to finish it, and to make the oblation and receive the communion with
the rest. After the death of the saint’s father, his mother came to him, and
served God under his direction. With the money which she brought he built two hospitals,
one for strangers, and another for the sick; also an hospital at Jericho, and a
monastery on a neighbouring hill, called Castel; and another small one a mile
distant, for the young, where they learned the psalter and religious exercises.
When they were perfect in these, and ripe in years, he translated them to the
house of Castel; and drew out of this nursery those that were most perfect into
his laura. Sallust, patriarch of Jerusalem, established St. Sabas exarch or
superior-general over all the monks of Palestine, who lived in several cells,
and St. Theodosius over all who lived in community, or the Cenobites. St.
Sabas, after the example of St. Euthymius, left his disciples every year after
the octave of the Epiphany, and passed the whole Lent without being seen by any
one, eating nothing all that time, except that he received the holy eucharist
every Saturday and Sunday, which he always took with him for that purpose. If
any of his disciples accompanied him, he caused them to carry with them some
dried bread for their subsistence. In one of these retreats he found a holy
hermit who had lived on wild herbs, without seeing any man thirty-eight years.
He had with him very edifying discourses; but the next year he found him dead
and buried him. The patriarch Sallust dying in 493, the rebellious monks
above-mentioned went to his successor Elias, hoping that he would hear their
complaints. Sabas was informed of their cabals, and, not to be an occasion of
others’ malice, withdrew himself privately, saying, that we must resist the
devils, but yield to men, for the sake of peace.
He went into the desert
of Scythopolis, near the river Gadara, where he went into a great cave to pray.
It happened to be the den of a huge lion. At midnight the beast came in, and
finding this guest, dared not to touch him, but taking him gently by his
garments, plucked him as if it had been to draw him out. The saint was no ways
affrighted or troubled, but began leisurely and with much devotion to recite
aloud the midnight psalms. The lion went out, and when the holy man had
finished matins, came in again, and pulled him by the skirts of his clothes as
he had done before. The saint spoke to the beast and said, the place was big
enough to hold them both. The lion at those words departed, and returned
thither no more. Certain thieves found St. Sabas in his cave, and were so moved
by his example and discourses, that they all embraced a penitential life. Many
persons here, again, put themselves under his conduct; but, finding himself distracted
by their direction, and by a number of visitants who resorted thither, he
abandoned his cell to them; and this place grew into a monastery. He enjoyed
the sweetness of perfect solitude some time, when, moved with tender charity
and compassion, he went to visit his former rebellious monks, who continued
hardened in their iniquity, and were joined by twenty others. The saint was
pierced with grief to see them thus give death to their own souls, and draw
others into the same perdition. It seemed to him that he felt his own limbs
torn from his body whilst he saw his monks separated from him. In order to
soften their hatred and malice, he gave them every token of the greatest
sweetness, tenderness, and goodness; but they were not yet to be gained. He left
them a second time, to ask their conversion with greater fervour of the Father
of mercies. He retired near Nicopolis, living some time under the boughs of a
shady tree, the fruit of which furnished him with food till the master of the
field built him a cell and afforded him his scanty diet. Elias, the patriarch,
ordered Sabas to appoint a superior for the disciples whom he had gathered at
Nicopolis, and to return to his great laura, to which he sent his orders to
receive him. The factious monks, in a rage, threw down a building which he had
raised, and, after many disorders, left that place, and settled in certain old
ruinous cells near the brook Theon. The great laura was freed from their
scandals, and Sabas soon renewed in it the spirit of fervour and charity. His
zeal and compassion for the seditious apostates made him still weep for them.
He even procured and sent them seventy pieces of gold to build them a church
and furnish them with necessaries. This excess of goodness made them enter into
themselves, confess their crime, and submit themselves to their abbot. St.
Sabas nominated a superior to govern them; and, under his direction, this
became a new and very regular monastery. The saint founded several others
after the same model.
The eastern churches were
then in great confusion. The Emperor Anastasius supported the Eutychian heresy,
and banished many Catholic bishops. The patriarch Elias sent to him as deputies
St. Sabas, with other famous abbots, to endeavour to stop the fury of this
persecution. Sabas was seventy years old when he undertook this journey to
Constantinople. As he was dressed like some poor beggar, the officers at the
gate of the imperial palace admitted the rest, but stopped him. Sabas made no
reply, but withdrew into a corner to employ his time in prayer. When the
emperor had read the letter of the patriarch, in which great commendations were
bestowed on Sabas, he asked where he was? The saint was sought, and at length
found in a corner reciting the psalms. Anastasius gave the abbots liberty to
ask what they wanted or desired for themselves; the rest presented their
petitions, but Sabas had no request to make in his own name. Being pressed by
the emperor to ask some favour, he only begged that his majesty would restore
peace to the church, and not disturb the clergy. The emperor gave him a
thousand pieces of gold to employ in charities. Sabas staid all the winter in
Constantinople, and often visited the emperor to gain his point. The prince had
caused a heretical council at Sidon to condemn the general council of
Chalcedon, and required the bishops to subscribe his decree, banishing many who
refused to do it. However, he spared Elias, patriarch of Jerusalem, at the
repeated entreaties of Sabas, and dismissed the holy abbot with honour, giving
him a thousand pieces of gold more to be distributed among the poor in his
country. The saint returned to his solitude, and the emperor dying, according
to what our holy abbot had foretold, Justin, his successor, favoured the true
faith. St. Sabas, laying hold of that opportunity, went to Cæsarea,
Scythopolis, and other places, preaching the Catholic faith, and bringing back
many monks and seculars into its fold. A drought which had continued five
years, produced a famine in Palestine. The prayers of the saint obtained
supplies for his seven monasteries in their extreme necessity, and at last
rain, to the universal joy of the whole country.
In the ninety-first year
of his age, at the request of Peter, patriarch of Jerusalem, he undertook a
second journey to Constantinople, in favour of the Christians of Palestine, who
had been calumniated at court. Justinian, who had then occupied the imperial
throne, received him with great honour, granted him all his requests, and
offered to settle annual revenues for the maintenance of all his monasteries.
The holy abbot thanked his majesty, but said they stood not in need of such
revenues, as long as the monks should serve God. However, he begged a remission
of all taxes in favour of the people of Palestine for a certain term, in
consideration of what they had suffered by the plunders of the Samaritans: that
his majesty would build an hospital at Jerusalem for the pilgrims, and a
fortress for the protection of the hermits and monks against the inroads of
barbarians: that he would bestow some ornaments on the church of our Lady which
was lately built, and would afford his protection to the Catholics. All which
things were granted. It happened one day that the emperor being busy in council
in despatching certain affairs of the saint, who was himself present, when it
was the hour of tierce, the abbot went out to recite his prayers. His
companion, called Jeremy, said it was not well done to leave the emperor on
such an occasion. “My son,” replied Sabas, “the emperor does his duty, and we
must do ours;” so exact was he in all the rules of his state. St. Sabas
returned into Palestine with the imperial orders, which he delivered to the
magistrates of Jerusalem, Scythopolis, and Cæsarea, and saw everywhere put in
execution. Soon after his return to his laura he fell sick: the patriarch
persuaded him to suffer himself to be conveyed to a neighbouring church, where
he served him with his own hands. The pains of the saint were very sharp, but
God supported him under them in perfect sentiments of patience and resignation.
Finding his last hour approach, he begged the patriarch that he might be
carried back to his laura. He appointed Melitas of Berytus his successor, gave
him excellent instructions, and then lay four days in silence, without seeing
any one, that he might entertain himself with God alone. On the 5th of
December, in the evening, having received the holy communion, he departed to
our Lord, in 532 (not 531, as Jos. Assemani demonstrates against Baronius,
&c.), being ninety-four years old. He is commemorated on this day both in
the Greek and Latin Calendars.
St. Sabas met with
persecutors among the monks, to whom his virtue seemed too scrupulous a
severity; and these men were long insensible to his mild remonstrances, and
holy instructions, animated by the example of his admirable sanctity. How
easily do men blind themselves in their passions, and excuse to themselves, nay
canonize, their more subtle vices! And how difficult is it for such sinners to
be reclaimed! It is much easier to convert a notorious sinner, than one who is
falsely just. The one feels his miseries, the other crowns himself with his own
hands, and, like the proud Pharisee, makes his own panegyric or apology. This
dreadful blindness is a frequent case: men every day study by a false
conscience to palliate crimes, and allow themselves many unjustifiable
liberties under false pretences. As St. Austin complains, what our passions
strongly incline us to, we often call holy. Not to perish by such illusions, we
must banish out of our hearts all self-conceit, learn perfectly to die to
ourselves, especially in regard to our darling or ruling passions, and never
take our passions for our counsellors or guides, as we shall be sure to do if
we rely too much on ourselves. We must often suspect and narrowly examine our
own hearts, which are frequently the greatest cheats with which we can have to
deal. We are often imposed upon by other men: but a thousand times oftener by
ourselves.
Rev. Alban
Butler (1711–73). Volume XII: December. The Lives of the
Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/12/051.html
Ambito
romano, San Saba archimandrita (part.),
fine XIII secolo, affresco; Roma, Basilica di San Saba
San Saba Archimandrita Abate
Mutalasca, Cesarea di
Cappadocia, 439 - Mar Saba, Palestina, 5 dicembre 532
Nasce nel 439 a Cesarea
di Cappadocia. La sua famiglia, cristiana, lo indirizza verso gli studi presso
il vicino monastero di Flavianae. Ne esce con un'istruzione e con il desiderio
di farsi monaco. Attorno ai 18 anni arriva pellegrino in Terrasanta. Sul
cammino sosta sempre in comunità monastiche di diverso tipo: di vita comune,
anacoretiche, nelle loro grotte o capanne. È così che trova una guida nel
monaco Eutimio detto «il grande», col quale condividerà la vita eremitica in
Giordania. Dopo la morte del maestro si ritira verso Gerusalemme, nella valle
del Cedron. Qui, col tempo, si forma intorno a lui un'aggregazione monastica
frequente in Palestina: la laura. Una comunità destinata a crescere fino ad
ospitare 150 monaci e far da guida ad altri «villaggi» monastici di questo
tipo. Nel 492, Saba viene ordinato sacerdote, e il patriarca Elia di
Gerusalemme lo nomina archimandrita, capo di tutti gli anacoreti di Palestina.
Muore, ultranovantenne, nel 532. (Avvenire)
Emblema: Bastone
pastorale
Martirologio
Romano: Vicino a Gerusalemme, san Saba, abate, che, nato in Cappadocia,
raggiunse il deserto di Giuda in Palestina, dove istituì una nuova forma di
vita eremitica in sette monasteri, che ebbero il nome di laure, nelle quali gli
eremiti si riunivano sotto la guida di un unico superiore; passò lunghi anni
nella Grande Laura, in seguito insignita del suo nome, rifulgendo come modello
di santità e lottando strenuamente in difesa della fede calcedonese.
Nasce suddito dell’Impero romano d’Oriente, in una famiglia di cristiani, che da ragazzo lo mettono agli studi nel monastero di Flavianae, presso Cesarea di Cappadocia (attuale Kayseri in Turchia). Ne esce con un’istruzione e con il desiderio di farsi monaco. Si scontra con i suoi, che invece vorrebbero avviarlo alla carriera militare. E la spunta allontanandosi. Sui 18 anni arriva pellegrinoin Terrasanta, facendo sempre tappa e soggiorno tra i monaci: quelli di vita comune, e anche gli anacoreti, nelle loro grotte o capanne.Trova una guida decisiva nel monaco Eutimio detto “il grande”: ha convertito molti arabi nomadi, è stato consigliere spirituale dell’imperatrice Eudossia (la moglie di Teodosio II) nella prima metà del secolo.
Con Eutimio, Saba condivide la vita eremitica nei luoghi meno accoglienti: il deserto della Giordania, la regione del Mar Morto. Assiste poi fino all’ultimo questo suo maestro (morto intorno al473) e si ritira più tardi verso Gerusalemme, andando a stabilirsi in una grotta nel vallone del Cedron. Qui, col tempo, si forma intorno a lui un’aggregazione monastica frequente in Palestina: lalaura o lavra (“cammino stretto”, in greco), che è un misto di solitudine e di comunità, dove i monaci vivono isolati percinque giorni della settimana, e si riuniscono poi il sabato e la domenica per la celebrazione eucaristica in comune. Vivonosotto la guida di un superiore, e dal gennaio fino alla Domenicadelle palme sperimentano la solitudine totale in unaregione desertica.
Insieme a lui, nel vallone, i monaci raggiungono il numerodi 150, ma nuovi “villaggi” nascono in altre partidella Palestina, imitando il suo, che prende il nome diGrande Laura. Nel 492, Saba viene ordinato sacerdote,e il patriarca Elia di Gerusalemme lo nomina poi archimandrita, cioè capo di tutti gli anacoreti di Palestina.
Ma non è un capo dolce, Saba. Non fa sconti sulla disciplina e non tutti lo amano: tant’è che per qualche tempo lui si dovrà allontanare. E andrà a fondare un’altra laura a Gadara, presso il lago di Tiberiade. Poi il patriarca lo richiama, perché i monaci si sono moltiplicati: c’è bisogno della sua energia, per la disciplina e per la difesa della dottrina sulle due nature del Cristo, proclamatanel 451 dal concilio di Calcedonia, e contrastata dalla teologia “monofisita”, che nel Signore ammetteva una sola natura.Scontro teologico, con la politica di mezzo: c’è frattura a Costantinopoli tra l’imperatore Anastasio e il patriarca;e Saba accorre nella capitale, nel vano tentativo di riconciliarli.
Poi vi ritornerà altre volte. E l’ultima, nel 530 è per lui una fatica enorme: ha quasi novant’anni. Ma affronta il viaggioper difendere i palestinesi da una dura tassazione punitiva. La gente lo venera già da vivo come un santo.
E ancora da vivo gli si attribuisce un intervento miracoloso contro i danni di una durissima siccità. Canonizzato da subito, dunque. E sempre ricordato anche dal grande monastero che porta ilsuo nome: Mar Saba. È stato per lungo tempo centro di ascesi e di studio; ed esiste tuttora, dopo avere attraversato tempi di fioritura e di decadenza, di saccheggi e di devastazioni.
Autore: Domenico Agasso
