St. Sabas, Sabbas, (439-531)
Sabas was a simple man with little education, Patriarchal Abbot in Palestine, considered one of the founders of Eastern monasticism.

    Born in Cappadocia (modern-day Turkey), Sabas is one of the most highly regarded patriarchs among the monks of Palestine and is considered one of the founders of Eastern monasticism.

    Spiritual student of Saint Euthymius 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.

    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?”

    The bishop persuaded a reluctant 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 Sabas learned of the difficulties they were facing, he generously gave them supplies and assisted in the repair of their church.

    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 austeries caused some of his charges to rebel. Sabbas tired of the squabbling, and he missed his time in prayer, so he fled to Trans-Jordania. 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 rebelious 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.

    Led a peaceful upraising of 10,000 monks who demanded the end of the persecution of Palestinian bishops of Anastatius I.

    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 at Mar Saba.

Born 439 at Motalala, Cappadocia

Died 531 at the monastery at Mar Saba. Today the monastery is still inhabited by monks of the Eastern Orthodox Church

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Sabbas   St. Sabas