Editing Mar Saba

{{Short description|Monastery in Palestine}}
{{about|the monastery in Palestine|its namesake saint|Sabbas the Sanctified|the monastery in Rome|San Saba, Rome}}
{{redirect|Sabaites|the legendary early Islamic sect|Sabaʾiyya|the ancient people|Sabaeans}}
{{coord|31|42|18|N|35|19|52|E|display=title}}
[[File:Palestine-2013-Aerial-Mar Saba Monastery.jpg|thumb|Mar Saba seen from the air]]
[[File:Savas tomb.jpg|thumb|Tomb of Saint Sabbas]]

The '''Holy Lavra of Saint Sabbas''',{{#tag:ref|A [[lavra]] was historically a semi-[[eremitic]]al monastic community, but most lavras today only have the name for historical reasons and follow a more centralized [[cenobitic monasticism|coenobitic]] regimen.|group="Note"}} known in Arabic and Syriac as '''Mar Saba''' ({{lang-syr|ܕܝܪܐ ܕܡܪܝ ܣܒܐ}}, {{lang-ar|دير مار سابا}}; {{lang-he|מנזר מר סבא}}; {{lang-el|Ἱερὰ Λαύρα τοῦ Ὁσίου Σάββα τοῦ Ἡγιασμένου}}) and historically as the '''Great Laura of Saint Sabas''',<ref name=Patrich2011>{{cite book |last= Patrich |first= Joseph |title= Studies in the Archaeology and History of Caesarea Maritima: Caput Judaeae, Metropolis Palaestinae |page= 147 |publisher= BRILL |series= Volume 77 of Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity |year= 2011 |isbn= 978-9004175112 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=k_cOxFYjUW4C&pg=PA147 |access-date= 21 February 2022}}</ref> is a [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]] [[Christian monasticism|monastery]] overlooking the [[Kidron Valley]] in the [[Bethlehem Governorate]] in the [[West Bank]],<ref name="UNESCO">{{cite news |last1=Melhem |first1=Ahmad |date=9 May 2016 |title=Ancient Palestinian monastery under UNESCO consideration |work=[[Al Monitor]] |url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/05/west-bank-palestine-old-monastery-unesco-heritage-list.html |access-date=24 July 2016}}</ref> at a point halfway between [[Bethlehem]] and the [[Dead Sea]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Mar Saba Monastery|url=http://www.wysinfo.com/Dead_Sea/ds_travellers_notes.htm|website=WysInfo.com|access-date=24 July 2016}}</ref> The monks of Mar Saba and those of subsidiary houses are known as '''Sabaites'''.

Mar Saba is considered to be one of the oldest (almost) continuously inhabited monasteries in the world, and it maintains many of its ancient traditions. One in particular is the restriction on [[women in Christianity|women]] entering the main compound. The only building that women can enter is the Women's Tower, near the main entrance.

==History==
===Byzantine period===
The monastery was founded by [[Sabbas the Sanctified]] in 483<ref>[http://doaks.org/resources/publications/doaks-online-publications/byzantine-monastic-foundation-documents/typ055.pdf Byzantine Monastic Foundation Documents] at [[Dumbarton Oaks]] Online Publications. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042236/http://doaks.org/resources/publications/doaks-online-publications/byzantine-monastic-foundation-documents/typ055.pdf |date=2016-03-04 }}</ref> on the eastern side of the Kidron Valley, where, according to the monastery's website, the first seventy hermits gathered around the hermitage of St Sabbas.<ref name=home>{{cite web |title= St Sabbas the Sanctified Monastery - Jerusalem |publisher= from the album published by Mar Saba in 2002, via homepage of St. Sabbas Orthodox Monastery, [[Harper Woods]], MI |url= https://www.stsabbas.org/jerusalem |access-date=6 October 2021}}</ref> Later on, the laura relocated to the opposite, western side of the gorge, where the Church of [[Theoctistus of Palestine|Theoktistos]] was built in 486 and consecrated in 491<ref name=home/> (today rededicated to [[Saint Nicholas]]). The constant growth of the community meant that soon after, in 502, the Church of the [[Theotokos]] was built to serve as the monastery's main church.<ref name=home/> Sabbas' ''[[typikon]]'', the set of rules applied at the Great Laura and recorded by the saint, eventually became the worldwide model of monastic life and liturgical order<ref name=home/> known as the [[Byzantine Rite]].

====St John of Damascus====
Mar Saba was the home of [[John of Damascus]] (676–749; {{lang-ar|يوحنا الدمشقي|links=no}}), a key religious figure in the [[Iconoclastic Controversy]], who, around 726, wrote letters to the Byzantine emperor [[Leo III the Isaurian]] refuting his edicts prohibiting the veneration of [[icon]]s (images of Christ or other Christian religious figures). Born to a prominent [[Damascus|Damascene]] political family, John worked as a high financial officer to the [[Umayyad dynasty|Umayyad caliph]] [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan]]; he eventually felt a higher calling and migrated to the [[Judaean Desert]], where he was [[tonsure]]d and was [[ordained]] a [[hieromonk]] (monastic priest) at the Monastery of Mar Saba. St. John's tomb lies in a cave under the monastery.

===Early Muslim period===
Ancient sources describe an Arab attack on the monastery in 797, leading to the massacre of twenty monks.<ref name=Bianchi>{{cite book |last= Bianchi |first= Davide |title= From the Byzantine period to Islamic rule: continuity and decline of monasticism beyond the River Jordan |page= 201 |work= A Shrine to Moses: A reappraisal of the Mount Nebo Monastic Complex between Byzantium and Islam |publisher= Austrian Academy of Sciences |location= Vienna |series= Philosophisch-Historische Klassedenkschriften, Vol. 527 / Archäologische Forschungen, Vol. 31 |year= 2021 |isbn= 978-3-7001-8648-9 |url= https://www.austriaca.at/0xc1aa5576%200x003c6683.pdf |access-date= 22 September 2021}}</ref> Between the late eight to the tenth century, the monastery was a major translation center for Greek works into Arabic. For instance, Yannah ibn Istifan al-Fakhuri (fl. 910) translated works of [[Leontius of Damascus]] and [[Barsanuphius of Gaza]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Treiger |first1=Alexander |editor1-last=Papaioannou |editor1-first=Stratis |title=The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Literature |date=2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-935176-3 |page=642 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fzkqEAAAQBAJ |access-date=18 January 2024 |language=en |chapter=Section VI}}</ref> Mar Saba was the home of the famous Georgian monk and scribe [[Ioane-Zosime]], who moved before 973 to [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]] taking several parchment manuscripts with him.<ref>Brock, Sebastian P. (2012). "Sinai: a Meeting Point of Georgian with Syriac and Christian Palestinian Aramaic", in ''The Caucasus between East & West''. Tbilisi, pp. 482–494.</ref>

The community seems to have also suffered under the persecutions of caliph [[Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah|al-Hakim]] in 1009 as well as [[Turkmens|Turkmen]] raids in the 11th century but experienced occasional phases of peace as can be seen by the continued scribal and artistic activities.<ref name="Monasticism">{{cite book |last1=Hamilton |first1=Bernard |last2=Jotischky |first2=Andrew |title=Latin and Greek Monasticism in the Crusader States |date=22 Oct 2020 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781108915922}}</ref>

===Crusader period===
The monastery kept its importance during the existence of the Catholic [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]] established by [[Crusades|Crusaders]] in 1099.<ref name=bulla>{{cite news |title= 800 Year Old Lead Seal Stamped Monastery St Sabas |url= http://allaboutjerusalem.com/article/800-year-old-lead-seal-stamped-monastery-st-sabas |website= allaboutJerusalem.com |access-date=21 May 2019}}</ref>

===Mamluk and Ottoman periods===
In the late medieval period, the monastery experienced like the other Palestinian monasteries a period of decline as a result of [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluk]] persecutions, the Black Death, demographic and economic degradation and the expansion of nomadic tribes. Whereas the Russian monk Zosimus estimated in 1420 the number of inhabitants at 30, the German traveler [[Felix Fabri]] recorded in the early 1480s only 6 who were living together with a group of nomadic Arabs. Thereafter, the monastery was abandoned and the remaining monks seem to have moved to St Catherine's monastery.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Panchenko |title=Arabic Christianity between the Ottoman Levant and Eastern Europe |date=24 August 2021 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-46583-1 |pages=30–33 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SnU_EAAAQBAJ |access-date=18 January 2024 }}</ref>

In 1504, the Serbian monastic community of Palestine, based out of the fourteenth century [[Serbian Monastery of Holy Archangels, Jerusalem|monastery of St. Michael the Archangel]], purchased Mar Saba..<ref name=Panchenko>{{cite book|last=Panchenko|first=Constantin|title= Arab Orthodox Christians under the Ottomans: 1516-1831| publisher= Holy Trinity Seminary Press|year= 2016|pages=140–47}}</ref> The Serbs controlled the monastery until the late 1630s, and the significant financial support the monastery received from the Tsar of Russia allowed them to run the monastery semi-independently from the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the monastery's nominal overseer (much to the vexation of the patriarchate).<ref name=Panchenko/> The Serbs' control of Mar Saba allowed them to play an important role in the politics of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, often siding with the Arabic laity and priests against the Greeks who dominated the episcopate.<ref name=Panchenko/> Serbian control of the monastery eventually ended in the 1600s when the monastery got into massive debt due to the simultaneous combination of a massive building program at the monastery and a cutting off of financial support from Russia due to the outbreak of the [[Time of Troubles]].<ref name=Panchenko/> The Serbs were forced to sell the monastery to the Patriarch of Jerusalem in order to pay off their debts.<ref name=Panchenko/>

==Significance==
The monastery, considered among the oldest continuously inhabited in the Christian world, has been a place of learning and has exerted an important influence in doctrinal developments in the [[State church of the Roman Empire|Byzantine Church]]. Important personalities in this regard included Saint Sabbas himself, John of Damascus (676–749), and the brothers [[Theodorus and Theophanes]] (770s–840s).

The monastery is important in the historical development of the [[liturgy]] of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Church]] in that the monastic [[Typicon]] (manner of celebrating worship services) of Saint Sabbas became the standard throughout the Orthodox Church and those [[Eastern Catholic Churches]] under the [[Pope]] which follow the [[Byzantine Rite]]. The Typicon took the standard form of services which were celebrated in the [[Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem|Patriarchate of Jerusalem]] and added some specifically monastic usages which were local traditions at Saint Sabbas. From there it spread to [[Constantinople]], and thence throughout the [[Byzantine]] world. Although this Typicon has undergone further evolution, particularly at the Monastery of the [[Stoudion]] in Constantinople, it is still referred to as the ''Typicon of Saint Sabbas''. A tradition states that this monastery will host the last [[Divine Liturgy]] on earth before the [[parousia]] of Jesus Christ, therefore the last pillar of true Christianity.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}}

===Relics===
The monastery holds the [[relic]]s of Saint Sabbas. The relics were seized by Latin [[crusaders]] in the 12th century and remained in Italy until [[Pope Paul VI]] returned them to the monastery in 1965 as a gesture of repentance and good will towards Orthodox Christians.

===Manuscripts===
Mar Saba is where [[Morton Smith]] purportedly found a copy of [[Mar Saba letter|a letter]] ascribed to [[Clement of Alexandria]] containing excerpts of a so-called ''[[Secret Gospel of Mark]]'',<ref>Morton Smith, ''Clement of Alexandria and a Secret Gospel of Mark'' (Harvard University Press) 1973</ref> and was for several centuries home to the [[Archimedes Palimpsest]].<ref name=project>{{cite web |title= The History of the Archimedes Manuscript |publisher= The Archimedes Palimpsest Project |url= http://archimedespalimpsest.org/about/history/index.php |access-date=4 October 2016}}</ref>

==Access==
Women are only allowed to come to the main entrance, but without entering the walled compound.

The monastery is closed for visitors on Wednesdays and Fridays (the fasting days of the week).{{fact|date=November 2023}}

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="154px" heights="200px" perrow="4" caption="">
File:Mar Saba (Photo by Jean & Nathalie, 2011).jpg|Mar Saba Monastery, 2011
File:Mar Saba Women's Tower.jpg|The Women's Tower at Mar Saba Monastery is the only building on the grounds that women are allowed to enter.
File:(1453) Marsaba Klosteret.jpg|Mar Saba seen from a distance
File:Mar Saba 1.jpg|Mar Saba, in the [[Kidron Valley]]
</gallery>

==List of abbots==
There are gaps in this list. Prior to the 18th century, dates are years when the abbot (or [[hegumen]]) is known to have held office and not the start and end dates. From the 18th century on, the dates indicate the start of an abbot's term, which usually lasted two years at first, longer later on. The official list goes back to 1704, but still has gaps.<ref name=Patrich2001>Patrich, Joseph. [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=O4pj9YNdgJYC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1 "The Sabaite Heritage: An Introductory Survey"], in J. Patrich (ed.), ''The Sabaite Heritage in the Orthodox Church from the Fifth Century to the Present'' (Louvain: Peeters, 2001), pp. 1–30, at 25–27 (Appendix: List of ''Hegoumenoi'').</ref>

{{columns-list|
#[[Sabbas the Sanctified|Sabas]], 483–532
#Melitas, 532–537
#Gelasios, 537–546
#George the Origenist, 547
#Kassianos of Scythopolis, 547–548
#Konon of Lycia, 548–568
#Stephanos Trichinas
#Nikomedes, 614{{efn|fled to Arabia during the [[Sasanian conquest of Jerusalem|Sasanian invasion]]}}
#Justinus, 614{{efn|abbot of the community in the monastery of Saint Anastasius}}
#Thomas, 614{{efn|abbot of those who returned}}
#John, c. 649
#Nikodemus, 8th century{{efn|under him [[John of Damascus]] and [[Cosmas of Maiuma]] joined the community}}
#Strategios
#Basil, 797–809{{efn|witnessed the martyrdom of the twenty monks in 797 and corresponded with [[Theodore of Stoudios]] in 809}}
#John, 808–825
#David, mid–9th century{{efn|sent out George, one of the [[martyrs of Córdoba]]}}
#Solomon, 864
#Paul, 962
#Ioannikios, 1071–1072
#Mark, first half of the 11th century
#Mark Makrinos
#Arsenios, 12th century
#Basil, 12th century{{dubious|Repetition (see the next one) - intentional, or by mistake?|date= September 2021}}
#Basil, 12th century
#Miletus (Meletios), 1163–1164
#Sabas, before 1187
#Nicholas, 1229{{efn|hosted [[Saint Sava]]}}
#Ioannikios, 1334
#Mark, before c. 1370{{efn|[[bishop of Damascus]] in the 1370s}}
#Stephen, 1370s{{efn|abbot during the visit of [[Agrefeny]]}}
#Pachomius, 15th century{{efn|abbot of the [[Serbian Orthodox Church|Serbian]] community}}
#Maximos Oikonomos, 1533–1534
#Joachim the Wallachian, 1540–1547{{efn|resettled the monastery with 50 monks}}
#Germanos
#Isaias, 1550
#Nathanael, 1566
#Pachomius, 1577–1578
#Timothy, 1581
#Athansios
#Christophoros, 1593{{efn|abbot during the visit of [[Tryphon Korobeinikov]]}}
#Daniel, 1619
#Galaktion, 1630
#Neophytos, 1649
#Daniel, c. 1672{{efn|signed the acts of the [[Synod of Jerusalem (1672)|Synod of Jerusalem]]}}
#George of Chios, 1682
#Nikeophoros of Cyprus, 1696
#Gerasimos, 1704
#Kallistos, 1705
#Anthimos, 1707
#Kallinikos, 1710
#Gerasimos Oikonomos, 1714
#Kyrillos, 1714
#Ignatios, 1722
#Iakobos, 1724
#Neophytos of Smyrna, 1731
#Parthenios of Constantinople, 1732
#Meletios, 1733
#Anthimos Anatolites, 1740
#Symeon Baskopolites, 1744
#Gennadios of Ioannina, 1745
#Daniel Moutaniotes, 1747
#Ananias Anatolites, 1749
#Kyrillos of Amaseia, 1753
#Ieremias, 1753
#Nikephoros of Ioannina, 1754/5
#Kyrillos, 1756
#Amphilochios, 1757
#Arsenios of Cyprus, 1758
#Gabriel, 1759
#Arsenios of Galatia, 1760
#Raphael Anatolites, 1761/2
#Meletios of Cyprus, 1763 (first term)
#Arsenios, 1766
#Silvestros Anatolites, 1767
#Ioannikos, 1768
#Meletios of Cyprus, 1769 (second term)
#Gerasimos of Cyprus, 1770
#Iakobos Boskopolites, 1772
#Melechisedek of Cyprus, 1775
#Seraphim Anatolites, 1777
#Kallinikos Tseritsaniotes, 1778
#Iakobos the Albanian, 1779
#Parthenios of Chaldias, 1782
#Melkisedek, 1786
#Sophronios, 1788
#Joachim of Cyprus, 1790
#Dionysios Proussaeus, 1791
#Anthimos of Philippopolis, 1792
#Gregory of Kos, 1794
#Michael of Cyprus, 18th century
#Athanasios (second term)
#Kallinikos, 1804 (first term)
#Gabriel, 1806–1809
#Athanasios, 1810 (third term)
#Kallinikos, 1813 (second term)
#Misael Petras, 1814
#Paisios, 1817
#Pankratios, 1818
#Theodosios Skopianos, 1820
#Agapios of Peloponnesos, 1832
#Theophanes
#Euthymios of Cyprus (first term)
#Isaias, 1837
#Euthymios of Cyprus, 1838 (second term)
#Symeon, 1843 (first term)
#Symeon, 1844 (second term)
#Neophytos of Cyprus
#Joasaph, 1845–1874
#Anthimos, 1874
#Silvestros of Leukas, 1918–1932
#Nikolaos of Proussa, 1932–1937
#Sabas of Elassona, 1937–1957
#[[Serapheim Savvaitis|Seraphim of Kythira]], 1957–2003
#Eudokimos, 2003–
}}

===Notes===
{{notelist}}

==See also==
* [[War of Saint Sabas]]
* [[Serapheim Savvaitis]]
* [[Theodorus and Theophanes]] called the Grapti (770s–840s), monks educated at Mar Saba, opponents of iconoclasm

==Notes==
{{reflist|group="Note"}}
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book|last1=Conder|first1=C.R.|author-link1=Claude Reignier Conder|last2=Kitchener|first2=H.H.|author-link2=Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|year=1883|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp03conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology|location=London|publisher=[[Palestine Exploration Fund|Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund]]|volume=3}} (pp. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp03conduoft#page/219/mode/1up 219], [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp03conduoft#page/232/mode/1up 232])
*{{cite book|last=Guérin|first=V.|author-link=Victor Guérin|title=Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine|url=https://archive.org/details/descriptiongogr06gugoog|volume=1: Judee, pt. 3|year=1869|publisher= L'Imprimerie Nationale|location=Paris|language=fr}} (pp. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongogr06gugoog#page/n105/mode/1up 92]- [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongogr06gugoog#page/n114/mode/1up 101])
*{{cite book|last=Guérin|first=V.|author-link=Victor Guérin|title=Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine|url=https://archive.org/details/descriptionsam01gu|volume=2: Samarie, pt. 1|year=1874|publisher= L'Imprimerie Nationale|location=Paris|language=fr}} (pp. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptionsam01gu#page/14/mode/1up 14]-[https://archive.org/stream/descriptionsam01gu#page/19/mode/1up 19])
*{{cite book|last=Palmer|first=E.H.|author-link=Edward Henry Palmer|year=1881|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp00conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer|publisher=[[Palestine Exploration Fund|Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund]]}} (p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp00conduoft#page/347/mode/1up 347])
*{{cite book|title= The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: L-Z (excluding Tyre)| volume =II |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Y0tA0xLzwEC|last= Pringle |first= D.|author-link=Denys Pringle |year=1998|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=0-521-39037-0}} (pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=2Y0tA0xLzwEC&pg=PA258 258]-[https://books.google.com/books?id=2Y0tA0xLzwEC&pg=PA268 268])
*{{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=E.|author-link1=Edward Robinson (scholar)|last2=Smith|first2=E.|author-link2=Eli Smith|year=1841|url=https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearc00smitgoog |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838|location=Boston|publisher=[[Crocker & Brewster]]|volume=2}} (pp. [https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearc00smitgoog/page/n48/mode/1up 26], [https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearc00smitgoog/page/n271/mode/1up 249])
*{{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=E.|author-link1=Edward Robinson (scholar)|last2=Smith|first2=E.|author-link2=Eli Smith|year=1841|url=https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearch03robiuoft |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838|location=Boston|publisher=[[Crocker & Brewster]]|volume=3}} (Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/123/mode/1up 123])
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 18: [http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8380 IAA], [[commons:File:Survey of Western Palestine 1880.18.jpg|Wikimedia commons]]
*[https://www.manar-al-athar.ox.ac.uk/pages/search.php?search=%21collection2211 Photos of Mar Saba] at the [[Manar al-Athar]] photo archive
{{Religious Sites in the Palestinian Authority}}
{{Bethlehem Governorate}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ancient churches in the Holy Land]]
[[Category:Christian monasteries established in the 5th century]]
[[Category:5th-century establishments in the Byzantine Empire]]
[[Category:439 establishments]]
[[Category:Greek Orthodox monasteries in the State of Palestine]]
[[Category:Church buildings in the Kingdom of Jerusalem]]
[[Category:Georgia (country)–State of Palestine relations]]
[[Category:Christian monasteries in the West Bank]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in the State of Palestine]]
[[Category:Lavras]]