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[[Image:Sava_the_Sanctified.jpg|thumb|frame|240px|St. Sabbas the Sanctified]]
The [[Venerable]] '''Sabbas the Sanctified''' was a Palestinian monastic who is credited with composing the first monastic rule of church services, the so-called "Jerusalem Typikon". He was a staunch opponent of the heretical Monophysites and Origenist movements. His feast day is on [[December 5]].
==Life==
St. Euthymius attentively directed the life of the young monk, and seeing his spiritual maturity, he began to take him to the Rouba wilderness with him. They set out on [[January 14]], and remained there until [[Palm Sunday]]. St. Euthymius called St. Sabbas a child-elder, and encouraged him to grow in the monastic virtues.
When St. Euthymius fell asleep in the Lord (+473), St Sabbas withdrew from the Lavra and moved to a cave near the monastery of [[Gerasimus of Jordan|St. Gerasimus of Jordan]] ([[March 4]]). In 478, he moved to a cave on the cliffs of the Kedron Gorge southeast of Jerusalem. His hermitage formed the foundation of the monastery later named after him (Lavra Mar Saba) and known in ancient sources as the ''Great Lavra''.After several years, disciples began to gather around St. Sabbas, seeking the monastic life. As the number of [[monk]]s increased, the [[lavra]] came into being. When a pillar of fire appeared before St. Sabbas as he was walking, he found a spacious cave in the form of a church.
In 491, Patriarch Salustius of Jerusalem [[ordination|ordained]] him a [[priest]]. In 494, the [[patriarch]] named St. Sabbas the [[archimandrite]] of all the monasteries in Palestine.
St. Sabbas founded several other monasteries. Many miracles took place through the prayers of St. Sabbas: at the Lavra : a spring of water welled up, during a time of drought , there was abundant rain, and there were also healings of the sick and the demoniacs. St. Sabbas composed the first monastic Rule of church services, the so-called ''"Jerusalem Typikon''", that became accepted by all the Palestine monasteries. St. Sabbas died in his lavra on [[December 5]], 532 and is buried in a tomb in the courtyard between two ancient churches in the midst of the remnant of the great monastery, Lavra Mar Saba. monastery. His feast day is on December 5[[relics]] had been taken to Italy in the twelfth century by Crusaders, but were returned to the monastery by Pope Paul VI in 1965 in a goodwill gesture toward the Orthodox.
St. Sabbas championed the Orthodox cause against the monophysite and Origenist movements of his day, personally calling upon the Roman emperors in Constantinople, Anastasius in 511 and Justinian in 531, to influence them in opposing the [[heretic|heretical]] movements.
==Reference==
John Patrich. ''Chapels and Hermitages of St. Sabas’ Monastery,'', Yoram Tsafrir, ed., Ancient Churches Revealed, Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1993. (ISBN 965-221-016-1)
==Sources==
