For safety reasons Mar Saba's magnificent library is now housed in the Greek Orthodox Patriachal Palace in Jerusalem. This ancient library contains a remarkable collection of hagiographies and hymnographies as well as other works which document the monastery's history.
For contemporary students, without access to the library, pages from the Byzantine Monastic Foundation Documents ( Codex Sinaiticus manuscript) allow a starting point for those who wish to understand Mar Saba’s early development.
The Great Lavra (cluster of hermit’s caves with a church at its centre) of St Sabas was founded in 483 by Cappadocian ascetic St Saba and attracted, over the years, a number of important theological figures. The Byzantine monk John Moschos author of the Spiritual Garden came to Mar Saba in the final years of the sixth century as did theologian John Damascene (John of Damascus) in the eighth century.
Saladin's Victory at Hattin
Despite its lofty perch the monastery and its monks were not immune to the ever-changing power bases in the region. The Persian Sassanids destroyed much of the building and murdered some forty monks in 614 and following Saladin’s victory at Hattin in 1187 a similar story of destruction and murder was chronicled. Of course these two short entries do not do justice to what is a long and sometimes less than illustrious history.
Today a visitor (only men are allowed inside) to Mar Saba Monastery might arrive by car accompanied by a Palestinian driver, as did renowned Scottish historian and travel writer William Dalrymple on his journey across much of the ancient eastern Byzantine world.
In the Footsteps of John Moschos
Dalrymple’s epic passage which followed the footsteps of John Moschos stretched across what is now modern Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, the West Bank Palestinian territories, Jordan and Egypt. An important stop for Moschos and therefore Dalrymple was Mar Saba Monastery.
Dalrymple’s first sight and evocative description of Mar Saba is well worth repeating here. Somewhat in awe, he said, “we caught our first glimpse of the great monastery that lay hidden in the lee of the sheer cliff-face below. It was the most extraordinary sight, the two towers are linked by a jagged wall that sweeps audaciously down in a near vertical plunge to enclose the monastery’s great spread of turquoise domes and cupolas…”
From the Holy Mountain: in the Shadow of Byzantium
His visit to Mar Saba allowed readers of his book: From the Holy Mountain: a Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium, a tantalising glimpse of its history, its association with Moschos and monastic life today (late 1990s). Dalrymple tells his readers that Mar Saba is, “now remarkable for the terrible asceticism” but also reminds them that it was once famous for its scholarship and was an intellectual and philosophical powerhouse of Byzantium.
Dalrymple often refers to the Spiritual Garden and his own book is liberally sprinkled with quotes and sixth century insights from Moschos, a priceless asset to modern historians and theologians. For example he paints a vivid picture of the deserts of the Holy Land, including those that embraced Mar Saba. They were, “filled not only with 150 fully functioning monasteries but also with cave dwelling hermits and great herds of ‘grazers’, nomadic monks who wander in the desert as if they were wild animals.”
St Willibald who came to Mar Saba in the eighth century noted the monks’ austere lifestyle and service to God. Dalrymple’s visit in the twentieth century found a dwindling band of monks fearful of the future but still treading a similar path.
Sources:
- Dalrymple W, From the Holy Mountain: a Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium, Harper Perennial 2005
- Thomas PT, Constantindes Hero A (Eds), Byzantine Monastic Foundation Documents: a Complete Translation, Dumbarton Oakes Studies XXXV
