Mar Saba

31°42′18″N 35°19′52″E  /  31.705°N 35.331°E  / 31.705; 35.331 Mar Saba seen from a distance. Sabas the Sanctified , known in Arabic as Mar Saba (they), is a Greek Orthodox monastery overlooking the Kidron Valley in the West Bank east of Bethlehem . It was founded by Saint Sabas of Cappadocia in the year 439 and today houses around 20 monks . It is considered to be one of the oldest inhabited monasteries in the world, and still maintains many of its ancient traditions. One in particular is the restriction on women entering the main compound. The only building that women can enter is the Women's Tower, near the main entrance. The monastery holds a well-preserved body, believed to be the relics of Saint Saba. Mar Saba is occasionally referred to as the Convent or Monastery of Santa Saba. Mar Saba seen from the air. Mar Saba was also the home of St. John of Damascus (b.676 - d.749-754?) St John The Damascene was a key religious figure in the Iconoclastic Controversy , who in ca. 726 wrote letters to the Byzantine emperor Leo III the Isaurian refuting his edicts prohibiting the veneration of icons (images of Christ or other Christian religious figures). John who was born in Damascus and worked as a high financial officer to the Muslim Caliph Abd al-Malik , eventually felt a higher calling and migrated to Palestine, where he was tonsured a monk and was ordained a hieromonk (monastic priest) at the Monastery of Mar Saba. John's tomb lies in a cave under the monastery. The monastery is important in the historical development of the liturgy of the Orthodox Church in that the monastic Typicon (manner of celebrating worship services) of Saint Sabas became the standard throughout the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite . The Typicon took the standard form of services which were celebrated in the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and added some specifically monastic usages which were local traditions at Saint Sabas. From there it spead 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 Sabas . Mar Saba is where Morton Smith claimed to have found a copy of a letter ascribed to Clement of Alexandria containing excerpts of a so-called Secret Gospel of Mark . A Lavra is a large, historic monastery 'Mar Saba Monastery: No women, meat or apples , Masa Aher Magazine icon John Lloyd Stephens (1837) Incidents of Travel in Egypt, Arabia Petraea, and the Holy Land

Mar Saba seen from the air. Mar Saba seen from a distance. The Holy Lavra of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified , known in Arabic as Mar Saba ( ; ; ), is a Greek Orthodox monastery overlooking the Kidron Valley in Bethlehem Governorate of Palestine . The traditional date for the founding of the monastery by Sabbas the Sanctified of Mutalaska, Cappadocia is the year 483 and today houses around 20 monks . It is considered to be one of the oldest inhabited monasteries in the world, and still maintains many of its ancient traditions. One in particular is the restriction on women entering the main compound. The only building that women can enter is the Women's Tower, near the main entrance. The monastery holds the relics of Saint Sabbas. Mar Saba is occasionally referred to as the Convent or Monastery of Santa Sabba. Mar Saba was also the home of St. John of Damascus (676 - 749), 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 icons (images of Christ or other Christian religious figures). John worked as a high financial officer to the Muslim Caliph Abd al-Malik ; he eventually felt a higher calling and migrated to the Judaean desert , where he was tonsured a monk and was ordained a hieromonk (monastic priest) at the Monastery of Mar Saba. John's tomb lies in a cave under the monastery. The monastery is important in the historical development of the liturgy of the Orthodox Church in that the monastic Typicon (manner of celebrating worship services) of Saint Sabbas became the standard throughout the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite . The Typicon took the standard form of services which were celebrated in the 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 Sabas . Mar Saba is where Morton Smith claimed to have found a copy of a letter ascribed to Clement of Alexandria containing excerpts of a so-called Secret Gospel of Mark . Sabbas' relics were taken by Crusaders in the 12th century and remained in Italy until Pope Paul VI returned them to the monastery in 1965 as a gesture of good will towards the Orthodox . A Lavra is a large, historic monastery 'Mar Saba Monastery: No women, meat or apples , Masa Aher Magazine icon Byzantine Monastic Foundation Documents John Lloyd Stephens (1837) Incidents of Travel in Egypt, Arabia Petraea, and the Holy Land Morton Smith, Clement of Alexandria and a Secret Gospel of Mark (Harvard University Press) 1973

The Holy Lavra of Saint Sabbas , known in Syriac as Mar Saba ( , ; ; ), is a Greek Orthodox monastery overlooking the Kidron Valley at a point halfway between the Old City of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea , within the Bethlehem Governorate of the West Bank . The monks of Mar Saba and those of subsidiary houses are known as Sabaites . A lavra was historically a semi- eremitical monastic community, but most lavras today only have the name for historical reasons and follow a more centralized coenobitic regimen.

Monastery in Palestine This article is about the monastery in the Holy Land. 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 entering the main compound. The only building that women can enter is the Women's Tower, near the main entrance. There are <ref group=Note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a template (see the help page ).

Mar Saba seen from the air Tomb of Saint Sabbas The Holy Lavra of Saint Sabbas , known in Arabic and Syriac as Mar Saba ( Syriac : ܕܝܪܐ ܕܡܪܝ ܣܒܐ , romanized : Dayrā d-Mār Sabba ; Levantine Arabic : دير مار سابا , romanized: Dēr Mār Sābā ; Hebrew : מנזר מר סבּא , romanized : Minzar Mar Saba ; Greek : Ἱερὰ Λαύρα τοῦ Ὁσίου Σάββα τοῦ Ἡγιασμένου , romanized : Yerá Lávra tú Osíu Sávva tú Iyazménu ) and historically as the Great Laura of Saint Sabas , is a Greek Orthodox monastery overlooking the Kidron Valley in the Bethlehem Governorate of Palestine , in the West Bank , at a point halfway between Bethlehem and the Dead Sea . The monks of Mar Saba and those of subsidiary houses are known as Sabaites . Mar Saba is considered one of the world's oldest (almost) continuously inhabited monasteries, and it maintains many of its ancient traditions. One in particular is the restriction on women entering the main compound. The only building women can enter is the Women's Tower, near the main entrance. There are <ref group=Note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a template (see the help page ).