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| Mar Saba |
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Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 1, facing
p. 148. |
Mar Saba, Valley of
the Kedron
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. . . after the second captivity we find the caves put to another use. When in
the third and fourth centuries the fashion of a hermit life took root in
Palestine, the disused sleeping-places of the dead became the homes of the
living. A refuge adopted at first, perhaps, from necessity or for security,
became an established type of dwelling . . . .When the hermit life became more
organized, and the ascetics began to associate themselves in communities, they
still retained their attachment to rock-hewn dwellings, and many, though not
all, of these "lauras" were formed by a cluster of rock-hewn nests opening into
each other. Such is the character of the one remaining unchanged monastery of
this type, the famous establishment of Mar Saba, in the Kedron Valley, not far
from the Dead Sea. The name "laura" is applied to a number of contiguous but
separate cells, each inhabited by a single hermit or anchorite, in
contradistinction to a monastery or "coenobium," where the monks live together
under the rule of one superior. (Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 1, pp.
146-47.) |
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Convent of Mar Saba, From Brook Kedron |
Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 1, p. 158. |
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The most difficult, but certainly the
finest [route], is that from the Dead Sea,
where, soon after reaching the Wady, the whole
of the buttresses and towers of the convent
come suddenly into view, clustered upon the
steep face of the precipitous cliffs, and
covering them from top to bottom . . . .A
strong wall clings to the side of the rocks
the whole way down, effectually protecting the
place from any sudden surprise of the Bedouin.
From the dry torrent-bed of the ravine flights
of steps are cut . . . .The entrance by which
travellers are received is marked by a large
tower with dilapidated battlements, commanding
from its summit a wide prospect, and on which
there is always kept a careful lookout . . . .
A little iron-barred door is the entrance,
where travellers must present their
credentials before admission, and where they
are carefully scrutinised by the janitor. No
Bedouin or ladies are admitted on any pretext,
the former for fear of treachery-of which St.
Saba's history affords many instances-the
latter by the rules of the order. But for
their reception a tower outside is provided,
where they are supplied with simple fare and a
night's lodging. (Source: Picturesque Palestine, vol. 1, p. 148.) |
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Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 1, p.
150. |
Entrance to the Cave of
St. Saba |
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The grotto is also shown where St. Saba lived
and died, consisting of two chambers, which
tradition says he shared peaceably with a
lion, who was the original tenant. Three times
the lion ejected the saint, but he obstinately
returned, and at length the lion contented
himself with a shelf in the little inner
closet . . . .The library is reputed to
contain rare manuscript treasures, but these
are not kept to be read or examined; and, with
the exception of Curzon and Tischendorf, very
few travellers have been able to examine them.
Curzon found several MSS. of great interest,
among them a copy of the first eight books of
the Old Testament, Homer's Iliad on paper, and
one ancient Servian MS. All the others were in
Greek, and he estimated the number at about
one thousand. From the state of some we saw in
the cell of the head of the convent, we fear a
librarian is much needed here. For better
security the key of the library is kept by the
Patriarch at Jerusalem. (Source: Picturesque Palestine, vol. 1, pp. 148-150.) |
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St. Saba's Palm-Tree
The history of this remarkable settlement
begins with St. Euthymius, about A.D. 450. His
favourite pupil, St. Saba, born in Cappadocia,
A.D. 439, has eclipsed his master's fame. He
gathered round him a vast number of
anchorites, and formed them into a community
under the rule of St. Basil. He was made
Archimandrite by the Patriarch of Jerusalem,
and in that capacity supported orthodoxy
against the monophysitical heresy by driving
his opponents, at the head of his armed monks,
out of the sacred city. After his feats of
arms and controversies he died here in peace,
A.D. 532, at the age of ninety-four years. The
convent-fortress has been often sacked,
especially by Chosroes, the Persian
devastator, about A.D. 604, and frequently
during the stormy vicissitudes of the
Crusading epoch. It was again pillaged during
the Syrian troubles in 1834, and was
subsequently repaired by Russia. (Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 1, pp. 150-151.) |
Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 1, p. 153. |
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See
Monks,
St.
Catherine's Monastery,
Bethlehem,
Bethlehem Church,
Psalm 23,
Shepherds and
Flocks, or
Bedouin |
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