Orthodox · † 794
Venerable Stephen of St Sabbas Monastery
Commemorated: July 26 (July 13, Old Style)
Life
Stephen was born in 725 and at ten entered the Lavra of St Sabas in the Judaean desert, near Jerusalem. He lived there, or in the nearby desert, until his death in 794; for this he is called “of Mar Saba”. Tradition names him a nephew of John of Damascus, the hymn-writer who had also lived in that monastery. St Dimitry of Rostov’s collection records that he performed many wonders and foresaw the day of his death. He is not the same person as the other Stephen of St Sabas, remembered on 28 October.
The Lavra of St Sabas, founded in 483, was one of the great monastic centres of Palestine and is still inhabited today.
Places
- Place of birth: Damascus
- Place of death: Holy Lavra of Saint Sabbas
Retold briefly in our own words from: the Lives of the Saints by St Dimitry of Rostov (1902–1916).
The commemorations of the day: Ponomar (ponomar.net), CC BY-SA 3.0.
Places and years: Wikidata (CC0), each saint matched by hand.