In the 80th year of his life, in the days of the summer solstice <June 518>, our holy father Sabas went to Aila, by God’s plan, to visit the archbishop Elias (then in exile there). He took with him Stephen, the hegumen of great Euthymius’ monastery, and Euthalius, the hegumen of the monasteries of that same blessed Elias, in Jericho). Blessed Elias received them with joy and kept them with him for several days. During those days he would not appear before them from the end of Vespers until almost the ninth hour of the morrow, then, at about the ninth hour, he would come out, take Communion with them, eat and then retire after the Vespers. But, though this was his invariable custom (those days, on July 9 he did not come out as usual. (The fathers) waited for him, neither taking Communion nor eating anything, until, towards the sixth hour of the night, he came out and said: “You eat, for I have, no time”. Saint Sabas detained him and somehow forced him to say what was the matter. Elias burst into tears and said: “At this very hour the Emperor Anastasius has died, and assuredly I am to go within ten days and be judged with him”. And he gave dispositions about his own monasteries, that after Euthalius’ death Nestabos and Zacharias were to succeed in the office of hegumen, one after the other, so that nobody would dare to separate these monasteries. After having given these dispositions, for eight days after his vision Elias lingered; he contented himself with the (bread of) Communion alone and eucraton (a warm drink of water and aromatic herbs, used by monks). Then he fell somewhat ill. Sabas and his companions attended him for three days, then on 20th of July he received Communion, prayed, and when he said Amen “in peace he both lay down and slept” <Ps. 4:8>, having lived eighty-eight years.
(transl. Leah Di Segni)