(16) Sabas spent five years in this ravine all alone, conversing with God in seclusion and purifying his spiritual sight in order to ‘behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled face’ <2 Cor. 3:18>, after he had conquered all the unclean spirits with his unceasing prayers and his propinquity to God. And so from that moment, in the 45th year of his life, (Sabas) was entrusted by God with the direction of souls … And he began to receive all those who came to him. Many of the anchorites and the grazers scattered (in the desert) came and settled with him: among them were John, now with the saints, who was to become hegumen of the New Laura; blessed Jacob, who later founded the Laura of the Towers near the Jordan; Severianus, venerable for his monastic virtues, who after a time built the monastery (named after him) at Capharbaricha; the great Firminus, who established a laura in the area of Machmas; and also Julian, nicknamed ‘the hunchback’, who set up the so-called laura of Neelkeraba near the Jordan, and many others besides, ‘whose names are in the book of life’ <Philipp. 4:3>. To every one of those who came to him. (Sabas) gave a suitable place, consisting of a small cell and a cave, and by the grace of God his community reached 70 men, all inspired by God, all devoted to Christ: one would not miss the mark, should he call them a choir of angels, a commune of athletes, a city of the pious, a new choir of seventy apostles; and (Sabas) was to them leader, guide and shepherd. At the beginning, wishing to establish a claim on the place, which was unoccupied, he built a tower on the hill at the northern end of the ravine, beyond the bend. Then he started to organize the laura, helped by the grace of the Holy Ghost which dwelt in him. In the middle of the ravine he built a small chapel, in which he fixed a hallowed altar, and whenever he-received the visit of a guest who had the priestly orders, (Sabas) would make him celebrate the holy Sacrifice in the chapel. For he would not accept ordination, as he had great meekness and true humility …
(17) As they were in great straits owing to the need of water, one night (Sabas) was praying with these words: “O Lord God of the hosts, if it is your will that this place should be built, to the glory of your holy name, be pleased to provide us with a little supply of water.” While he was uttering this prayer in the small chapels, (Sabas) heard a stamping of feet made by a wild ass in the ravine below, and, leaning out to have a look, as there was a full moony he saw the wild ass digging energetically in the earth with its feet. After it had dug a biggish hole, (Sabas) noticed that (the beast) bent down its head, brought its mouth near the hollow and drank. Realising that this was rather a visitation of God, who had brought forth water for His servants, (Sabas) immediately went down and, digging in that place, found living water: and behold! to this very day this water is there, in the middle of the Laura, providing and abundant supply to the fathers, and neither is (the spring) superabundant in winter, nor does it dry up in summer, though almost all (the fathers) draw (from it).
(18) On another night, blessed Sabas came out of his cave and began to pace to and fro in the ravine, chanting psalms of David. And suddenly, on the western cliff of the ravine, where now his venerable remains rest, between the two churches of today, he saw a pillar of fire ‘set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven’ <Gen. 28:12>. Seeing this awesome sight, filled with terror and joy at the same time, he revolved in his mind the saying of the Scripture about the ladder that appeared to the patriarch Jacob: ‘How awesome is this place: this is none other than the house of God’ <Gen. 28:17>. He continued to pray in the same place until daybreak, then with awe and great joy he climbed up to examine the place where the column of fire had appeared. Having shaped and equipped this cave with God’s help, Sabas established that here the prayer would take place on Saturdays and Sundays. And so, little by little, with God’s help the community grew and reached the number of 150 fathers. As the community was growing and several cells were being built on both sides of the ravine, (Sabas) started to acquire beasts of burden for the organisation of the laura and the service of its inhabitants: for he took care of them, that they should have all they needed within (the monastery), in order that these men, who were determined to stay away from the tumult of outside life, would not be forced to go out into the world on account of the need (to see to their wants by themselves). The (brothers) for their part were willing to be led and guided by (Sabas), and so gave fruits in a way worthy of their calling and perfected their spiritual body, in view of the hoped-for immortality (of the physical body). As to the above-mentioned cave, i.e. the church built by God, (Sabas) put off its consecration, because of his refusal to be ordained priest or even promoted to the clerical state. Indeed he used to say that the desire for holy orders is the beginning and root of the thirst for power.
Above the church built by God there is a steep and lofty rock: on this rock our father Sabas built himself a tower, having found a hidden ascent inside the holy cavern, a kind of spiral stair going from the diakonikon to the tower; and he abode there in order to watch over the divine service and to manage all the administration (of the monastery). As his fame spread everywhere, many came to him, bringing him many offerings, but especially to see his angelic way of life and his unworldly behaviour: and the blessed one would expend most of these offerings in (new) buildings and in the organisation of the monastery. And he would do anything he thought would please God. And no one of his subjects dared to oppose him in any thing, as, at that time, Martyrius held the patriarchate, and he knew Sabas from the time of great Euthymius, and loved him very much.
(19) Martyrius, now with the saints, migrated to God in the course of his 8th year in the patriarchate, on April 13 of the 9th indiction <AD 486>, and Sallustius succeeded in the episcopate in the 48th year of our father Sabas’ life. Then there grew in the laura some men of carnal mind and ‘having no spirit’, as the Scripture says. These men plotted (against Sabas) for a long time and afflicted him in every possible way. Indeed, Judas was allowed to be among the Apostles and Giezi to be Elisha’s companion for a time, and Esau was son of Isaac and Cain brother of Abel. Now, these men of whom I am speaking went by mutual agreement to the holy city and, applied to the archbishop Sallustius, begging him to give them a hegumen. The archbishop asked them: “Of which place are you?”, to which they answered: “We live in a ravine of the desert”. “Which ravine?” insisted the archbishop, and they, pressed closely, said: “The one that is called by some people Abba Sabas, (place).” So the archbishop asked: “But Abba Sabas, where is he?” Those men replied: “He is incapable of administering the place, so rustic is he. Only to mention one thing, he has no holy orders, nor would he permit anybody else to be ordained to the Church: how can he govern a community of 150 men?”. There was then present a certain Cyriacus, a man worthy of mention, who was priest and hegumen of the (church of) the holy Resurrection and a Warden of the Cross. Having heard their words, he asked those (monks): “Did you receive him in that place, or was he (Abba Sabas) who received you?” They replied: “He was the one who received us, but he is too rustic and cannot govern us, now that our number has grown.” But the thrice-blessed Cyriacus retorted: “If, as you admit, he gathered you there, and colonised the place that was desolate, how much more so can he govern it, now that it is colonised, and yourselves now collected in one body? for God, who helped him to gather you and to organise the monastery, how much more will he help him to govern!” Then the archbishop dismissed them, saying: “Now go, think it over and come back tomorrow.” And he sent for blessed Sabas on some other pretext, summoned also his detractors and under their eyes (the archbishop) ordained him priest, then said to them: “Behold, here you have your father and the hegumen of your laura, whom not a man chose, but God from above. Indeed, my ordination only confirms the divine choice.” And after these words, he took blessed Sabas and those men, descended to the Laura accompanied by the above-mentioned Warden of the Cross, Cyriacus, and, after having consecrated the church, he fixed a hallowed altar in the apse built by God, laying under the altar many relics of holy and victorious martyrs, on December 12 of the 14th indiction, in the 53rd year of blessed Sabas’ life, the same year of the Emperor Zenon’s death and Anastasius’ succession to the throne <AD 491>.
(20) In that year <AD 491/2> a man inspired by God and adorned with divine graces was received into the Laura: he was an Armenian by birth and his name was Jeremias. He had with him two disciples of the same character, his companions in the struggle (of asceticism), called Peter and Paul. Our father Sabas was very pleased with them, for they were pious men, and he gave them a cave and a small cell to the north of his own cave, where he had lived at first when he was alone in the ravine. He also gave them permission to perform the office of Psalmody on Saturday and Sunday in the small chapel, in Armenian. And so, little by little, the Armenians grew in number in the Laura. One of the above-mentioned disciples of the blessed Jeremias, the God-inspired Paul, excels for his virtues dear to God in the Great Laura, to this very day. Many wonders are told about him, and he transmitted to me most of the facts recorded in this book.
(transl. Leah Di Segni)