Khirbet el-Muntar - SCHOLARIUS

Paragraph: 
38
Translation: 

The tower built by the blessed Eudocia, on the highest hill of the whole eastern desert - as I recounted in the ‘Life of Euthymius’ - had come into the hands of some monks, supporters of the madness of Dioscorus and Eutyches. After their expulsion, together with Gerontius and Romanus, following the second union <AD 479> two other monks champions of Nestorius’ impious heresy, had succeeded in the occupation of the same tower: they (the Monophysites) did not admit that the holy virgin Mary was properly and truly the mother of God, neither did they maintain that Christ, the true God, was one of the holy and consubstantial Trinity - Therefore our great father Sabas was grieved to have them above his three monasteries, and was much vexed about their presence. In those same days (after the foundation of the coenobium of the Cave), Sabas saw the following vision. He saw himself in the holy church of the Resurrection, during Mass, and those monks as well, being driven away with many threats by some men holding staffs, while he himself begged the staff-bearers to let them receive Communion. But the staff-bearers answered in a harsh voice: “It is forbidden to let them communicate, for they are Jews, since they do not admit that Christ is a true God and the holy Mary the mother of God”. From that moment the Elder, filled with pity for them, earnestly prayed to God on their behalf, that they might recognise the truth and free themselves from Nestorius’ error. And for some time he persisted in frequently visiting them, beseeching and admonishing them, explaining the tenets of orthodoxy. And so, after much toil both of prayer and of preaching, with God’s help our father Sabas induced them to anathematise Nestorius’ doctrines and to communicate with the Catholic Church. Thus Sabas took them and entrusted them to the blessed Theodosius; then he appointed as administrator and hegumen of that tower one of his disciples, an admirable man, Byzantine by birth, John by name, who from the first regiment of the Imperial guards had come over to the monastic state and had perfected the monastic way of life in the Great laura. (Sabas chose him) as a marn adorned with divine prudence and most capable of taking charge of the place. (Sabas) gave him brothers from the Laura, and all that was necessary, and came up there (himself), bestowing much toil and care (on the place), until with God’s help he made the tower into a coenobium. In this coenobium the (former) Imperial guard gathered a large community, a member of which was Abraham, bishop of Krateia. And the Scholarios spent in this same monastery 35 years, attaining excellence in monastic virtues and doctrinal orthodoxy; our holy father Sabas, on his part, put much effort into building and organising this coenobium, and until his death he never ceased keeping an eye on this monastery and showing his bounty to it.

(transl. Leah Di Segni)

Summary: 
Sabas founds the coenobium of Scholarius, AD 509.