13426 - Khirbet Jinjas - Church

A monk of the Great Laura, a Jerusalemite by birth, Jacob by name, on the occasion of Sabas’ going out into the desert (during Lent), presumptuously took some (monks) of the Laura and began to build a small chapel and cells near the above-mentioned cistern of Heptastomos, intending to establish a laura there. <After being plagued by a disease, Jacob repents and is forgiven by Sabas.> From that time on, he no longer returned to that building. And the archbishop Elias, having heard of this, sent some (labourers) to dismantle Jacob’s building; on the other hand, our holy father Sabas took some capable (monks) of the laura and built a chapel and cells all around, at a distance of perhaps five stadia from the dismantled building. He appointed administrators there two monks of the Great Laura, called Paul and Andrew, who were brothers in the flesh and Greek by birth. And having planted more brothers there, he turned the place into a laura that he called Heptastomos. The site for that laura had been pointed out to Sabas by one Zanagon, who came from the village of Betaboudison. Sabas took proper care of the place, and whenever there was a feast <agape, ‘love-feast’, a common meal consumed by the monks when offering of food were brought to the monastery> at the Great Laura, he would send the offerings of food also to the (monks) there, so much he care for that monastery.

(transl. Leah Di Segni)