Venerable Fathers Slain by the Saracens in the Monastery of St Sabbas (+796)
The Venerable Fathers slain by the Saracens in the monastery of Saint Sabbas. In the eighth century the Saracens often raided the surroundings of Jerusalem. After constant raids the monastery of Saint Chariton was destroyed and left desolate. Twice the lawless ones tried to plunder the Lavra of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified, but God protected the monastery. The monks of the Lavra could have taken refuge in Jerusalem, but they could not leave the place where for years they had cleansed their souls and felt the grace of the Lord.
At the end of Great Lent, on the eve of Palm Sunday, 13 March, the Saracens burst into the monastery and demanded all the treasures of the house. The monks answered that there was nothing in the church but meagre food and rags. The robbers shot the fathers through with arrows. Thirty fathers died, many were wounded, and flames rose over the cells. The attackers wanted to burn the church too, but they took fright at the people approaching, plundered the monastery and fled.
On 20 March, Great Thursday, a band of Saracens attacked the Lavra again. They herded the monks who had survived into the church and demanded that the treasures be brought out; they seized a young monk, John, tortured him cruelly, then cut the sinews of his hands and feet and threw him off a cliff.
The sacristan of the church, the Venerable Sergius, hid the holy vessels and tried to escape, but the Saracens caught him and beheaded him. Several monks managed to hide in a cave, but they were spotted and ordered to come out. The Venerable Patrick came out and told the Saracens that he had been hiding alone. The holy father was taken to the church of the Lavra, where the other brethren were also shut in.
The Saracens demanded 4,000 pieces of gold and the church vessels as ransom, but the monks could not pay such a sum. The lawless ones drove the holy fathers into a cave and suffocated them with smoke. Eighteen fathers perished in the cave.
The Lord punished the barbarians who had plundered the Lavra. A sudden sickness carried them off.
