The Lavra of St. Sabbas the Sanctified in Jerusalem in the Memoirs of Russian Pilgrims of the XIXth Century

Abstract

Lavra of St. Sava the Sanctified was founded by Saint Sava in the end of the fifth century. Monastery located in the Judean desert, in the valley of Cedron. In the monastery lived many hermits, among them St. John of Damascus, Church hymnography, author of the well-known Church hymns. The historical and spiritual significance of the Lavra of St. Sava the Consecrated for Palestine was precisely determined by A. N. Muravyov in «Letters from the East», comparing it with the Lavra of St. Sergius. Therefore, the memoirs of pilgrims can be considered not only as literary works, but also as an important historical source on the history of Palestinian asceticism in the XIX century. The research methodology is based on the complex application of traditional scientific methods: source-based, historical-logical and comparative-historical. In this article, based on the memoirs of pilgrims of the XIX century, the way of monastic life of the savaites is reconstructed, and the spiritual appearance of the Abbot of the Lavra, Abbot Joasaph, is described. Russian Russian spiritual mission members, famous Russian theologians of the XIX century, Saint Theophan the Recluse and Archimandrite Leonid (Kavelin) are analyzed in separate sections for their influence on the literary heritage of the Lavra.