The Lives of the Saints, Volume 01 (of 16): JanuaryBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Religion
The Lives of the Saints, Volume 01 (of 16): January
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Christian saints
incense rose towards heaven, as a sign that thence should ascend the
prayers of the faithful from age to age, in the daily sacrifice. There
accordingly he erected his monastery, and it was soon filled with holy
monks. To this monastery were annexed several infirmaries; one for the
sick monks, two for sick lay folk; one for the aged and feeble monks,
and one for persons deranged. All succours, spiritual and temporal, were
afforded in these hospitals, which were kept in admirable order, and
were attended by the monks with alacrity and care. S. Theodosius erected
also several buildings for the reception of strangers, in which he
exercised an unbounded hospitality, entertaining all that came, for
whose use there were, on one occasion, above a hundred tables served
with provisions. The monastery itself was like a city of saints in the
midst of a desert; and in it reigned regularity, silence, charity, and
peace. There were four churches belonging to it, one for each of the
three nations of which his community was composed, each speaking a
different language, and the fourth church was for the use of the
recovering lunatics. The nations into which his community was divided
were the Greeks, and all those using the liturgy in the Greek tongue;
the second church was used by those having divine worship in the
Armenian language; and in the third church the holy praises of God were
sung, and the sacrifice was offered in the language of the Bessi, that
is, of the wandering nations of Arab race. "Thus by them," says the
contemporary writer; "the rule of hymnody was carried out, and seven
times a day was it offered to the God of all. But when it behoved them
to participate in the venerable Sacrament, the law was very beautifully
constituted among them, that till after the Gospel, divinely inspired,
each should hear in his own church and language the divine voice; but
after that they were assembled into one--the possessed alone
excepted--namely, into the large church of the Greeks, as is done to
this day, and there they participate together of the sanctifying gifts."
At times not set apart for public prayer and necessary rest, every monk
was obliged to apply himself to some trade or manual labour. Sallust,
patriarch of Jerusalem, appointed S. Sabas superior of all the hermits
in Palestine, and S. Theodosius head of all the monks living in
community, for which reason he obtained the title of Coenobiarch.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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