Mar Saba

Today I finally made it to Mar Saba. It was fairly simple actually: took the 124 Arab bus to the Bethlehem checkpoint, walked though, and took a cab directly to the site.

Mar Saba is a monastery in the Judean desert that has been in continual operation since the early centuries of Christianity. It was founded by the Desert Father par excellence, St. Sabas. Also, in keeping with its isolated location and Eastern Orthodox tradition, the monks seem to have lost their minds.

Don't believe me? Let me replay the scene:

-I approach the thick wooden door in the giant stone wall and knock. I hear a voice from inside-
Guard monk: What you want?
Me: I'd, um, I'd like to see the monastery...
Guard monk: Why??
Me: Um... I know a little something about St. Sabas, and because the monastery is... a treasure of Christendom?
Guard monk: ... Where you from?
Me: America.
Guard monk: You alone?
Me: Yes?
-The guard monk peaks out the door, looks around like I might be part of a raiding party or something-
Guard monk: Ok, you come inside.
-Here I am directed to 'hurry quick quick' down the stairs, where a monk from Greece is talking to two Spanish dudes who happen to be there-
Guide monk: You miss beginning of my talk, but I catch you up: in the beginning, Jesus Christ the crucifixiated and raised began the Orthodox Church, one holy catholic and apostolic. He was first martyr, and the skulls of martyrs are here.... Are you Orthodox?
Me: Uh... no...
Guide monk: Protestant, maybe?
Me: Lutheran.
Guide monk: Ugh... so you dont believe in relics. Well, today, we make you Orthodox. Look here...
-He turns on a crank-powered flashlight-
Guide monk: You see this behind me?
-I look, and low and behold, there is something behind him-
Guide monk: That's corpse of St. Sabas!
-Ack!-
Guide monk: You look here, look, look, he still has some skin! Seventeen hundred years, and still some skin! It's a miracle! Maybe you dont believe in miracles because you Protestant, but here, miracle, and now you see St. Sabas our founder here has skin, because he is baptized Orthodox and takes in his mouth body and blood of the crucifixiated One.
-Ok.... So he shows me the skulls of the monks they have collected in a church built around the cave of St. Sabas, which was cool, and points to one specific skull-
Guide monk: See, see!
Me: Uh, no?
Guide monk: Skull come together with lines. one line across ear to ear, and then line back from middle. But look, see?! The line goes from eyes to neck! It is not a T, it's a cross! A miracle! Doctors can't explain!
-And indeed, there is a skull where the line separating the parietal bones continues forward to bisect the frontal bone-

Now, there's everything to be said for a simple faith, but it was just so funny the way he put things!