Seventy-seven Manuscripts from Jerusalem

The Mar Saba Monastery

            In the year 483, a monk named Sabbas founded a monastery about eight miles east of Bethlehem in the rugged Kidron Valley.  This monastery – the Holy Lavra of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified – gradually grew into a highly influential theological center.  John of Damascus worked there, and his tomb is there.  Although the premises were temporarily abandoned in the 1400’s due to constant raids by nearby nomadic tribes, it was reactivated, and in 1625 formally joined the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

            Much of the manuscript collection of the Saint Sabbas Monastery is presently housed in Jerusalem.  In 1949-1950, an expedition led by Kenneth W. Clark visited the collections overseen by the Jerusalem Patriarchate, and photographed almost all of their manuscripts.  The Library of Congress recently released the photographs of these images online, making them freely available.  Many of these manuscripts consist of copies of the Psalms, saints’ biographies, history books, patristic compositions, liturgical texts, and even an occasional work by an ancient Greek author, such as Aristotle.  The collections also include some New Testament manuscripts.

            The New Testament manuscripts from the Saint Sabbas Collection are listed here, with embedded links to images of each manuscript.  

GA 1328:  Hagios Sabas 101 - Four Gospels and Revelation

GA 1329:  Hagios Sabas 166 - Four Gospels

GA 1330:  Hagios Sabas 200 - Four Gospels and Commentary on Paul

GA 1331:  Hagios Sabas 201 - Four Gospels (with other material)

GA 1332:  Hagios Sabas 232 - Commentary on Four Gospels (with Gospels-text)

GA 1333:  Hagios Sabas 243 - Four Gospels

GA 1334:  Hagios Sabas 244 - Four Gospels

The headpiece of Matthew
in GA 1335 (Sabas 248)

GA 1335:  Hagios Sabas 248 - Four Gospels (The Gospel of Matthew in this manuscript has one of the strangest headpieces I have ever seen.)

GA 1336:  Hagios Sabas 262 – Four Gospels (Theophylact Commentary)

GA 1337:  Hagios Sabas 263 – Matthew and Mark (Theophylact Commentary)

GA 1338:  Hagios Sabas 357 - Four Gospels

GA 1339:  Hagios Sabas 358 - Four Gospels

GA 1340:  Hagios Sabas 359 - Four Gospels

GA 1341:  Hagios Sabas 410 - Four Gospels

GA 1342:  Hagios Sabas 411 - Four Gospels

GA 1343:  Hagios Sabas 412 - Four Gospels

GA 1345:  Hagios Sabas 572 - Four Gospels

GA 1346:  Hagios Sabas 606 - Four Gospels

GA 1347:  Hagios Sabas 644 - Four Gospels

GA 1348:  Hagios Sabas 645 - Four Gospels

GA 2302:  Hagios Sabas 537 Revelation with Andreas Commentary

GA 2303:  Hagios Sabas 605 - Four Gospels and Acts, etc.

GA 2926:  Hagios Sabas 676 - Revelation and Praxapostolos (This was catalogued as a Praxapostolos manuscript, but it begins with the continuous text of Revelation; Acts begins after that.)

            In addition to those 23 continuous-text manuscripts, the collection from the Saint Sabbas Monastery includes the following lectionaries: 

The first and last page
of Revelation in GA 2926

Hagios Sabas 12 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 18 - Synaxarion

Hagios Sabas 23 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 40 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 58 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 64 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 82 - Evangelion (1027 A.D.)

Hagios Sabas 84 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 85 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 104 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 107 - Praxapostolos

Hagios Sabas 144 - Evangelion (1019 A.D.)

Hagios Sabas 145 - Apostolos (1556 A.D.)

Hagios Sabas 152 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 153 - Evangelion
Hagios Sabas 178 Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 179 - Synaxarion

Hagios Sabas 188 Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 202 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 203 - Praxapostolos (made in 1624)

Hagios Sabas 204 - Praxapostolos

Hagios Sabas 205 - Apostolos-Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 222 - Apostolos

Hagios Sabas 235 - Evangelion 

Hagios Sabas 236 Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 242 - Synaxarion

Hagios Sabas 245 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 246 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 266 - Apostolos

Hagios Sabas 296 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 333 - Synaxarion

Hagios Sabas 356 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 360 - Evangelion (Weird script in the preface – stylized Georgian?)

Hagios Sabas 612 - Aposto-Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 617 - Praxapostolos

Hagios Sabas 665 - Praxapostolos

Hagios Sabas 704 - Evangelion with Liturgical Supplements

            Another collection held at the Jerusalem Patriarchate is categorized as the Panagios Taphu collection, and it, too, includes some New Testament manuscripts, listed here with embedded links:

GA 1312:  Panagios Taphu 25 - Four Gospels (1000’s)

GA 1313:  Panagios Taphu 28 – Four Gospels with commentary (1000’s)

GA 1314:  Panagios Taphu 31 - Four Gospels (1000’s)

GA 1315:  Panagios Taphu 37 - New Testament (1000’s)

GA 1316:  Panagios Taphu 41 - Four Gospels (1100’s) 

GA 1317:  Panagios Taphu 42 - Four Gospels (1000’s)

GA 1318:  Panagios Taphu 46 - Four Gospels (Neatly written.  Merits closer study.)

GA 1319:  Panagios Taphu 47 - New Testament

GA 1320:  Panagios Taphu 48 - Four Gospels

GA 1321:  Panagios Taphu 49 - Four Gospels (Some pages from a lectionary at the beginning)

GA 1322:  Panagios Taphu 56 - Four Gospels

GA 1323:  Panagios Taphu 59 - Four Gospels

GA 1324:  Panagios Taphu 60 Four Gospels (An imperial copy?)

GA 1325:  Panagios Taphu 62 Four Gospels (Made in 1724 – Greek and Modern Turkish Greek)

GA 1326:  Panagios Taphu 139 - Four Gospels

            Besides the 15 continuous-text manuscripts listed above, the Panagios Taphu collection also includes the following nine lectionaries: 

Panagios Taphu 33 - Evangelion (900’s/1000’s) (Elaborately executed)

Panagios Taphu 38 - Praxapostolos with Revelation and Theophylact Commentary (1000’s)

Panagios Taphu 43 - Praxapostolos (Damaged; text begins in Acts 12)

Panagios Taphu 105 - Evangelion (made in 1762!)
Hagios Taphu 161 - Evangelion (1600’s)

Panagios Taphu 285 - Apostolos

Panagios Taphu 462 - Praxapostolos
Panagios Taphu 526 - Evangelion (Made in 1502)

Panagios Taphu 530 - Evangelion (made in 1744 – Greek and modern Turkish Greek)

[A couple of manuscripts were in the Checklist of manuscripts in the Jerusalem Patriarchate’s holdings, but I could not find photographs of them:  Hagios Sabas 413 (GA 1344, a manuscript of the Gospels) and Hagios Sabas 154 (an Evangelion).]

Thanks to the Library of Congress for making these images available.  Thanks, too, to Peter Montero and Peter Gurry for sharing the news about their release.