SABAS, or Sabbas, St (Syr. Mār Sābhā), one of the early leaders of monasticism in Palestine, w as a native of Cappadocia, born about 439. While still a child he acco m panied his parents to Alexandria, w hence in his eighteenth year, having m ade choice of the ascetic life, he removed to Palestine, settling at the desolate spot no w occupied by the convent called by his name, about t w o hours fro m the north-west shore of the Dead Sea. As his reputation for holiness increased he w as joined by others, w ho ulti m ately constituted a “laura” under the rule of St Basil. He took some part in the doctrinal controversies of the day, being a zealous defender of the decrees of Chalcedon. He died about 532 and is commemorated on 5th Dece m ber. Another saint of this na m e, surnamed “the Goth,” suffered m artyrdo m at the hands of Athanaric, the Visigothic king, in the reign of Valentinian; he is commemorated on 15th (or 18th) April. See also Hoffmann, Syr. Acten Persischer Märtyrer (1880), Nos. iv. and xii., for lives of t w o martyrs na m ed Sābhā.