Sabas of Stoudios was an abbot of the Monastery of Stoudios who played a leading role at the

Second Council of Nicaea The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by the Old Catholics, the Anglican Communion, an ...

(787 AD).

Biography

The Second Council of Nicaea met to restore the veneration of

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...

s, which had been suppressed and banned by imperial edict of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. Sabas, along with Plato of Sakkoudion, was leader of a group of monks who opposed the iconoclasts—Sabas accused the Empire of interfering with the independence of the Church in the preparations for the council. Sabas was a leading candidate to preside over the Council, which ended being presided over by

Patriarch Tarasios Saint Tarasios (also Saint Tarasius; el, Ἅγιος Ταράσιος; c. 730 – 25 February 806) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 25 December 784 until his death on 25 February 806. Background Tarasios was born and raised i ...

. Sabas was strongly opposed to the readmission of iconoclast bishops as leaders of their sees. The Monastery of Stoudios was considered the most important monastery in Byzantine

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. As head abbot, or Hegumen, Sabas was the immediate predecessor to

Theodore the Studite Theodore the Studite ( grc-x-medieval, Θεόδωρος ό Στουδίτης; 759–826), also known as Theodorus Studita and Saint Theodore of Stoudios/Studium, was a Byzantine Greek monk and abbot of the Stoudios Monastery in Constantinople. ...

. Other notable Stoudios abbots included

Symeon the Studite Symeon the Studite, also Symeon the Pious or Symeon Eulabes, and sometimes Symeon the Elder, was an influential lay monk of the Monastery of Stoudios in Constantinople during the 10th century. He was the spiritual father, or teacher, of Symeon the ...

and Niketas Stethatos. It is unknown if Sabas was still alive when Theodore became abbot, and what he might have done after leaving Stoudios.

Notes

{{authority control Byzantine Iconoclasm 8th-century Byzantine people Abbots of the Stoudios Monastery