THE COMMEMORATION OF THE BURNT FATHERS IN THE NEW IADGARI: LITURGY AND TRADITION OF THE MARTYRED MONKS OF ST. SABAS

Abstract

This article examines the liturgical service for the Commemoration of the Burnt Fathers – the monks of the Great Lavra of St. Sabas martyred by fire and smoke around 796–798 – as preserved in the New Iadgari and its later Athonite redaction. Through comparative textual and structural analysis of the principal Georgian witnesses (primarily Sin. Geo 1 and Jer. 100) and the early Greek source Sin. Gr. 607, the study traces the evolution of the service’s liturgical rank and hymnographic composition.

In the New Iadgari tradition, the commemoration on 19 March occupies a prominent structural position within the Great Lent cycle, nearly equivalent to the Annunciation, featuring stichera at the Praises and an eight-ode kanon attributed to Stephen the Sabaite. In contrast, both the Athonite redaction (Jer. 100) and the ancient Greek witness (Sin. Gr. 607) display a clear reduction in liturgical rank, evident in the omission of stichera at the Praises and the redistribution or simplification of other elements.

While the hymnographic core demonstrates notable stability across the traditions, the outer liturgical framework underwent progressive simplification. This process reflects the broader impact of Byzantinization and the increasing dominance of the penitential character of Great Lent. The study argues that the New Iadgari preserves an earlier Palestinian-Sabaite form of the service that was gradually marginalized in both Greek and later Georgian usage, highlighting the conservative role of Georgian monastic scriptoria in transmitting archaic features of the Jerusalem liturgy.

Keywords: New Iadgari, Burnt Fathers, St. Sabas Lavra, Sabaite liturgy, Byzantinization, Georgian hymnography, Jerusalem rite