When is Sabbas’s name day?

Sabbas can be celebrated on 3 feasts in the Orthodox calendar. People keep the feast of the saint they were named for, or the one their family has always kept.

Every feast on which Sabbas is celebrated

The saints behind the name

• 

  Savas the Sanctified

  March 5, Venerable, Σάββας

  St. Savas the Sanctified was born in Cappadocia in the fifth century and came as a young man to the Judean desert, where he became a disciple of the great elders of Palestine. In the wild gorge of the Kidron he founded the Great Lavra, which still bears his name, and became the leader and lawgiver of the monks of the desert.

  Name days: Savvas, Sabbas

• 

  Transfiguration of the Lord

  August 6, Great Feast, Μεταμόρφωση

  The Great Feast of the Transfiguration commemorates the day Christ led Peter, James, and John up Mount Tabor and was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, His garments became white as light, Moses and Elijah appeared speaking with Him, and the voice of the Father declared Him the beloved Son.

  Name days: Savvas, Sabbas, Sotirios, Sotiris, Sotiria, Sotiroula

• 

  Savvas the Sanctified

  December 5, Venerable, Σάββας ο Ηγιασμένος

  Venerable Savvas the Sanctified, born in Cappadocia in the fifth century, entered the monastic life as a boy and became one of the great fathers of the Judean desert. He founded the Great Lavra near Jerusalem, which bears his name to this day, and gathered thousands of monks under his guidance, while defending the Orthodox faith of the Council of Chalcedon.

  Name days: Savvas, Sabbas, Savas, Savvoula

Also celebrating with Sabbas

These names share the feast, many of them other forms of the same name:

Savvas, Sotirios, Sotiris, Sotiria, Sotiroula, Savas, Savvoula

What to say on a name day

The Greek wish is Χρόνια Πολλά (Chronia Polla), “many years.” A call or a short message on the day is what people remember. See name day wishes you can send and what a name day is.