THE FORTY MANLY MARTYRS OF SEBASTE (MARCH 9TH)

A Contemporary Icon of the Holy Forty Martyrs from St. Elizabeth’s Convent, Belarus 

Edited by Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West) 

In the days of Licinius, co-emperor with Constantine the Great, there arose a fierce persecution against the Christians in the Eastern Roman Empire. Among the legions stationed at Sebaste, a city of Armenia, there served forty soldiers of the Twelfth Legion, known as the “Thundering Legion.” These men were renowned for their valor and loyalty, but they were even more renowned for their steadfast faith in Christ. 

When the order was given that all soldiers must offer sacrifice to the pagan gods, these forty refused. Led by their captain, Candidus, they declared before the tribune, “We are Christians, and we serve the King of Heaven.” The governor, Agricolaus, threatened them with torture and death, but they remained resolute. 

Agricolaus, seeing their resolve, ordered that they be stripped of their armor and cast naked into a frozen lake to die of exposure. It was a bitter winter night, and guards surrounded the lake to prevent any from escaping. A warm bath was prepared on the shore as a temptation for any who would renounce Christ. 

In the frigid air, the martyrs prayed together: “O Lord, we are forty who fight for Thee. Grant that we may be forty who receive the crown of glory, that none may fall from this sacred number.” Their prayer was answered in a miraculous way. 

As the night wore on, one soldier’s courage failed. He left the lake and sought the warmth of the bath, but as he entered it, he died instantly. Seeing this, one of the guards, named Aglaius, was moved with divine grace. He cast off his garments, proclaimed his faith in Christ, and took the place of the one who had fled, restoring the number to forty. 

As dawn broke, the ice melted around the martyrs’ bodies, and a supernatural light bathed them in glory. Their persecutors, seeing the miraculous endurance of the saints, broke their legs and cast their bodies into the fire, that no relics might remain. But the faithful secretly collected their ashes and bones, venerating them as holy relics, as they had done from the very beginning of the Church. 

The story of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste spread throughout Christendom, and they became a symbol of steadfastness under trial and manliness of virtue and faith. Their sacrifice is commemorated each year as a witness to the power of divine grace and the hope of eternal life. 

COLLECT

O Almighty God, who didst strengthen Thy holy martyrs with courage to endure the bitter cold and cruel torment, grant us likewise to be faithful even unto death, that we may receive with them the crown of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. 

#AncientChurchoftheWest #OrthodoxArchdiocese #Anglo-Celtic #AngloOrthodox #FortyMartyrsOfSebaste #MartyrsOfSebaste #WesternOrthodox #AncientChurchoftheWest #OrthodoxArchdiocese #AngloCeltic #AngloOrthodox #ChristianMartyrs #FaithfulUntoDeath #ThunderingLegion