Saint Sabbas Stratelates (Sava Stratelat, Sabas Stratilat, Savva Stratilatus), also known as Sabbas the General of Rome (died 272, in

Tiber River The Tiber ( ; ; ) is the List of rivers of Italy, third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the R ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

) was an early Christian warrior saint and martyr. He served as a Roman military general under Emperor

Aurelian Aurelian (; ; 9 September ) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 270 to 275 AD during the Crisis of the Third Century. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited the Roman Empire after it had nearly disinte ...

. He is often paired with Saint Sabbas the Goth, and his martyrdom inspired 70 Roman soldiers to follow in his footsteps. Saint Sabbas Stratelates, a member of a Gothic tribe, demonstrated exceptional bravery and rose to the rank of military commander (''

stratelates ''Stratēlatēs'' (, "driver/leader of the army") was a Greek term designating a general, which also became an honorary dignity in the Byzantine Empire. In the former sense, it was often applied to military saints, such as Theodore Stratelates. ...

)'' under Roman Emperor Aurelian (270-275). From his youth, Sabbas was a devout Christian dedicated to following Christ's teachings. He showed compassion by helping those in need and visiting Christians in prison. Saint Sabbas also possessed the gift of wonderworking, healing the sick and casting out demons in the name of Christ.

Martyrdom

When the emperor learned that Saint Sabbas was a Christian, he demanded that he apostatize. The martyr threw down his military belt and declared that he would not forsake his faith. They beat him, burned him with torches, and threw him into a cauldron with tar, but the martyr remained unharmed. Looking on at his torments, seventy soldiers came to believe in Christ. They were beheaded by the sword. St Sabbas was thrown in prison. At midnight, while he was praying, Christ appeared to the martyr and shone on him the light of His Glory. The Savior bade him not to fear, but to stand firm. Encouraged, the Martyr Sabbas underwent new torture in the morning, and was drowned in a river in 272.

Memory

* April 24 - in new calendar churches * May 7 - in Russian, Ukrainian and Serbian Orthodox Churches that use old calendar

External links

Serbian Orthodox Church: The Holy Martyr Sabbas Stratelates (April 24)

OCA: Lives of all saints commemorated on April 24: Martyr Sava Stratelates "the General" of Rome

* ttp://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=2405 Catholic saints: St. Sabas* (in Russian
Martyr Sabbas Stratelates
2nd-century births 272 deaths Ancient Roman generals Italian saints 3rd-century Christian martyrs 3rd-century Romans {{saint-stub