The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Sabbas the Goth
d. AD 372 (martyr) · Gothic layman · Martyr · Gothia (beyond the Danube)
The Nicene Age
Who Sabbas the Goth was
A humble Gothic layman drowned in the river Mousaios during Athanaric's persecution beyond the Danube, whose passion — sent to Cappadocia with his relics — is one of the finest of all martyr-accounts and a rare window on the daily life of a barbarian Christian village. Basil of Caesarea's letters record the arrival of the relics and the correspondence with the Gothic churches.
Also listed in martyrs.
Common questions
When did Sabbas die?
Sabbas the Goth is dated d. AD 372 (martyr) in the archive, which places Sabbas in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
Which early sources mention Sabbas?
Sabbas the Goth is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from The Church in Gothia, The church of Gothia and Basil of Caesarea. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Sabbas from?
The archive associates Sabbas the Goth with Gothia (beyond the Danube).
Who were Sabbas’ contemporaries?
The archive links Sabbas the Goth to 7 other figures, including Basil the Great, Ulfilas (Wulfila), Sansalas and Atharidus. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
The Passion of Saint Sabas the Goth — the letter of the Church in Gothia to the Church in Cappadocia (AD 372; original Greek, working translation)
c. AD 372[Contemporary document, sent with his relics.] 'The Church of God that sojourns in Gothia to the Church of God that sojourns in Cappadocia... Sabas, a Goth by race, orthodox in faith, reverent and ready in all obedience... was drowned in the river Mousaios, in his thirty-eighth year, on the third day after the feast of Pascha.'The Church in Gothia · source text
The Passion of St Sabbas the Goth — written within months of the martyrdom
c. AD 372[The letter from the Gothic church describing his arrest with Sansalas, the torture with cart-axles, and the drowning in the Musaeus on 12 April 372.]The church of Gothia · Passio S. Sabae Gothi · source text
Basil of Caesarea, Letters 164–165, to Ascholius (c. AD 374; original Greek, working translation)
c. AD 375'Thou hast honored the land that bore thee with a martyr lately crowned in the barbarian country beyond the Danube — like a grateful husbandman sending the firstfruits home to them that reared him.'Basil of Caesarea · source text
Connected in the archive
People
- Basil the Great
- Ulfilas (Wulfila)
- Sansalas
- Atharidus
- Athanaric
- Gouttica
- Ascholius (Acholius) of Thessalonica
Events in this lifetime
- AD 303 · The Great Persecution begins, AD 303
- AD 303 · The search of the church at Cirta, AD 303
- AD 306 · The Council of Elvira, AD 306
- AD 311 · Galerius’ edict of Serdica, AD 311
- AD 313 · The Edict of Milan, AD 313
- AD 314 · The Council of Arles, AD 314
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
- AD 361 · Julian’s pagan restoration, AD 361
- AD 366 · Damasus and the catacomb epigrams, AD 366
- AD 367 · Athanasius lists the 27 NT books, AD 367
- AD 372 · The martyrdom of Sabbas the Goth, AD 372
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Sabbas.
- 1Gothiaprovince only