The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste

When did The Forty Martyrs die?

The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste is dated d. c. AD 320 (martyrs) in the archive, which places The Forty Martyrs in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.

Which early sources mention The Forty Martyrs?

The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nyssa. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Where was The Forty Martyrs from?

The archive associates The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste with Sebaste, Armenia Minor. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.

Who were The Forty Martyrs’ contemporaries?

The archive links The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste to 2 other figures, including Emperor Licinius and Theodore of Amasea (Tiro). Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.

[Preached within ~50 years, while eyewitness memory lived in Cappadocia.] They were kept through the night in the open air upon the frozen lake, a bath of warm water set upon the shore to tempt the waverer. One broke and ran — and perished at the threshold of his ease; but a guard who watched, seeing the crowns descending, stripped off his garments and took the deserter's place, crying: 'I am a Christian.' Forty had entered the contest; forty were crowned.

[Preached at their commemoration; Gregory's own family had laid relics of the Forty in the chapel at Annisa.] These forty were one soul in separate bodies — one in their confession, one in their endurance, one in the crown.