Mar Shimun Bar Sabbae ( syc, ܡܪܝ ܫܡܥܘܢ ܒܪܨܒܥܐ, died Good Friday, 345) was Bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, from Persia, the ''de facto'' head of the Church of the East, until his death. He was bishop during the persecutions of King

Shapur II Shapur II ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 ; New Persian: , ''Šāpur'', 309 – 379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth Sasanian King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Iran. The longest-reigning monarch in Iranian history, he reigne ...

of the Sasanian Empire of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, and was executed along with many of his followers. He is revered as a saint in various Christian communions.

Biography

Shimun Bar Sabbae was born the son of a fuller. In 316, he had been named coadjutor bishop of his predecessor, Papa bar Gaggai, in Seleucia-Ctesiphon (now al-Mada'in). He was later accused of being a friend of the Roman emperor and of maintaining secret correspondence with him. On that basis,

ordered the execution of all Christian priests. Because they would not convert to

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...

, Shimoun was beheaded with several thousands, including bishops, priests, and faithful. These include the priests Abdella (or Abdhaihla), Ananias (Hannanja), Chusdazat (Guhashtazad, Usthazan, or Gothazat), and

Pusai Pusai (?- Good Friday, 344) was a Christian priest and companion in martyrdom with Simeon Barsabae and others. They are collectively commemorated in feasts on April 17 in the Greek Orthodox Church, April 21 in the Roman Catholic Church, April 30 in ...

(Fusik), Askitrea, the daughter of Pusai, the eunuch Azad (Asatus) and several companions, numbered either 1150 or 100.

Sozomen Salamanes Hermias Sozomenos ( grc-gre, Σαλαμάνης Ἑρμείας Σωζομενός; la, Sozomenus; c. 400 – c. 450 AD), also known as Sozomen, was a Roman lawyer and historian of the Christian Church. Family and home He was born aro ...

, a historian of the 5th century maintained that the numbers registered were 16,000 of the martyrs. Another historian, Al-Masoudy from the 10th century, held that there were killed around 200,000 Assyrians. They are commemorated on: :April 21 in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, :the Friday after

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

in the Syriac Orthodox Church :April 17 in the

Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

, :April 30 in the Melkite Greek Catholic Church :August 17 in the Assyrian Church of the East

References

*Holweck, F. G. ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints''. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co., 1924. {{DEFAULTSORT:Simeon Barsabae Year of birth missing 345 deaths 4th-century archbishops 4th-century Christian martyrs Patriarchs of the Church of the East Assyrian Church of the East saints People executed by the Sasanian Empire Christians in the Sasanian Empire Eastern Catholic saints 4th-century bishops Bishops of Seleucia-Ctesiphon