Abai (martyr)

Abai
Died	363 [1] [2]
Venerated in	Syriac Orthodox Church
Feast	October 1

Abai was a martyr in Syria. He was killed during the reign of Shapur II. He is a saint in the Syriac Orthodox Church and his feast day is October 1. ^[3] He is included in Kalendarium Manuale Utriusque Ecclesiae Orientalis et Occidentalis . ^[4] He had been killed by his father Adorpirozgerd who later became a Christian. He was killed together with other 5000 martyrs including his mother Astina (Hwarta). He was mentioned in the legend of Sābā Pirgushnasp, a child martyr, who had been a son of the governor of Beth ʿArabaye and had been killed under the Shapur II. Approximately the years of his life are 335-385 AD. ^[5]

Abai is not to be confused with the Syriac saint Abhai.

References

• Holweck, Frederick George (1924). A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co.

1. Ignatius Aphram I. Barsoum (Ighnāṭyūs Afrām I), Patriarch of Antioch (2003). The Scattered Pearls : a History of Syriac Literature and Sciences. New Jersey: Gorgias Press LLC. p. 164. ISBN   1-931956-04-9 . Retrieved October 9, 2012. ...Saba the youth and his companion Abai in 363...
2. Death year is listed differently in two references – 363 in The Scattered Pearls and 460 in Kalendarium. His death year is listed as 363 in this article because that date corresponds to the reign of Shapur II, King of the Persian Sassanid Empire from 309 to 379.
3. Calendar of Historical Events, Births, Holidays and Observances. MobileReference. 2007. ISBN   9781605011097.
4. Nilles, Nicolaus (1897). Kalendarium manuale utriusque ecclesiae orientalis et occidentalis (in Latin). Vol. 2. p. 379. S. Abai, m. in Perside, 460.
5. Syriac Biographical Dictionary, Abai, Syriac Not Available (sometime between 335 - 385) Archived 2017-04-16 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 6 Feb 2018