Historical Context
The martyrs belonged to the Twelfth Legion, Legio XII Fulminata, stationed in Lesser Armenia. The persecution under Licinius, who had removed Christians from his army, formed the immediate backdrop to their condemnation around 320. According to the synaxarion, a prefect at Sebaste sentenced the forty professing soldiers to die of exposure on a frozen pond on an extremely cold night.
Warm baths were placed beside the pond so that any who relented might find relief. The synaxarion relates that one soldier broke and ran to the baths, where he died upon immersion; a guard named Aglaius, seeing a supernatural brilliance overshadowing the remaining thirty-nine, declared himself a Christian, removed his garments, and joined them, so that the number of forty was preserved. At daybreak the bodies — still showing signs of life — were burned and the remains cast into a river.
The Forty Named Martyrs
The Eastern Orthodox menaion preserves the full list of the forty names: Hesychius, Meliton, Heraclius, Smaragdus, Domnus, Eunoicus, Valens, Vivianus, Claudius, Priscus, Theodulus, Euthychius, John, Xanthias, Helianus, Sisinius, Cyrion, Angius, Aetius, Flavius, Acacius, Ecdicius, Lysimachus, Alexander, Elias, Candidus, Theophilus, Dometian, Gaius, Gorgonius, Eutyches, Athanasius, Cyril, Sacerdon, Nicholas, Valerius, Philoctemon, Severian, Chudion, and Aglaius — the converted guard who joined the company to complete the forty. A variant listing by Antonio Borrelli differs slightly in ordering and spelling but names essentially the same individuals.
Veneration and Legacy
The Forty Martyrs were celebrated by major Church Fathers within a few generations of their deaths. Basil the Great preached the earliest known homily on their feast around 370–379; Gregory of Nyssa delivered two preserved discourses praising them and buried his parents near their relics; and Ephrem the Syrian composed eulogies in their honor. Acts of their martyrdom survive in Greek, Syriac, and Latin, together with a 'Testament' attributed to the Forty Martyrs.
By tradition, three days after the martyrdom the saints appeared to Saint Peter, Bishop of Sebaste, directing him to gather their remains. Their relics were distributed among many cities, prompting widespread veneration and the building of churches, including one at Caesarea in Cappadocia. Veneration reached Western Europe through bishops such as Gaudentius of Brescia (died c. 410–427), who received particles of the martyrs' ashes during travels in the East and placed them in the altar of his basilica.
Relics & Shrines
The historian Sozomen gives an account of the discovery of the martyrs' relics in Constantinople, kept within the shrine of Saint Thyrsus, an event facilitated by the Empress Pulcheria. Relics were widely dispersed: Saint Peter, Bishop of Sebaste, is said to have collected the remains, and portions reached churches across the East and, through Gaudentius of Brescia, the West.
Customs & Traditions
The feast of March 9 falls within the forty days of Great Lent, and tradition draws a deliberate symbolic connection between the endurance of the forty martyrs and the spiritual discipline of those who fast. The Orthodox wedding service includes prayers that mention these saints, reminding the couple that spiritual crowns await them in Heaven.
In Orthodox tradition the custom exists of baking 'skylarks,' bird-shaped pastries, on March 9, connected to the belief that birds announce the coming of spring at this time of year.
