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Venerable-Martyr4th century

Martyr Bata the Persian

4th century (died ca. 364)

Also known as Batas of Nisibis

A Persian monk who was put to death for confessing Christ during the persecution of the Church in Persia.

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Commemorated as

The Holy Monk-Martyr Bata the Persian

Life

Bata the Persian was a fourth-century monastic of the Church in Persia who was put to death at the city of Nisibis for confessing the Christian Faith. He is venerated as a martyr, and because he was a monk before his death he is also numbered among the venerable-martyrs.

The surviving record of his life is brief. The synaxarion notes only that he labored in one of the monasteries of Persia and that he was killed during a persecution of Christians initiated by the Persian emperor, dating his martyrdom to about the year 364. His memory is kept on May 1.

Troparion1 hymnReadHide
TroparionTone 8

The image of God was truly preserved in you, O Father,
for you took up the Cross and followed Christ.
By so doing, you taught us to disregard the flesh, for it passes away,
but to care instead for the soul, since it is immortal.
Therefore your spirit, O Holy Father Bata, rejoices with the Angels!

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline2 momentsReadHide
  1. 4th centuryMonastic life in PersiaBata lived as a monastic in Persia, laboring in one of the monasteries of that land.
  2. ca. 364Martyrdom at NisibisHe was put to death in the city of Nisibis for confessing the Christian Faith, during a persecution of Christians initiated by the Persian emperor.

Contributions & Legacy

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Historical Context

Bata's death belongs to the long persecution of Christians within the Sasanian (Persian) Empire during the fourth century, when professing the Christian Faith could be treated as an act of disloyalty to the Persian state and its religion. The sources record that the persecution under which he suffered was initiated by the Persian emperor.

His martyrdom is associated with Nisibis, a city of the Mesopotamian frontier between the Roman and Persian worlds. An approximate date of about 364 is preserved in the liturgical calendar, placing his death in this fourth-century period of conflict and martyrdom for the Church in Persia.

Veneration

Bata is commemorated as a martyr on May 1. Because he was a monastic before his martyrdom, he is also reckoned among the venerable-martyrs. The name is also transmitted in the form 'Batas of Nisibis,' identifying him with the city where he was killed.

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints