29th January is the saint’s day for Sabinian, a French
martyr of the 3rd century.
Sabinian was born on the island of Samos, just off the coast
of Asia Minor, but he was so put off by the lax moral standards of the
islanders that he travelled to Gaul in hope of finding something better.
At Troyes he was converted to Christianity by Patroclus, who
was martyred in about the year 259. Sabinian was undaunted by this setback and
carried on the work of Patroclus in the area. He was able to do this for 26
years and made many converts in the region of the Upper Seine.
However, eventually he was arrested and taken before Emperor
Aurelian. He refused to renounce his Christianity and suffered the fate that he
must have expected. Legend has it that he survived being shot by arrows and
burned with fire, so he was executed by beheading, in about the year 275.
© John Welford
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