Abai (martyr) explained

Abai
Death Date:	363^[1] ^[2]
Feast Day:	October 1
Venerated In:	Syriac Orthodox Church

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

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

Notes and References

1. Book: The Scattered Pearls : a History of Syriac Literature and Sciences . Ignatius Aphram I. Barsoum (Ighnāṭyūs Afrām I), Patriarch of Antioch . 164 . Gorgias Press LLC . New Jersey . 1-931956-04-9 . 9 October 2012 . ...Saba the youth and his companion Abai in 363... . 2003.
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. Book: Calendar of Historical Events, Births, Holidays and Observances . MobileReference . 2007 . 9781605011097.
4. Book: Nilles, Nicolaus . Kalendarium manuale utriusque ecclesiae orientalis et occidentalis . 2 . 1897 . Latin . 379 . S. Abai, m. in Perside, 460..
5. http://syriaca.org/person/1093/ Syriac Biographical Dictionary, Abai, Syriac Not Available (sometime between 335 - 385)