SABA the Goth, saint and martyr. - He suffered martyrdom on 12 April 372; on this day he is commemorated by the Latin and Greek Church.
His story is recounted in a letter, contemporary with the events, written by the Christian Goths to s. Basilio, on the occasion of the translation of his body to Cesarea di Cappadocia.
When the persecution of King Atanarico broke out (370), he devoted himself to supporting his coreligionists in resisting the Edict that compelled them to eat meat sacrificed to idols. He was therefore arrested and driven into exile; he returned to his homeland and, continuing his activity, was expelled again. While celebrating Easter in 372 at the home of his friend Sansala, he was surprised by a band of robbers, dragged naked over thorns, suspended from a beam of the house, and invited to eat sacrificial meat; since he resolutely refused, he was condemned to be drowned. His body, recovered by some of the faithful, remained unburied for some time, until the commander Giunio Soriano had it transported to Cesarea. Feast on 21 April; among the Russians, on 15 April.