SABA the Goth, saint, martyr. — He suffered martyrdom on 12 April 372; on this day he is commemorated by the Latin and Greek Churches.
His life is recounted in a letter, contemporary with the events, written by the Christian Goths to St Basil, on the occasion of the translation of his body to Caesarea in Cappadocia.
With the outbreak of the persecution under King Athanaric (370), he strove to support his fellow believers in resisting the edict that obliged them to eat meat sacrificed to idols. For this he was arrested and sent into exile; he returned to his homeland and, continuing his activity, was exiled again. In 372, while celebrating Easter 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 forced to eat meat sacrificed to idols; since he firmly refused, he was condemned to be drowned. His body, recovered by some faithful, remained for some time unburied until the commander Junius Sorianus had it taken to Caesarea. Feast on 21 April; among the Russians on 15 April.