Hieromartyr Sadoc, Bishop of Persia, and the 128 Martyrs with Him (+342–344)

The Hieromartyr Sadoc, a Persian bishop, and the 128 martyrs with him met their end in Persia in the reign of Shapur II. Sadoc was the successor of the Hieromartyr Symeon (commemorated 17 April). Once Symeon warned him in his sleep of the martyrdom that awaited him. The holy father appeared to the bishop standing at the top of a ladder reaching up to heaven, and said to him: “Come up to me, Sadoc, and do not fear.” Soon King Shapur began a persecution of the Christians and ordered Sadoc to be seized together with his clergy and flock. In all 128 people were arrested, among them nine virgins. They were thrown into prison, where for five months they were cruelly tortured and ordered to cast off Christianity and worship the sun and fire. The holy martyrs answered boldly: “We are Christians and we worship the one true God.” The martyrs of Christ were beheaded.