Holy Martyrs Manuel, Sabel and Ismael (+362)
The holy Martyrs Manuel, Sabel and Ismael were blood brothers; they belonged to the circle of the Persian nobility. Unlike their pagan father, their mother was a devout Christian. She baptised her sons and brought them up in fervent hope in the Saviour. When they grew to manhood, the brothers entered military service. The Persian king Alamundar sent them to the Emperor Julian the Apostate (361–363) to conclude a peace treaty. Julian received the envoys with fitting honour, but when they refused to take part in a pagan sacrifice, the enraged autocrat broke the law and threw the ambassadors of a foreign country into prison like robbers. At the interrogation Julian told the brothers that if they hated the pagan gods, agreement between their countries was impossible. The saints answered that the king had sent them on a matter of state, not to talk about gods. When he saw the firmness of the envoys’ faith, the emperor gave orders for them to be cruelly tortured. At last the lambs of Christ were beheaded. Julian ordered their remains to be burned, but suddenly the land shook, the earth split open and took the holy bodies into itself. Two days later, through the fervent prayer of the Christians, the earth gave back the bodies of the blessed brothers, which gave off a wonderful fragrance. Many pagans who witnessed this miracle believed in the true God and were baptised. The Christians buried the incorrupt relics of Manuel, Sabel and Ismael with honour. This took place in 362. From that time on many miraculous healings took place at their tomb.
When King Alamundar learned that Julian had killed his envoys and was now hastening to make war on Persia, he rose to defend his country; the fierce battle ended in the defeat of the Greeks. The lawless emperor himself fell victim to the bloodshed: he was pierced by the sword of the Great Martyr Mercurius (commemorated 24 November).
Thirty years later the pious Emperor Theodosius the Great (+395) built a church in Constantinople dedicated to the holy Martyrs Manuel, Sabel and Ismael, and Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople, then a hieromonk (commemorated 12 May), composed a canon in praise of the martyrs.
