SABINUS OF EGYPT

On March 26, the Church commemorates the holy martyr Savin of Hermopolis. The saint suffered for Christ “under Diocletian.” Such dating in the acts of martyrdom usually refers not only to the persecuting emperor himself, but also to those rulers who persecuted Christians after his abdication on May 1, 305, until the sole reign of Constantine the Great in 324.

Two versions of the saint’s martyrdom in Greek have come down to us. The details preserved in them are extremely brief. The name Sabinus is an ancient Roman name In itself, it testifies to the Roman presence even in remote parts of the Roman Empire.

The saint is also called “Sabinus of Hermopolis” after the ancient Egyptian city and one of the most important religious centers in Upper Egypt. It was located deep in the country on the banks of the Nile, not far from the modern city of El-Ashmunein. Hermopolis was a remote provincial center. Pagans called this settlement “the City of Eight Gods” or Hermopolis the Great. Eight cosmic deities were worshipped there, especially Thoth, whom the Greeks saw as the equivalent of Hermes. Archaeologists have found traces of this cult in mummies of ibises and other animals that symbolized this Egyptian deity.

The existence of a Christian community in such a pagan environment and far from the capital indicates the widespread prevalence of Christianity in those early times. In accordance with the administrative division of the Roman Empire, Alexandria and Egypt were two separate entities.

In accordance with the rules of the Ancient Church, Christians were forbidden to seek persecution themselves. Therefore, warned of the onset of persecution, Sabinus, along with other Christians, left the city. In a remote village, together with his companions, they hid in huts the had built themselves. In this likeness of the Garden of Gethsemane, they remained in prayer.

It is possible that the disappearance of the Christian community would have gone unnoticed. But Sabinus was betrayed by a beggar whom he had always helped with alms. Feeling the loss of income, the beggar betrayed the Christians to their persecutors for two coins. There was something deeply biblical and very genuine about this betrayal. It is as if the image of Judas from the Gospel has been reincarnated. Let us recall the Gospel text about him: “He said this not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief” (cf. John 12:6).

Sabinus, who was in hiding with six other Christians, was captured and taken to the city to appear before a governor named Arianus. This historical figure is known from the acts of suffering of other Upper Egyptian martyrs. In 306–309, he ruled Antinopolis, a city on the eastern bank of the Nile, opposite Hermopolis, which was the capital of the Thebaid region under Diocletian. It is possible that the martyrs were tried in Antinopolis, but it is more likely that the pagans simply took advantage of the rules visit to the “city of gods”. It is possible that the martyrs were tried in Antinopolis, but it is more likely that the pagans simply took advantage of the visit to the “city of gods” by this ruler, already known for his fanatical hatred of Christians.

Sabinus was interrogated. For refusing to offer sacrifice to the gods and for his “extraordinary stubbornness in his superstition,” as the pagans called the Christian faith, the saint was cruelly tortured. Despite everything, he continued to confess the Lord Jesus, thereby exposing the falsehood of paganism. As a court sentence, Savin was tied to a stone and drowned in the Nile. The pagans considered the river to be a deity and undoubtedly saw this execution as a special triumph of their cult. At the moment of his death, Saint Sabinus predicted the fate of his body. In accordance with this prophecy, his body was found by Christians on the third day.

Despite the few details preserved in the martyrdom of Savin about his biography, these few details are very precious and significant. For these details themselves are biblical and evangelical in nature, which in the eyes of the Ancient Church was a sign of special election. This is a predestination to follow the example of Jesus Himself, whom Scripture calls the first martyr. “Thus says Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of God’s creation” (Rev. 3:14). We know that the Greek word “martyr,” does not refer to suffering, but to witness. A martyr is a witness to the truth of Jesus, just as Jesus Himself became a witness to the truth of the biblical God.

Betrayed by the poor for his good deeds, sold for two coins, Saint Sabinus, in his suffering, reproduces the image of the Lord Jesus, betrayed by his disciple. At the same time, he reminds us of the merciful Samaritan, the Gospel image of love for one’s neighbor. He points to the Lord Jesus Christ, who, setting out on a journey, left two coins to care for a man who had been beaten by robbers: “The next day, as he was leaving, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him, and if you spend more than this, I will repay you when I return’” (Luke 10:35).

Finally, the finding of the saint’s body on the third day after drowning in the waters of the Nile clearly points to the Christian dogma of universal resurrection, but, before that, to the Resurrection of the Lord on the third day, according to the Scriptures. “The Lord will heal us, He will bind up our wounds, He will revive us after two days, on the third day He will raise us up, and we will live before Him” (Hosea 6:1-2). After all, according to the Bible, the “Third Day” is precisely the time when all human hope is lost; the time when God Himself begins to act.