Mar Babylas, the Patriarch of Antioch, Hieromartyr – Sep 23

Mar Babylas, Patriarch of Antioch, was the twelfth Bishop of Antioch succeeded Mar Zebinus (Zbina, Zebinas) in the year A.D. 237. Babylas (Babulas) is the most celebrated bishop of Antioch, after St. Ignatius. Mar Babylas was a good shepherd, holy and God-fearing who continually took care of the widows and orphans, who lived in his Patriarchate.

During his time, the governor of Antioch was a malicious, cruel pagan named Numerian, who hated all followers of Christ and murdered many Christians. Once, Numerian decided to go to a Christian Church in Antioch and to make fun there. The Holy Patriarch Babylas met him at the gate and refused his entry into the Church. The enraged governor sent soldiers to arrest St. Babylas. At that time there were three young orphans living in the house of the Patriarch. They were also arrested and tortured to renounce Christ. Governor demanded Babylas to make a public apology for obstructing his entry into the Church. Babylas instead told him to give up his sinful way of life. Numerian also tried to get the three boys to renounce Christ by bribing them with “all kinds of good things.”  They all refused, and declared,

“We are followers of Christ, and we will be happy to die for Him.  You do not have any good things to give us, for all good things come only from Christ” The governor ordered to persecute all the four.

In Apostle Paul’s letter to Romans, he says: ‘For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 8: 38-39). He prayed for his flock and taught them to endure all tribulations for Christ with courage.

Later, the idolater emperor Decius, during his stay in their city of Antioch, arranged for a large festival in honor of the pagan gods. He was curious to witness the Divine Mysteries, decided to enter the Church. The news reached the bishop, so he went out to meet Decius. He blocked the path to the Church, for he was unwilling to permit impiety in the temple of God. When the emperor approached the Church doors, Saint Babylas refused to let him enter, so the emperor had to abandon his intention. He wanted to take revenge on the saint right away, but when he saw the large throng of Christians, he feared they might be an uproar.

The next day the angry emperor ordered to set the Church on fire, and to bring Bishop Babylas before him. When asked why he did not allow the emperor to enter the Church, thereby insulting the imperial dignity, the saintly bishop answered, “Anyone who would rise up against God and want to desecrate His sanctuary, is not worthy of respect, but has become the enemy of the Lord”

Decius declared that the bishop must worship the idols to make up for his lack of respect for the emperor, or else face execution. After convincing himself that the martyr would remain steadfast in his faith, he commanded the military commander Victorinus to put him in heavy chains and lead him through the city in disgrace. The holy martyr replied,

“Emperor, these chains are as venerable for me as your imperial crown is for you. For me, suffering for Christ is as desirable as the imperial power is for you. Death for the Immortal King is as precious to me as your life is to you”

According to Eusebius, Babylas died a martyr during the persecution of Decius in prison. During his trial, the emperor asked who these children are?  “These are my spiritual children,” the saint replied, “and I have raised them in piety, I have given them an education, cultivated them with guidance, and here before you in a small body are these great young men and perfect Christians. Test them and see.”

St. John Chrysostom states he was beheaded along with three of his disciples, Urbanus, Prilidianus and Epolonius. Emperor Decian commanded Babylas and his three accomplices and their mother Christodoula, be tied to a tree and burned with fire. Seeing the stoic bravery of the saints, the emperor finally condemned them to be beheaded with the sword. During the Decian persecution, he made an unwavering confession of faith and was thrown into prison where he died from his sufferings. He was, therefore, venerated as a martyr. We, as Orthodox Christians, need to be continually reminded to keep the steadfast faith in our Lord and to strive to be like Christ, just as the saints. 

The mortal remains of Patriarch Babylas were entombed at Antioch in A.D. 251. In A.D. 351 Caesar Gallus removed it to a new Church at Daphne, built for Mar Babylas, to counteract the influence of a shrine of Apollo. In A.D. 362 Julian, the Apostate, ordered to remove the relics back to Antioch. The following evening the temple of Apollo was destroyed by lightning, a mysterious fire broke out in the temple of Apollo, consuming the roof of the building, and the statue of the god. A little later the relics were transferred to Orontes by bishop Meletius (entombed next to St. Babylas). He has the distinction of being the first saint recorded as having had his remains moved or “translated” for religious purposes; a practice that was to become extremely common in later centuries.

There are several feast days of St. Babylas as the dates of relics were transferred to different places. The Orthodox Syrian Church celebrates the feast of Babylas along with his three disciples on 23 September. The other popular feast day of Babylas is 24 January (Roman Rite) and September 4 (Eastern Orthodox and Catholics).