"It is more reasonable to obey the immortal King of heaven and earth than a mortal prince." — Saints Jonas and Barachisius, to the president of the Persian tribunal
Two Brothers Who Didn't Have to Die
The story of Jonas and Barachisius begins with a choice that had nothing to do with self-preservation. In the eighteenth year of King Shapur II's reign — around 327 — the Persian king had launched a fresh persecution against the Christians of his empire, targeting those he suspected of sympathy with Rome, the empire's great Christian rival. Nine Christians in the city of Hubaham had been condemned to death and were awaiting execution.
Jonas and Barachisius were monks from the city of Beth-Asa. They were not among the condemned. They had not been arrested. They had a choice: stay home and survive, or go to Hubaham to be with the condemned in their final days.
They went. They encouraged the nine condemned men in the faith. They stayed with them until the executions were carried out. Then — their presence noted, their encouragement of the martyrs observed — they were themselves arrested.
They are the patron saints of those who walk voluntarily into dangerous places to be with the persecuted. They did not seek martyrdom. They sought to serve those who faced it. The martyrdom found them because of their fidelity to their brothers in the faith.
The Tribunal, the Question, and the Answer
The president of the tribunal entreated them — gently, initially — to worship the elements sacred to the Persian religion: the sun, the moon, fire, and water. The brothers' answer was given without elaboration: it is more reasonable to obey the immortal King than a mortal prince.
The Magians — the Persian priestly caste — were offended by the implicit insult: calling the king of Persia "mortal" in open court. The brothers were separated to make them easier to break.
Jonas was taken first. He was beaten with knotty clubs and with rods. When that did not move him, he was chained by one foot and dragged to a frozen pond, where he was left for the night. The contemporary eyewitness account records his prayer during the beating: I thank you, O God of our father Abraham. Enable me to offer to you acceptable holocausts. One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after. The sun, moon, fire, and water I renounce: I believe and confess the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
He survived the night in the frozen water. The following day they told him — falsely — that his brother had apostatized. Jonas said it was impossible that Barachisius should have paid divine honors to fire, which is a vile creature.
Barachisius was taken separately. Red-hot iron plates were applied under each arm. Red-hot hammers were applied the same way. Melted lead was dropped into his nostrils and eyes. He was then hung by one foot in prison. He survived all of this too, still refusing to apostatize.
New torments were devised for both. For Jonas: his fingers and toes were cut off joint by joint. His skin was torn from his head. His tongue was cut out. He was thrown into a vessel of boiling pitch — which overflowed without burning him. Finally he was pressed to death in a wooden press and his body cut to pieces.
For Barachisius: brimstone and boiling pitch were poured down his throat. He died.
A Christian named Abtusciatus purchased both their bodies afterward for five hundred drachms and three silk garments, binding himself by oath not to reveal the transaction. Their acts were written by an eyewitness named Esaias, son of Adabus of Arzun, who had been present at the interrogatories and the tortures, and whose account closes with the simple sentence: This book was written from the mouths of witnesses.
Prayer to Saints Jonas and Barachisius
O God, who gave to Saints Jonas and Barachisius the love that goes where suffering is and the courage that does not waver when the cost becomes clear, grant through their intercession that we may go without hesitation to those who face persecution and trial, and that we may confess You with the same simplicity they showed before the tribunal of a mortal king. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saints Jonas and Barachisius, pray for us.
| Born | Unknown — Beth-Asa, Persia |
| Died | December 29, 327 — Hubaham, Persia — tortured to death under King Shapur II |
| Feast Day | March 29 |
| Order / Vocation | Lay monks — martyred together |
| Canonized | Pre-Congregation — venerated from the fourth century; Roman Martyrology |
| Patron of | Those imprisoned for the faith · Persian Christians · Monks who serve condemned prisoners |
| Known as | The Brothers of Beth-Asa · Persian Martyrs under Shapur II |
| Their words | "It is more reasonable to obey the immortal King of heaven and earth than a mortal prince." |
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