Commemoration Day of
THE Princes Isaac and Joseph,
and the Martyrs Sarkis and Bagos
Princes Isaac and Joseph
Isaac and Joseph were the sons of an Arab nobleman who had settled in Karin (Erzurum). Their father had married an Armenian Christian woman and allowed her not only to continue practicing her faith but also to have their children baptized and raised according to Christian teachings.
When they came of age, Joseph (Yusuf) married a Christian woman and had children. Feeling insecure under Arab rule in Karin, the two brothers decided to move to the Byzantine Empire, where they could freely profess their faith. Before they could carry out their plan, however, the local Arab governor learned of their Arab ancestry. He summoned the brothers and urged them to return to the religion of their forefathers.
When they refused, they were imprisoned and subjected to torture. Promises of reward, pleas, and threats designed to make them renounce Christ proved useless. Even their broad-minded father advised them to pretend to renounce Christianity, gain their freedom, and then flee to Byzantium where they could openly profess Christ again.
The brothers, however, chose death rather than denial of their faith.
As a result, the governor of Karin ordered them to be beheaded.
All accounts of their martyrdom testify that: "A light descended from heaven upon the bodies of the saints."
Witnessing this miracle, the governor's heart softened, and he permitted them to receive an honorable burial.
The Liakatar ("Complete Synaxarion") records that a beautiful chapel was later built over their graves and that numerous healings occurred through their intercession.
The Armenian historian and churchman Malachia Ormanian, who also served as Primate of Karin, wrote: "In the center of the city there are two tombs venerated by the Muslims, which, according to the testimony of the local Christians, are the tombs of Joseph and Isaac."
They were martyred on October 19, 808 A.D., although Armenian Synaxaria also associate their commemoration with January 22.
Joseph was the elder brother, but because Isaac was martyred first, the liturgical calendar places Isaac's name before Joseph's.
They are commemorated on the Thursday following the Feast of the Holy Cathedral (Catholike Church).
The primary historical sources for their lives are the chronicles of Samuel and Kirakos.
The Martyrs Sarkis and Bagos
Sarkis and Bagos were high-ranking officials in the Roman imperial court during the reign of Emperor Maximian (286–310). Secretly, however, they were Christians.
During one of the regular pagan ceremonies, their absence was noticed. When they were brought before the emperor, they openly confessed their Christian faith.
To humiliate them, the emperor ordered them to be dressed in women's clothing and paraded before the public. Nevertheless, they remained steadfast in their faith.
Eventually they were subjected to a brutal beating. Bagos succumbed to the torture and died, while Sarkis was thrown into prison.
The next day, all traces of Sarkis's wounds had disappeared, and he was completely healed. Every threat and promise used by the emperor to persuade him to abandon Christianity proved futile.
He was forced to wear shoes lined with nails protruding inward and was compelled to walk for hours. Yet Sarkis remained unwavering in his faith.
Finally, in the year 300 A.D., he was taken to Northern Syria and beheaded for Christ.
The city where he suffered martyrdom later became known as Sarkis City (Sergiopolis) and grew into one of the greatest pilgrimage centers of the region.
The Armenian Church commemorates Sarkis and Bagos on the second Thursday after Pentecost.
SCRIPTURE READINGS
~ Proverbs 6:1-5 ~
My child, if you have given your pledge to your neighbor, if you have bound yourself to another, you are snared by the utterance of your lips, caught by the words of your mouth. So do this, my child, and save yourself, for you have come into your neighbor's power: go, hurry, and plead with your neighbor. Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber; save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
~ Isaiah 33:5-8 ~
The Lord is exalted, he dwells on high; he filled Zion with justice and righteousness; he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is Zion's treasure. Listen! the valiant cry in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly. The highways are deserted, travelers have quit the road. The treaty is broken, its oaths are despised, its obligation is disregarded.
~ Romans 8:18-27 ~
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
~ Holy Gospel of St. Luke 21:12-19 ~
"But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.