Sargis the General
Sargis the General | |
|---|---|
Sarkis is usually depicted on a white horse. | |
| Died | 362 or 363 |
| Venerated in | Oriental Orthodoxy Armenian Catholic Church Assyrian Church of the East |
| Major shrine | Saint Sarkis Monastery of Ushi |
| Feast | 63 days before Easter (moveable feast) |
| Patronage | Youth and love |
Saint Sargis the General or Sergius Stratelates (Armenian: Սուրբ Սարգիս Զորավար, romanized: Sourb Sargis Zoravar; died 362/3) was a Cappadocian Greek general who is revered as a martyr and military saint in the Armenian Apostolic Church and Assyrian Church of the East (January 5). The name Sargis (Sarkis) is the Armenian form of Sergius (Sergios).
Sargis was a general (stratelates) in the Roman Army stationed in Cappadocia. He went into exile in Persia during the reign of the pagan Roman emperor Julian. There he fell foul of Shah Shapur II and was killed along with his son, Martiros, during Shapur's Forty-Year Persecution.
Sargis the General is not to be confused with Sergius, the companion of Bacchus, who was martyred in the Roman Empire early in the fourth century. An Armenian hagiography of Sergius and Bacchus also exists.