Bata the Persian was a fourth-century monastic of the Church in Persia who was put to death at the city of Nisibis for confessing the Christian Faith. He is venerated as a martyr, and because he was a monk before his death he is also numbered among the venerable-martyrs.
The surviving record of his life is brief. The synaxarion notes only that he labored in one of the monasteries of Persia and that he was killed during a persecution of Christians initiated by the Persian emperor, dating his martyrdom to about the year 364. His memory is kept on May 1.
Timeline 2 moments
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4th centuryMonastic life in PersiaBata lived as a monastic in Persia, laboring in one of the monasteries of that land.
ca. 364Martyrdom at NisibisHe was put to death in the city of Nisibis for confessing the Christian Faith, during a persecution of Christians initiated by the Persian emperor.
Contributions & Legacy
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Historical Context
Bata's death belongs to the long persecution of Christians within the Sasanian (Persian) Empire during the fourth century, when professing the Christian Faith could be treated as an act of disloyalty to the Persian state and its religion. The sources record that the persecution under which he suffered was initiated by the Persian emperor.
His martyrdom is associated with Nisibis, a city of the Mesopotamian frontier between the Roman and Persian worlds. An approximate date of about 364 is preserved in the liturgical calendar, placing his death in this fourth-century period of conflict and martyrdom for the Church in Persia.
Veneration
Bata is commemorated as a martyr on May 1. Because he was a monastic before his martyrdom, he is also reckoned among the venerable-martyrs. The name is also transmitted in the form 'Batas of Nisibis,' identifying him with the city where he was killed.
