Following the death of Papa Bar Aggai, Mar Shemayon Barsaba became the Bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and the Patriarch of the vast Christian community in the Persian Empire. The responsibility of representing the Christian faithful before the Sasanian rulers rested with the Bishop of Seleucia.
The rapid growth of Christianity within the Persian Empire aroused the jealousy of the pagan population, who joined forces with certain Jewish groups and persuaded the Persian Emperor Shapur II to persecute the Christians. Since the Roman Empire, which Shapur regarded as his sworn enemy, had become a Christian empire, he viewed the Christians within his own dominion with increasing suspicion. The emperor imposed a double tax upon the Christians and initiated a severe persecution against them. Although, during the Sasanian period, it was the Patriarch’s responsibility to collect and remit the taxes levied on Christians, Mar Shemayon firmly refused to collect this unjust double tax.
The emperor interpreted this refusal as an act of defiance and rebellion. Consequently, Mar Shemayon was arrested and brought to trial. Refusing either to renounce his Christian faith or to worship the sun, the central object of Zoroastrian veneration, Mar Shemayon courageously proclaimed the sovereignty of the one true God during his interrogation. When ordered to adore the sun, he boldly declared: “I have but one soul, and it belongs to the immortal God, the Creator of heaven and earth.” Before his very eyes, many of the faithful who had been condemned to death received his blessing and embraced martyrdom with remarkable courage. Even Usthazanes, a royal eunuch and tutor to the emperor, was deeply moved by the holy life of the imprisoned Patriarch. He openly professed his faith in Christ and willingly accepted martyrdom.
While in prison, Mar Shemayon continued to strengthen his clergy and faithful with unwavering courage. On 14 April 345 A.D., in the midst of a large gathering of priests and believers, he was beheaded and crowned with the glory of martyrdom. Together with him, countless Christians also laid down their lives for the sake of their faith in Christ.
Accounts of his martyrdom are preserved in the ancient works The Martyrdom of Shemayon and The History of Shemayon, composed towards the close of the fourth century or the beginning of the fifth century. The Assyrian Church of the East, the Syriac Orthodox Church, and several other Christian traditions venerate him as one of their most revered saints. In the East Syriac liturgical tradition, the Sixth Friday of Kaitha is observed as the Feast of Mar Shemayon Barsaba and his Companion Martyrs.
Rev. Dr. Alex Sebastian Kollamkalam
