St. Abay the Martyr and his father Adwar Faresgardin

St. Abay the Martyr and his father Adwar Faresgardin

St. Abay was a Persian who suffered for his martyrdom in the year 352 A.D. The saint was the son of pagan parents named Adwar Faresgardin and Astina; who named him "Mhir Schobur. His father was a leader of the Persian army when he led an attack on Nisibis (now: Nusaybin in Turkey). The saint accompanied his father, and travelled with him. When they came to the city of Dara, Mhir Schobur and his friends one day went hunting, and so they came to Kilith. They met a father of monks known as Mor Abay. As they became students of his teaching of the Christian faith, they were allowed to be baptized. From that day on, Mhir Schobur called himself the monk, "Abay". When his father heard this news, he sent soldiers into the villages around Savur where he killed 5000 Hermits; Abay, his son, was among those who were killed. After the father had killed his son, he was stricken with an incurable disease. This holy martyr, Abay, appeared in a dream to his mother, and told her: "Bring my father to the place where I died. Rub the earth on which my blood flowed on his body and he will be cured." After St. Abay’s instructions were followed, his father was cured. As a result, his father confessed to Christ, and then he secretly sold all his possessions in Tikrit (now: Iraq). With the money, he built a monastery north of Kilith, and he became a monk. He worked in the monastery until his death.