Narses of Persia

Holy Martyr Narses of Persia (Narsinus) is counted among the martyrs Jonah, Barachisius and those who suffered with them, in the time of the Persian king Shapur (310-331), a cruel persecutor of Christians. The Christian brothers Jonah and Barachisius lived in the village of Yasy in Persia. Learning that in the city of Baravokh Christians were being tortured, they went there, found in prison the martyrs Zanifan, Lazarus, Marufan, Narsinus, Elijah, Marinus, Aviv, Sivefin and Sabbas, and urged them to stand firm in the Christian faith to the end. The holy brothers were seized and brought to the judgment of the Persian princes Masdraf, Sirof and Marmisius, who began to force them to worship the sun, fire and water. The holy martyrs firmly confessed their faith in Christ and refused the demand of the pagans, for which they were put to the cruellest torments.

The first to suffer was Saint Jonah. The martyr was tied to a tree and beaten long, then dragged over the ice of a frozen lake, the fingers of his hands and feet were cut off, his tongue cut out, the skin of his head flayed, and in the end he was sawn in two and his body thrown into a ditch. On the holy martyr Barachisius red-⁠hot chains were put on his hands, molten tin was poured into his nose, ears and mouth, and he was torn, tied to a turning wheel. The holy martyr gave up his spirit to God after boiling pitch was poured into his mouth. The bodies of the holy martyrs Jonah, Barachisius and the other sufferers were buried by a pious Christian named Abdisot. The Azbyka page notes that the name of Narsinus is not found in the present calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church and gives no other detail about him. He is commemorated on 10 April, in the new style.