Sharbel

Saint Sharbel of Edessa, Martyr (Arabic Mar Sharbel, also called Tiphael), was a pagan priest of Edessa who became a Christian and was killed for the faith, according to tradition in the year 107, in the persecution of Trajan. He is venerated as a holy martyr by both the Catholic and the Orthodox Church. His sister, Bebaia (also called Barbara or Thivea), was killed soon after him. The two are commemorated on 29 January.

His story is linked to that of Saint Barsimaeus, who is said to have brought the former pagan priest to the Christian faith. It may be dated back from events that took place at Edessa under the emperor Decius (249-251). In Lebanon, in the Maronite Church, Sharbel has several shrines; the most important is in the village of Maad, built on the ruins of a pagan temple and with exceptional frescoes of the twelfth century. There is also a ruined Greek Orthodox shrine at Douma. He is not to be confused with Saint Sharbel Makhlouf, a Maronite monk of the nineteenth century.