The Twenty Martyrs of Mar Saba

The Twenty Martyrs of Mar Saba were monks of the Lavra of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified, in the Judean desert near Jerusalem. The Orthodox calendar remembers them as venerable fathers killed by Saracens at the end of the eighth century; the sources give the year as 796 or 797.

At that time the country around Jerusalem was often overrun by Saracen raiders, who plundered the monasteries. The lavra's tradition preserves a few names, among them Sergius, keeper of the sacred vessels, but the details of the story differ from one source to another.

They are commemorated on 20 March (new style), together with all the fathers of Saint Sabbas killed by Saracens. They should not be confused with the forty-⁠four monks of the same lavra killed around 614.