Trophimus, Sabbatius and Dorymedon

Saints Trophimus, Sabbatius and Dorymedon, martyrs, suffered for Christ in Phrygia in the third century. They share the same day of commemoration, 19 September, but, according to the English source, they were not martyred together or at the same time. The story of their martyrdom is wrapped in legend.

According to their Passion, the emperor Probus decreed that all Christians should offer sacrifice to the Roman gods. He sent two officials, Trophimus and Sabbatius, to Antioch. Arriving in the city, the two were so shaken by the tortures inflicted on the Christians there that they became Christians themselves. Trophimus and Sabbatius were arrested and tortured, and Sabbatius died of the torture.

Trophimus was sent to Synnada in Asia Minor. There a Christian senator, Dorymedon, was imprisoned, and Trophimus went to see him in prison. The officials in Synnada tried to force Dorymedon and Trophimus to offer sacrifice to the gods Castor and Pollux. They refused, were tortured and were sentenced to be thrown to wild beasts in the arena. According to their Passion, the beasts would not harm the saints. The saints were then put to the sword.

In 1907, at Schifout Kassaba, that is Synnada, a reliquary in the form of a sarcophagus with some of the bones of Trophimus was found, and it was taken to the museum at Bursa. The monument may date from the third century.