ABSTRACT
This chapter touches upon theme the Byzantine memory of the Sasanian Persian saints and martyrs. It examines the references to the Persian saints in the Synaxarion of the Great Church of Constantinople. Among the saints referred to in the Byzantine Church service, there were a considerable number of holy Persians (by blood or by political allegiance) and other nationals martyred by the Sasanians. The churches dedicated to the Persian saints and their holy relics cannot be fully explored here and demand a special, detailed study. Otto Meinardus has compiled a list of the relics of the following Persian saints in the modern Greek Orthodox Church: Anastasios of Persia, Aphthonios, Elpidiphoros, James the Persian, Pegasios and finally the nine deacons martyred along with Abdas and Abdiesous. Nonetheless, as noted earlier, the relics of Anastasios and James were venerated in Byzantine Constantinople and still are present in modern Greek Orthodox churches.
