Holy Hieromartyr ’Ibrâhîm al-‘Arbîli

Saint ’Ibrâhîm al-‘Arbîli
القديس إبراهيم الأربيلي

Today in the Orthodox Church we celebrate another martyr of the persecutions of Šâpur II, under whom ‘the blood of an almost innumerable multitude of bishops, priests, deacons, lower clergy, religious and consecrated virgins, received the crown of martyrdom’. Saint ’Ibrâhîm, the Assyrian Bishop of Arbela (Erbil) in Adiabene during these persecutions, is listed by name among its victims by the Palestinian Church historian Sōzomenós.

Saint ’Ibrâhîm was one of the canons of Bishop John of Arbela, who was appointed interim bishop by the Assyrian church after John’s imprisonment at the hands of the same šâh. He too was captured and held captive in Telman (a village south of modern Lankaran in South Azerbaijan). His captors demanded that the saint renounce Christ and worship the sun. However, Saint ’Ibrâhîm answered them thus:

How foolish to forsake the Creator and instead worship creatures! Isn’t the sun just a creation of my God?

’Ibrâhîm’s answer infuriated his captors, and they beat him mercilessly and subjected him to cruel tortures. However, the bishop of Arbela prayed as they tormented him. Echoing the words of his Saviour upon the Cross, the hieromartyr begged the Lord not to hold their wrongs against him as sin, for they knew not what they were doing. At last the bishop was beheaded by the sword and gained the crown of martyrdom. Holy bishop and martyr ’Ibrâhîm, pray unto Christ our God that our souls may be saved!