The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste
The Forty Martyrs were Christian soldiers of the famed Twelfth Legion who, around the year 320, refused the order of the emperor Licinius to sacrifice to idols.
At Sebaste in Lesser Armenia they were condemned to stand naked through the night on a frozen lake, with a warm bathhouse kept on the shore to tempt them to apostasy; one man gave in and perished, but the guard Aglaius, seeing crowns descending upon the martyrs, confessed Christ and took his place, preserving the number forty. Their joint prayer and mutual encouragement on the ice, recorded by St. Basil the Great within living memory, made them among the most beloved martyrs of the early Church, and their feast lightens the fasting of Great Lent.
Winter is harsh, but paradise is sweet; painful is the frost, but sweet the enjoyment.
Forty have we entered upon the contest; grant, O Master, that forty may be crowned, and that not one be wanting to this sacred number.
Take not only our military insignia, but also our lives, since nothing is more precious to us than Christ God.
Troparion · Tone 1
Let us honor those noble soldiers of the Master of all, for they were united by their faith as they passed through fire and water; and being enlisted by Christ, they entered into divine refreshment. Now those pious warriors stand and intercede with Christ God for those who cry out: "Glory to Him Who strengthened you. Glory to Him Who crowned you. Glory to Him Who made you wondrous, O Forty Martyrs."
Kontakion · Tone 6
Leaving all earthly armies, you cleaved to the Master in Heaven, O Forty prize-winners of the Lord; for passing through fire and water, O blessed Martyrs, as is meet, you received glory from Heaven, and a multitude of crowns.
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