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Abraham of Arbela
Bishop of Arbela
SaintResearchedPre-congregation
Feast: 4 February (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
—
unknown
Died
348
Beatified
—
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
By tradition
recognised before formal processes began
Who they were
In Persia, the passion of Saint Abraham, bishop of Arbela, who under Shapur, king of the Persians, having refused the order to worship the sun, was beheaded.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
The Roman Martyrology remembers him on 31 January as the bishop of Arbela beheaded in Persia for refusing to worship the sun.
Sources
- Roman Martyrology, 31 January (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Wikidata Q2424430 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Abraham of Arbela (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.