died 272
A Christian military commander under the emperor Aurelian who, with seventy soldiers who believed through his witness, was tortured and drowned for Christ.
The Holy Martyr Savva Stratelates, the General of Rome, and the Seventy Soldiers with him
Savva Stratelates was a Christian military commander who served under the Roman emperor Aurelian (270-275) and suffered martyrdom at Rome for refusing to renounce his faith. His epithet, Stratelates ("the General"), records his rank as a senior officer of the imperial army.
According to his account, seventy soldiers came to believe in Christ while watching him endure torture without harm. They were beheaded with him remembered as their companions in martyrdom, and Savva himself was drowned in a river in the year 272.
Savva is described as a member of a Gothic tribe who rose to the rank of military commander, or stratelates, in the Roman army under the emperor Aurelian. From his youth he is remembered as a devout Christian who helped those in need and visited Christians held in prison.
He is also said to have received the gift of wonderworking, healing the sick and casting out demons in the name of Christ. His Christian profession became known to the emperor, who demanded that he apostatize.
When pressed to renounce his faith, Savva threw down his military belt, the emblem of his rank, and declared that he would not forsake Christ. He was beaten, burned with torches, and cast into a cauldron of tar; according to his account he remained unharmed.
Seventy soldiers, looking on at his torments, came to believe in Christ and were beheaded by the sword. Savva was then imprisoned. The tradition relates that at midnight, while he was praying, Christ appeared to him and shone upon him the light of His glory, bidding him to stand firm. After further torture the following morning, he was drowned in a river in the year 272.
Distinct from Savva the Goth (OS-1000) and from the Kiev-Caves recluses below.