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Sabbas the Goth
4th-century Gothic Christian martyr and locally venerated saint from what is now Romania
SaintFull write-upPre-congregation
Feast: 12 April (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
334
Died
12 April 372
verified
Beatified
—
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
By tradition
recognised before formal processes began
Who they were
Sabbas was a Goth who was martyred on 12 April 372 by being drowned in the Musaeus, a tributary of the Danube. The Catholic Encyclopedia mentions him briefly among the saints who share the name of St. Sabbas the hermit.
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
A Gothic Christian drowned for the faith in 372.
Connected on this site
- Basil of Caesarea Saint“Basil of Caesarea later obtained his relics.” — Wikipedia
- Bretannio Saint“Basil was sent the relics of Sabbas the Goth in Caesarea, Cappadocia, in 373 or 374 accompanied by a letter entitled the 'Epistle of the Church of God in Gothia to the Church of God located in Cappadocia and to all the Local Churches of the Holy Universal Church'.” — Wikipedia
- Sabbas Stratelates Saint“He is often paired with Saint Sabbas the Goth, and his martyrdom inspired 70 Roman soldiers to follow in his footsteps.” — Wikipedia
Sources
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Sabbas
- Roman Martyrology, 12 April (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Wikidata Q111819 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Sabbas the Goth (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.