The namesake of our church, St. Sarkis, was a Roman soldier who was persecuted for his Christian faith and sought refuge in Armenia in the fourth century.
Hailing from a town in the plains of Cappadocia, Sarkis was a valiant and faithful soldier in the Christian Emperor Constantine's army. But when Julian the Apostate became emperor in A.D. 361, and started persecuting Christians, Sarkis took refuge with his son Mardiros under the protection of King Tiran of Armenia. From there, he went to serve in the Persian army, where he and his son won many converts to Christianity.
But soon the religious leaders in Persia found out about Sarkis and tried to force him and his son to worship their gods. When he refused to worship pagan idols, the Persian religious leaders killed them both. Fourteen of his faithful soldiers were determined to bury the general's body despite great risk. They were beheaded for their faith.
The Armenian Church remembers St. Sarkis, his son and the faithful soldiers each year on the third Saturday prior to the beginning of Lent.
