Quoted from cappadociahistory.com [1]:
40 Martyrs of Sebaste
In 313 Emperor Constantine the Great granted Christians religious freedom in the western half of the Roman Empire. But his co-ruler Emperor Licinius, a pagan, continued to persecute Christians in the eastern empire. In 320, the 12th Roman Legion in Sevaste (present-day Sivas, Turkey) was commanded to offer pagan sacrifices as a test of political loyalty. An elite company of forty Christian soldiers from Cappadocia refused, saying “We will not sacrifice. To do so is to betray our faith.”
Wishing to preserve the soldiers, Governor Agricola attempted to persuade them. “But what of your comrades? Consider – you alone of Caesar’s troops defy him! Think of the disgrace you bring upon your legion.”
“To disgrace the name of our Lord Jesus is more terrible still,” the men answered.
“Give up this stubborn folly,” the governor commanded, “You have no lord but Caesar! I promise promotion to the first one of you who steps forward to do his duty.” None of the soldiers moved. The governor then switched tactics and threatened them with torture, imprisonment and death if they continued to refuse.
The soldiers stood firm. “You can offer us nothing that would replace what we would lose in the life to come. We have learned to deny our bodies where our souls are at stake.”
Governor Agricola had the stubborn soldiers flogged but not one surrendered. They were then imprisoned until Lysias, the commander of the 12th Legion arrived. Lysias again demanded that the soldiers submit to worship the Emperor or else pay the penalty of their defiance. The forty respectfully refused. As it was winter, Lysias then ordered that the soldiers be stripped and sent into the frozen lake until they either recanted or died of exposure.
The young men did not wait to be stripped but removed their clothing themselves and marched into the frozen lake singing. The commander posted guards to prevent their escape from the icy water. He also arranged a fire and a warm bath on the shore to tempt the unyielding soldiers to surrender.
Encouraging one another to stand firm, the Christian soldiers prayed, “Lord, we are forty engaged in this contest. Grant that forty may receive crowns of glory.”
During the night, one man broke and left his companions. However, when the man entered the hot bath, the sudden heat was too great a shock to his frozen body and he died. A guard named Aglaius, however, took off his uniform and joined the remaining thirty-nine martyrs in the lake. Aglaius was impressed by the martyrs’ courage and claimed to have a vision of crowns over their heads so that he too professed faith in Jesus and elected to die alongside them. Thus the number of forty remained complete.
At daybreak, the frozen bodies of the forty martyrs were burned and the charred bones and ashes thrown into the river. Christians, however, collected such remains as they could find, and these relics were later distributed throughout many cities to encourage the persecuted church.
[1] https://www.cappadociahistory.com/post/40-martyrs-of-sebaste ?, large font size original. There are three images in the article cited, only one of them is copied here (see above).
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