Biography
Zanitas of Bardiaboch
About Zanitas of Bardiaboch
Zanitas of Bardiaboch is remembered among nine Christians imprisoned during the persecution under Shapur II in Persia. The received account names him separately from Lazarus and the other prisoners. His name also appears as Zanithas and in several other spellings.
According to the tradition preserved by the Orthodox Church of Finland, Jonah and Barakhisho visited the prisoners to offer comfort before their execution. Zanitas and his companions refused to abandon their Christian faith and were killed. The account tells their story together, leaving little separate detail about Zanitas himself.
The Catholic Church in Norway lists March 27 as the group’s commemoration. Its discussion records conflicting years and dates for the deaths, so an exact chronology cannot responsibly be given here. The surviving remembrance centers on the prisoners’ faith and the support they received from fellow Christians.
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