St. Leontius The Priest and His Companions

Celebrated each year on the Tuesday before the feast of St. Vartan, the Feast of St. Leontius honors the sacrifices made by clergymen in the battles against the Persian Empire.

The group of martyred priests is known collectively as the Levontian Fathers. They include Catholicos Hovsep; the bishops Sahag and Tatig; and the priests Arshen, Manuel, Apraham, Khoren, and Ghevont Levontius. A number of deacons are also included in this group.

The Levontian Fathers participated in the Council of Artashat, which drafted the reply to the demand of the Persian King that Armenians adopt paganism.  In that reply, they wrote: "When it comes to our eternal salvation, there is nothing you or your priests can do. Your religion is a lie and should be laughed at. Ours alone is true and teaches the love of God and of men."

The priests did not stay in their churches when combat broke out between the Armenians and Persians, preferring instead to fight on the front lines.  Popular iconography portrays them with sword in one hand and a cross in the other. Following the initial Vartanants Battle in A.D. 451, the Levontian Fathers were abducted by the Persian King and imprisoned.

Subsequent armed conflict between Armenians and the Persians ended in victory for the Armenians. At the urging of pagan priests, the Persian King attributed his army's losses to the fact that the Armenian clergymen, taken in the initial battle, had not been executed. So, to ensure future victory for his soldiers, the King tortured and killed the Levontian Fathers.

St. Ghevont (Levontius) is singled out in this commemoration because of his influence in the original Vartanants battle at Avarayr