Venerable Martyr Bacchus the New

The Hieromartyr Bacchus the New was born around 779–780 in the city of Maiuma near Gaza, in Palestine, then under Arab rule. Named Dachak, he was the third of seven sons; his father had once been Christian but converted to Islam and raised his children as Muslims, while his mother secretly remained faithful to Christ and anointed her children with chrism in secret. After his father's death, the young man declared his wish to become a Christian and enter monastic life. He was baptized at the Lavra of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified near Jerusalem, receiving the name Bacchus, and was tonsured a monk; fearing reprisals against the monastery, he moved from one Palestinian monastery to another on his abbot's advice. He also brought his mother and brothers to Christ, save for one who denounced him to the authorities. Arrested in Jerusalem as he entered the Church of the Resurrection, he was brought before the Palestinian governor Hartame and, despite offers of freedom and honors, firmly confessed his Christian faith. For refusing to renounce Christ, he was beheaded on December 15, 787.