Martyr Valens of Sebaste

The Martyr Valens was one of the Forty Christian soldiers of Sebaste, members of the XII "Fulminata" Legion stationed at Sebaste in Lesser Armenia. In 320 AD, during Emperor Licinius's persecution of Christians, the soldiers openly confessed their faith and were condemned to a cruel death: stripped naked, they were driven onto a frozen lake outside the city for a night, while a heated bath stood on the shore to tempt any who would renounce Christ. One soldier broke and fled to the bath, but a pagan guard, seeing crowns descending upon the martyrs, immediately took his place and confessed Christ. Valens endured the freezing cold with the rest to the end and died for Christ. Three days later the martyrs appeared in a dream to Bishop Peter of Sebaste, who gathered their remains and buried them with honor.