Ss. Marius, Martha, Audifax and Abachum

Marius, also called Maris, and Martha are remembered with Audifax and Abachum among the martyrs honoured at Rome. Butler follows the traditional account that presents them as a married couple from Persia and their two sons. Having embraced the Christian faith, they gave to the poor and travelled to Rome to visit the tombs of the apostles.

The account describes their care for persecuted Christians, particularly their reverent burial of the remains of martyrs. That service exposed them to arrest. They refused to abandon their faith: Marius and the two young men were beheaded, while Martha was put to death separately.

Their January 19 commemoration and the remembrance of their burial near Rome should be distinguished from the details of the later martyrdom narrative. This reading preserves the traditional family account without treating its precise year, imperial setting or every circumstance of the executions as established. Their story joins fidelity within a household to practical charity for Christians in danger.