Ss. Narses and Joseph

Narses was an elderly bishop in the Persian province of Beth-Garmai, and Joseph was his younger disciple. Butler places their arrest during the persecution of Shapur II. Brought before the king, they were offered favour and honour if they would take part in the worship of the sun.

Narses refused, contrasting the passing advantages of royal service with the fidelity he owed to God. His age did not lead him to seek safety through compliance. When the king threatened immediate execution, neither the bishop nor his companion accepted the demand. They were taken outside the royal encampment, followed by a crowd.

At the place of execution Joseph encouraged his teacher, and Narses embraced the disciple who was to die with him. The narrative relates that Joseph first presented himself to the executioner. Butler groups their story with other Persian martyrs preserved in the same collection of acts. This reading concentrates on the bishop and his disciple, keeping their common confession distinct from the separate accounts of those other witnesses.