on St. Saba the Goth:

A little later, came the men sent by Atharidus (a Gothic chieftain), bringing sacrificial meat, and they said to the presbyter and to Saba, “Atharidus ordered these things to be brought to you, that you may eat and save your souls from death.” The presbyter replied and said, “We shall not eat these things, for it is not possible for us to do so. Now, tell Atharidus to order us to be crucified, or put to death by whatever method he may choose.” Saba said, “Who is it that gave these orders?” They replied, “Our lord, Atharidus.” And Saba said, “There is only lord, God in heaven; but Atharidus is only a man, impious and accursed. And this food of perdition is impure and profane, like Atharidus who sent it.”

When Saba said this, one of the warrior followers of Atharidus, in a blazing fit of anger, seized a pestle and hurled it like a javelin hard against the breast of the saint, so that the onlookers thought that Saba would be shattered by the violence of the blow and die on the spot.

But Saba, his longing for piety overcoming the pain of the inflictions laid upon him, said to the executioner, “Now, you suppose that you have struck me with the pestle. But let me tell you this, that so far am I from feeling pain, that I would suppose you had hurled at me a skein of wool.” And he provided a clear proof of the truth of his words, for he neither cried out nor groaned as if in pain nor was there any trace whatever of the blow to be seen on his body.

Finally Atharidus, learning all this, ordered him to be put to death. Those appointed to perform this lawless act left the presbyter Sansalas in bonds, and took hold of Saba and led him away to drown him in the river called the Mousaios (near the Carpathian mts.). But the blessed Saba, remembering the injunction of the Lord and loving his neighbor as himself, said, “What has the presbyter done wrong, that he does not die with me?’ They replied to him, “This is no concern of yours.” When they said this, Saba burst out in exultation of the Holy Spirit and said, “Blessed are you, Lord, and glorified is your name, Jesus, for ever and ever, amen. For Atharidus has pierced himself through with eternal death and destruction, and sends me to the life that remains forever; so well pleased are You in Your servants, O Lord our God.”

And along the entire road he uttered thanks to God as he was led along, thinking “the sufferings of the present time not worthy to be compared with the glory which would be revealed to the saints.” When they came to the banks of the river, his guards said to one another, “Come now, let us set free this fool. How will Atharidus ever find out?” But the blessed Saba said to them, “Why do you waste time talking nonsense and not do what you were told to do? For I see what you cannot see: over there on the other side, standing in glory, the saints who have come to receive me.” Then they took him down to the water, still thanking and glorifying God — until the very end his soul worshipped the Lord — they threw him in and, pressing a beam against his neck, pushed him to the bottom and held him there. So made perfect through wood and water, he kept undefiled the symbol of salvation, being thirty- eight years of age. His consummation took place on the fifth day of the Sabbath after Pascha, which is the day before the Ides of April, in the reign of Valentinian and Valens the Augusti, and in the consulship of Modestus and Arintheus AD 372).

from the Martyrdom of St. Saba the Goth
commemorated 15 April