c. 400 – 425
Bishop of Amida in Mesopotamia in the fifth century who melted down and sold his church's gold and silver vessels to ransom Persian prisoners of war, feeding them and sending them home, an act of charity that moved the Persian king to relent in his persecution of Christians.
Our Father among the Saints Acacius, Bishop of Amida
Acacius, also called Aqaq, was bishop of Amida in Mesopotamia (modern Diyarbakır, Turkey) in the early fifth century, serving roughly from 400 to 425 during the reign of the Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius II.
He is remembered chiefly for a single celebrated act of charity: when thousands of Persian prisoners of war faced starvation, he had his church's gold and silver vessels melted down and sold to ransom them, feed them, and provide for their journey home.
The act so moved the Sassanid king that he relented in his persecution of Christians and sought a personal meeting with the bishop, contributing to a temporary peace between the Roman and Persian empires.
Acacius held the see of Amida, a fortified city in Mesopotamia, during the period of Roman-Persian conflict that followed the death of the Persian king Isdigerdes (Yazdegerd I). The frontier wars between the Eastern Roman and Sassanid empires repeatedly displaced populations and produced large numbers of captives.
The sole documented account of his life comes from the Church History of Socrates Scholasticus (Book VII, Chapter 21). No writings by Acacius himself survive.
According to Socrates Scholasticus, approximately seven thousand Persian prisoners held by Roman soldiers in the devastated region of Azazene were facing starvation. Acacius assembled his clergy and argued that the wealth of the church should be turned to their relief, declaring that God needs neither dishes nor cups, for he neither eats nor drinks nor is in want of anything.
He directed that the church's gold and silver vessels be melted down. The proceeds were used to purchase the prisoners' freedom from the Roman soldiers, to supply them with food, and to furnish provisions for their return to Persia.
The freed captives reported the bishop's generosity to the Sassanid emperor Bahram V, who was astonished at this display of Christian benevolence and viewed it as evidence that the Romans prevailed through mercy as well as arms.
The king's astonishment moved him to cease, at least temporarily, his persecution of Christians, and he requested a personal meeting with Acacius, which Emperor Theodosius II authorized.
These events are credited with contributing to a temporary peace between the Eastern Roman and Sassanid empires and with allowing Christianity to flourish for a time within Persian territory. Acacius's deed became a notable example of Christian charity in wartime, illustrating how ecclesiastical resources could be directed to humanitarian ends.
He is venerated as a saint in both the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, with his feast kept on April 9.