Monk Aphraates of Antioch/Antakya (d. AD 345)

Aphraates was born on the Persian border with Syria. As a dedicated follower of Jesus Christ, he became a hermit in Edessa (modern Urfa) and later moved to Antioch (modern Antakya). At his Antioch hermitage, he performed miracles and attracted many Christian pilgrims. Aphraates opposed the false teaching of Arianism and wrote a defense of the Christian faith called the Demonstrations, which is one of the oldest documents of the Syrian Church. Aphraates was likely martyred in 345.