Saint Misrav

Misrav of Ro'ekha
Born	c. 460 Cadenza
Hometown	Tyraza, Pammez
Died	c. 478 Ajal, Kur'zhet
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church, Nikolian Catholic Church
Major shrine	Cathedral of Saint Misrav and the Martyrs
Feast	28 December

Saint Misrav, venerated in the Catholic Church as Misrav of Ro'ekha or Misrav of Tyraza, was a Cadenzan-born monk and missionary who was martyred in Kur'zhet about 478 AD. His feast day is celebrated on 28 December.

Life

The earliest surviving manuscript of the Life of Saint Misrav was copied from earlier manuscripts, which are now lost, in the seventh century at the Great Monastery of Ro'ekha. This version of the Life was widely copied and spread throughout the growing network of Siresian monasteries in western Teudallum, for whom it was an important exemplum.

Saint Misrav's generally-accepted biography places his birth in the town of Tyraza, in the extreme north of Cadenza, about 460 AD. Misrav was born to a pious and prosperous fishing family and spent his adolescence working on fishing boats. The phrase "fishers of men," occurring in the Gospels, held particular resonance for the young Misrav, who resolved to enter the priesthood. At eighteen, he entered the Great Monastery of Ro'ekha as a novice, but he was rebellious and struggled to abide by the monastic rule. After just four months in the monastery, Misrav was expelled.

Dejected, Misrav came to believe that his calling was to be a missionary for Christ. He returned to Tyraza and joined a crew of fishermen who were sailing to Kur'zhet. He landed in the town of Apal, on the western side of the island, which was then in the grip of a plague which had been ravaging the locale for some weeks. Misrav attempted to preach to the afflicted Kur'zhetis but, superstitious, they connected his arrival to that of the plague, and the young missionary was stoned to death in Ajal's town square.

Veneration

Misrav's companions returned to Tyraza with the news of his death. His family, bereaved, are believed to have arranged for his life to be recorded. The much-embellished version that emerged led to his rapid acclamation as a saint. Several other versions were written before the authoritative seventh-century Life was compiled at Ro'ekha. This version was widely disseminated with the rise of the newly-founded Siresian Order and became the basis for the cult of Misrav.

The Knights of Saint Misrav were established in 1026 under the patronage of Saint Misrav. This order was the main mover behind the long-running Kur'zheti Crusades and the fourteenth-century Azmiri Crusade.

Misrav's feast day is 28 December. It has been moved twice since the fifteenth century; the current date has no known relevance to his life.