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On 6 January 786 the Baghdadi Arab, St. [[Abu of Tbilisi]], was baptized. On 14 April 789 the Palestinian Arab, St. Christopher Sabbait, received the martyr's crown by taking the vows and performing ascetic labors in the lavra of St. Sabbas (Mar Saba). On 25 December 799 St. Antony-Ruwah, a Damascene Arab of the Quraish tribe, was beheaded for converting to Christianity.[15] Around 800 St. Pachomy, a nephew of the caliph, was murdered after taking vows at [[St. Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai]]. Around 820 St. Barbar, a North African Arab and soldier in a Muslim army, was baptized in the territory of the Byzantine Empire (6/19 May).[16]
On 1 April 1229 the Bulgar merchant St. Abrahamy was killed for preaching Christianity to the Bulgars.[17] In 1552 Sts. [[Peter and Stephanof Kazan]], baptized Tatars from Kazan, suffered at the hands of their former coreligionists and were killed (24 March/6 April).[18] In 1555 the Tatar Tursas was baptized. He later became known as [[Serapion of Kozheozero]] (27 June/10 July 1611) after founding the Theophany/Epiphany monastery at Kozheozero in northern Russia and raising seven Saints for the Church of Russia.[19] In 1614 St. Hodja Amiris the Soldier, who saw the miracle of the descent of the holy light, was martyred.[20] On 3 May 1682 St. [[Ahmed the Deftedar]], a high-ranking Muslim Turk, was martyred for the Faith.[21] At the beginning of the 19th century St. [[Constantine Hagarit]] (2/15 June 1819)[22] and St. John (23 September/6 October 1814), the son of an Albanian sheikh, converted to Christianity and died for Christ.[23] These Saints are the greatest evidence and fruit of the Orthodox Church's missionary labors and its great spiritual (if not statistical) triumph. God, not willing that any should perish, but that all should repent (III Peter 3:9), has gathered together a worthy harvest from the Muslim peoples.
'''Orthodox missions to the Muslims today'''
