Sebaste is named in honor the place from where the town's patron saint, St. Blaise, came. It is a place where St Blaise, the bishop, had a see. It is claimed that the name Sebaste is derived from a town somewhere in Armenia or Cappadocia, then a name given to Asia Minor. Sebaste was formerly called Ipayo, the name of the river that flow through it. Ipayo was said to have been a municipality during the Spanish time in 1800 up to the later part of 1880 but pestilence and other calamities wrought havoc upon the communities that comprised it. What was once a populated and developed land became a tragic sight of desolation and despair. Misfortune collected its heavy toll upon the municipality that it was forced to be annexed to Pandan and Culasi. Thereafter, what was once the seat of that municipality is called Arabal of Sebaste. It was said that the image of St Blaise was sent as a gift of Dona Matilde, wife of the Duke of Seville, to her son, Fr Mariano Vicente Zapanta, then the assigned parish priest of Pandan. When Fr Zapanta transferred his residence to Ipayo, he took along with him the image of St Blaise and installed him as the patron saint. He thought that the place was cursed, so the statue of St Blaise was installed in the church. It was not long after St Blaise was made the patron saint of Ipayo when his miracles as claimed were manifested not only in preventing calamites to happen but also in healing the sick. St Blaise was a doctor of medicine and a bishop. He was a throat specialist. The news of his miracles spread throughout the length and breath of the region of Western Visayas. Hence, on every 3 February, the date of the feast in his honor, Ipayo becomes the site of the assemblage of countless number of people. The celebration has become a pilgrimage site of the people from Antique, Aklan, Iloilo, Capiz, Negros, Mindanao, Mindoro and many other places. Soon after, the name Ipayo was changed to Sebaste. The town of Sebaste was formed by virtue of Republic Act No. 4870 on May 8, 1967. Barrios Callan, Nauhon, Ydio, Sebaste, Abiera, Bacalan, Alegre, Arasasan, P. Javier, and Aguila were separated from the municipalities of Culasi and Pandan to constitute the municipality of Sebaste.
