Martyr Agapius of Gaza, Caesarea

Martyr Agapius came from the city of Gaza. He suffered in Caesarea Palestine under Emperor Diocletian (284–305) at the hands of the governor Urban, together with seven other martyrs: Publius and Alexander (both from Egypt), Timolaus (from Pontus), Romulus (a subdeacon of the church of Diospolis), another Alexander, and two men named Dionysius (both from Tripolis in Phoenicia). The young Christians voluntarily bound their own hands as a sign of readiness to suffer for Christ and presented themselves before the governor, publicly confessing their faith. All were subjected to cruel torture; according to church tradition, Agapius was later again thrown to wild beasts together with the martyr Thecla.