Martyr Theostichus of Cyzicus

Martyr Theostichus was one of nine Christians of varying age, origin, and social standing who gathered in the city of Cyzicus on the Sea of Marmara and openly preached there, denouncing idolatry. Seized by the city governor, all nine were tortured and imprisoned for several days and, despite repeated offers of freedom in exchange for renouncing Christ, unanimously refused and were beheaded — per a tentative scholarly dating, sometime between 286-299, in any case before 313. After Emperor Constantine the Great ended the persecutions in 324, local believers discovered their incorrupt relics and built a church in their honor. In Russian tradition, veneration of the relics of the Nine Martyrs of Cyzicus became especially widespread in the 17th century as intercession against fever illnesses. The group comprised: Theognius, Rufus, Antipater, Theostichus, Artemas, Magnus, Theodotus, Thaumasius, and Philemon. No individual biographical details about Theostichus himself have survived in the sources. His memory is kept on April 29/May 12.