Martyr
Martyrs Ten Martyrs of Crete
† ок. 250
Ten Martyrs of Crete — Theodulus, Saturninus, Euporus, Gelasius, Eunicianus (of Gortyna), Zoticus (of Knossos), Pompius, Agathopus (of Panormus), Basilides (of Cydonia), and Evarestus (of Heraklion), who suffered in various cities of the island of Crete during the persecution of Emperor Decius (249-251): for 30 days they were tortured by the island's governor, a namesake of the emperor himself, and were executed for refusing to renounce Christ.
The Ten Martyrs of Crete were natives of various cities on the island of Crete: Theodulus, Saturninus, Euporus, Gelasius, and Eunicianus of Gortyna, Zoticus of Knossos, Pompius, Agathopus of Panormus, Basilides of Cydonia (modern Chania), and Evarestus of Heraklion.
During the persecution of Emperor Decius (249-251), the island's governor, who by coincidence bore the same name as the emperor himself, tortured them cruelly for thirty days, pressing them to sacrifice to the pagan gods. All ten firmly confessed Christ and were put to death.
Their feast is kept on December 23/January 5.
NOTE: the original stub was an unprocessed image caption from pravicon.com for a Menaion icon (Rus, early 17th c.) — it has been reworked into a coherent life; the previously empty feast-date and life-dates fields have been filled in.