Venerable Martyr
Venerable Martyr Astion of Halmyris
† 290
Venerable Martyr Astion of Halmyris — a young man of noble birth, baptized by the presbyter Epictetus, with whom he lived a strict ascetic life at the mouth of the Danube and was beheaded in 290 on a false charge of sorcery; his relics were rediscovered during excavations in 2001.
Venerable-Martyr Astion of Halmyris suffered for Christ in 290 AD under Emperor Diocletian. As a young man he was converted and baptized by the presbyter Epictetus, a pious ascetic from Asia Minor gifted with powers of healing and exorcism.
Around 290, Epictetus and Astion journeyed to the city of Almyris (Halmyris) at the mouth of the Danube in Scythia Minor (modern Murighiol, Romania), where they lived a strict life of fasting and prayer. Falsely accused of sorcery, they were arrested by the governor Latronianus, held thirty days without food or water, brutally tortured, and beheaded.
Their relics were rediscovered during archaeological excavations at ancient Halmyris in 2001, confirming trauma consistent with the account of their beheading.
The Church commemorates the Venerable-Martyrs Epictetus and Astion on July 7 (Old Style) / July 20 (New Style).