Martyr
Martyr Pompeius of Dyrrhachium
II в.
Martyr Pompeius — one of the Seven Martyrs of Dyrrhachium, drowned in the sea under Emperor Trajan for praising the courage of the executed Bishop Astius.
IMPORTANT NOTE: the bare name "Pompeius" (Помпей), without further identifying details (image, companions), appears exactly once in the standalone alphabetical calendar index of Orthodox sources — as one of the Seven Martyrs of Dyrrhachium; a separate, similarly-sounding but differently-spelled group ("Помпий," among the companions of Martyr Terentius) is recorded under a distinct spelling in the sources, which was the deciding factor in identifying this stub with the Dyrrhachium group.
An Italian by birth, Pompeius, together with Peregrinus, Lucian, Hesychius, Papius, Saturninus, and German, witnessed the crucifixion of Bishop Astius of Dyrrhachium under the reign of Emperor Trajan. Having openly praised the bishop's courage before his executioners, all seven were seized as confessors of Christ and drowned in the sea.
No individual biography survives for each of the seven — tradition records only the group's shared act of witness. According to a later account, the martyrs' bodies were recovered through a vision granted to the Bishop of Alexandria, after which a church was built over their resting place.
His feast is kept on July 7/20, together with all Seven Martyrs of Dyrrhachium.