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March 15

The Holy Martyr Agapius and Those With Him.

The holy Martyrs contested for piety’s sake during the reign of Diocletian (284–305), when Urban was Governor of Caesarea of Palestine. When Urban had commanded that together with a heathen festival, certain condemned Christians be publicly cast to wild beasts, Timolaus, a native of Pontus, Dionysius of Tripolis in Phoenicia, Romulus of Diospolis, Plesius (or Païsius) and Alexander from Egypt, and another Alexander from Gaza, tied their own hands and presented themselves to Urban when the exhibition was about to begin, professing their faith in Christ; they were immediately cast into prison. A few days later Agapius and Dionysius also presented themselves. All were beheaded together at Caesarea. Their martyrdom is recorded by Eusebius (Eccl. Hist., Book VIII, ch. 3, called The Martyrs of Palestine).

The above account is taken from the Great Horologion,
Copyright © 1997, Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA, all rights reserved.
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Below we provide Eusebius’s full account:

When the heathen everywhere were holding a festival and the customary shows, it was noised abroad that besides the other entertainments, the public combat of those who had lately been condemned to wild beasts would also take place. As this report increased and spread in all directions, six young men, namely, Timolaus, a native of Pontus, Dionysius from Tripolis in Phoenicia, Romulus, a sub-deacon of the parish of Diospolis, Paesis and Alexander, both Egyptians, and another Alexander from Gaza, having first bound their own hands, went in haste to Urbanus, who was about to open the exhibition, evidencing great zeal for martyrdom. They confessed that they were Christians, and by their ambition for all terrible things, showed that those who glory in the religion of the God of the universe do not cower before the attacks of wild beasts. Immediately, after creating no ordinary astonishment in the governor and those who were with him, they were cast into prison. After a few days two others were added to them. One of them, named Agapius, had in former confessions endured dreadful torments of various kinds. The other, who had supplied them with the necessaries of life, was called Dionysius. All of these eight were beheaded on one day at Caesarea, on the twenty-fourth day of the month Dystrus, which is the ninth before the Kalends of April.

From the footnotes in NPNF:

Diospolis is a city of Palestine, lying northwest of Jerusalem, and identical with the Lydda of Acts ix.32 sq.

Dystrus was the seventh month of the Macedonian year, corresponding to our March.

NPNF, Second Series, Volume I, pages 344–5

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