Orthodox · † 250
10 Holy Martyrs of Crete: Theodulus, Satorninus, Euporus, Gelasius, Eunician, Zoticus, Pompius, Agathopus, Basilides and Evarestus
Commemorated: January 5 (December 23, Old Style)
Life
The Ten Martyrs of Crete were Christians from several towns of the island, arrested in the persecution of Decius about 250. Their Passion tells that they were held for a month, mocked and tortured, and then beheaded outside Gortyna, the island’s capital. The village near the site, Agioi Deka (“Holy Ten”), is named after them, and its church keeps a stone on which, by tradition, they were executed.
Retold briefly in our own words from: the Lives of the Saints by St Dimitry of Rostov (1902–1916); the Roman Martyrology (1916).
The commemorations of the day: Ponomar (ponomar.net), CC BY-SA 3.0.
Places and years: Wikidata (CC0), each saint matched by hand.