Callinicus and Companions

The Holy Martyrs Callinicus and Companions (Callinicus and his nine companions) were a group of ten Christians, soldiers at Gaza, killed in the year 638 at Jerusalem. They are regarded as martyrs and saints by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, according to a French source; in the Catholic Church they are remembered on 6 November.

When the caliph Umar ibn al-⁠Khattab conquered Palestine, they were on guard duty at Gaza. At the capture of the city they were taken prisoner. In 638 the Muslim authorities demanded that they convert to Islam and renounce their Christian faith. Supported and encouraged by Bishop Sophronius of Jerusalem, they refused. The authorities condemned them to death and had them beheaded at Jerusalem. The list of Callinicus' companions has come down almost complete: Himerius, Theodore, Stephen, Peter, Paul, another Theodore, John, another John, and a man whose name is no longer known.