Firmus of Apsarus

Holy Martyr Firmus of Apsarus was one of seven brothers, Roman soldiers and martyrs: Orentius, Pharnacius, Eros, Firmus, Firminus, Kyriacus and Longinus, who suffered in the time of the emperor Maximian (284-305).

When the Scythians invaded the Greeks, the emperor sent Saint Orentius, a strong and brave warrior, to fight the Scythian chief Marof. Orentius, a Christian like his brothers, called on the name of the Lord, defeated Marof and stopped the invasion. But when the emperor wished to offer sacrifice to the gods for the victory, Orentius refused and declared himself a Christian, saying that he had conquered by the power of Christ. Neither honours nor wealth nor threats moved him. The emperor then ordered Orentius and his six brothers exiled to the Caucasus.

On the way all seven died. Eros died on 22 June at Paremvola. Orentius was thrown into the sea with a stone round his neck, and the Archangel Raphael carried him ashore at Rhizus, on the south coast of the Black Sea, and there he died. Pharnacius died on 3 July at Cordyle. Firmus and Firminus both died on 7 July at Apsarus, on the east coast of the Black Sea. Kyriacus died at Ziganea on 14 July, and Longinus on the ship on 28 July, his body being buried at Pitinda, where the storm cast the ship ashore. About Firmus the page says nothing in particular. The saints are commemorated on 7 July.