Longinus of Pitiunt

Holy Martyr Longinus of Pitiunt was one of seven brothers, Roman soldiers, who suffered for Christ in the time of the emperor Maximian (284-305): Orentius, Pharnacius, Eros, Firmus, Firminus, Cyriacus and Longinus. They are commemorated together, and the body of Longinus rests at Pitiunt (today Pitsunda).

When the Scythians attacked the Greeks, Saint Orentius, himself a strong and brave man, was sent to fight a duel with their chief, Marophus, a man of unusual bodily strength. Orentius was a Christian, as were his six brothers, who also served in the emperor's army. Calling the Lord to his aid, he overcame Marophus and so stopped the Scythian invasion. The emperor wished to sacrifice to the gods for the victory and summoned the victor as well, but Orentius refused, confessed himself a Christian and said that he had won by the power of the true God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Neither promises of honour and wealth nor threats moved him. The emperor, cruel and ungrateful, ordered him exiled to the Caucasus together with his six brothers.

All seven died on the way. First was Eros, on 22 June, at Paremvolis. Then Orentius, thrown into the sea with a stone tied to his neck; the archangel Raphael carried him ashore at Rhizus, on the southern coast of the Black Sea, where the saint gave up his soul. Pharnacius died on 3 July at Cordyla, Firmus and Firminus on 7 July at Aspar, on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, and Cyriacus at Zigana on 14 July. Longinus died on the ship on 28 July. A storm drove the ship ashore at Pitiunt (Pitsunda), and there the body of the martyr was buried.

The seven brothers are commemorated on 7 July, in the new style.