The Holy Martyrs Pasicrates and Valentine of Durostorum
Life
Pasicrates and Valentine were two young Christian soldiers stationed at Durostorum, a Roman city and legionary fortress on the lower Danube in the province of Moesia, on the site of modern Silistra in northeastern Bulgaria. They were arrested when they openly refused to take part in the pagan sacrifices required of the army and were put to death by beheading for their confession of Christ. The Church commemorates them as martyrs on April 24.
According to the synaxarion, the two were brought before the governor and ordered to sacrifice to the idols. Pasicrates, the younger of the two, refused with particular boldness, and tradition relates that he showed the worthlessness of the pagan gods and the steadfastness of his own faith before the judge. Both men were tortured and then executed together.
Timeline 2 moments
ReadHide
3rd centuryArrest and interrogationPasicrates and Valentine, Christian soldiers at Durostorum in Moesia, were summoned before the governor and commanded to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods. Both refused, confessing themselves Christians, and were condemned for disobeying the imperial order.
3rd centuryMartyrdomAfter being tortured for their refusal to sacrifice, Pasicrates and Valentine were beheaded together at Durostorum. By tradition Pasicrates was the younger of the two and confessed with special boldness; the synaxarion relates that his mother stood by encouraging him in his suffering.
Contributions & Legacy
2 contributions
ReadHide
Durostorum and the Danube frontier
Durostorum lay on the Moesian Limes, the fortified Roman frontier guarding the lower Danube. A fort was established there in the first century and later enlarged into a legionary fortress, garrisoned for centuries by the Legio XI Claudia. As a military center it produced several soldier-martyrs during the persecutions of the late Roman Empire, of whom Pasicrates and Valentine are among the best known.
Both saints belonged to the army, and their refusal to sacrifice was therefore not only a religious act but a public breach of military discipline, which the synaxarion presents as the immediate cause of their condemnation.
Confession and death
The account preserved in the synaxarion centers on the courage of Pasicrates, the younger of the pair, who would not bow to the idols even when pressed by the judge. He is remembered for declaring that the body is mortal and may be consumed, while the soul is immortal and untouched by visible suffering. Valentine shared his confession and his sentence, and the two were beheaded together for the name of Christ.
