Astius was an early-second-century bishop of Dyrrachium, a port city on the Adriatic coast (modern Durres, Albania) then within the Roman province of Macedonia. He led the local Church during the reign of the emperor Trajan (98-117), a period of imperial persecution, and was put to death for refusing to abandon the Christian faith. Because he suffered as both a bishop and a martyr, the tradition remembers him as receiving a twofold crown, that of a hierarch and that of a martyr.
His account survives chiefly through the synaxarion. The Eastern Orthodox Church, following the Slavic recension, commemorates him on June 4, while Albanian and other usages keep his memory in early July; he is honored as a patron of the city of Durres.
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c. 98Arrest under TrajanAccording to the synaxarion, Astius received a dream foreboding his coming suffering. He was arrested during the persecution under the emperor Trajan for refusing to take part in pagan worship.
c. 98Torture and crucifixionHe was beaten with leaden rods and oxhide whips but did not renounce Christ. His body was then smeared with honey so that insects would add to his torment, and he was crucified. He is said to have died praising God.
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Martyrdom
The sources agree that Astius was scourged with leaden rods and oxhide whips and, when he would not deny Christ, was smeared with honey to draw stinging insects before being crucified. The Orthodox Church in America's account places these events at Dyrrachium under Trajan and records that his body was reverently buried by Christians afterward.
Some accounts add further detail drawn from later tradition: that the governor responsible was named Agricola, that the demand placed on Astius was to worship Dionysus, and that he was fixed to the cross near the city walls on a hot summer day. Where the synaxarion and the anchor record differ in such particulars, the core narrative of scourging, exposure to insects, and crucifixion is consistent across the sources.
The Seven Martyrs
By tradition, seven men who witnessed the bishop's execution openly praised his steadfastness and were themselves seized. Named in the sources as Peregrinus, Lucian, Pompeius, Hesychius, Papius, Saturninus, and Germanus, they were bound and drowned in the Adriatic Sea, and are commemorated separately on July 7. A later legend relates that their bodies were carried ashore, hidden in the sand by Christians, and that the martyrs afterward made their resting place known so that a church could be raised over them.
