In 310, in the Black Sea city of Sinop, Deacon Rufina, Christian Aquiline and two hundred Roman soldiers were executed. Events unfolded under the emperor Maximian, who continued large-scale persecution of the followers of Christ.
Rufin was the first to be captured. In Roman prisons, prisoners were not fed at state expense — food was brought either by relatives or sympathizers. Aquiline took care of this by visiting the prisoner regularly. The guards quickly found out that a Christian is a co-religion who rejects the cult of the emperor. She was sent to prison, too.
Once together, Rufin and Aquiline never ceased to bear witness to Christ. Soldiers assigned to guard the prisoners listened to their speeches. The result was unexpected for the authorities: the entire guard — two hundred legionnaires — was baptized right in prison. When this was reported upstairs, the order was followed to execute everyone in large numbers. The deacon, the woman and the converted warriors died by the sword.
The city of Sinop, where the tragedy occurred, was located on the Anatolian shore of the Black Sea, opposite the Crimea. In the Roman era, it was a crowded port with its Christian community, which arose long before the events described.
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April 20
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