Pertinax ( el, Περτίναξ; died 187 AD) was

Bishop of Byzantium The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and ''primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of the ...

from 169 until his death in 187. Information on his life is mainly drawn from the works of

Dorotheus of Tyre Saint Dorotheus bishop of Tyre (present-day Lebanon; c. 255 – 362) is traditionally credited with an ''Acts'' of the Seventy Apostles (which may be the same work as the lost '' Gospel of the Seventy''), who were sent out according to the ''Go ...

, according to whom he was originally a senior officer of the Roman Empire based in

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

. He contracted a strong bout of some disease, and in the midst of his illness he had heard the rumors of miracles occurring amongst the adherents of a new growing religion –

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. He sought advice from Bishop Alypius of Byzantium; when his disease was cured, he believed it was the result of Alypius' prayers and the grace of God, and converted to Christianity.Ecumenical Patriarchate
Shortly afterwards, he was ordained a priest by Alypius, and succeeded him as bishop after his death, a position he would serve to his own repose.

References

187 deaths 2nd-century Romans 2nd-century Byzantine bishops Bishops of Byzantium Year of birth unknown {{EarlyChurch-bishop-stub