Pelagia the Virgin
Pelagia the Virgin (Greek: Πελαγία), also known as Pelagia of Antioch, was a Saint and virgin martyr who leapt to her death during the Diocletianic Persecution rather than be forced by Roman soldiers to offer a public sacrifice to the pagan gods,[1] or to do "something unspeakable (for she was a virgin)", typically inferred as the Roman soldiers attempting to rape her. [2] She was 15 years old. Originally, her feast day was celebrated on October 8,[3] in common with SS Pelagia the Harlot and Pelagia of Tarsus.[4] In the Roman Catholic Church, it came to be celebrated on June 9[1] and, at Naples in Italy, she is celebrated on October 5.[5]
Saint Pelagia | |
|---|---|
| Virgin and martyr | |
| Born | late 3rd century |
| Residence | Antioch |
| Died | Antioch |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church Greek Orthodox Church |
| Major shrine | Antioch |
| Feast | October 8 (Greek Orthodox) June 9 (Roman Catholic) October 5 (Naples) |
Life
Pelagia is mentioned by Ambrose[6] and was the subject of two sermons by John Chrysostom.[7] She was home alone during the Diocletian Persecution when Roman soldiers arrived. She came out to meet them and, discovering they intended to compel her to participate in a pagan sacrifice (or to rape her), she received permission to change her clothes. She went to the roof of her house and threw herself into the sea.[1] The patristic sources treat this as a sacred martyrdom.
Legacy
Pelagia's story was the probable basis for the later dubious accounts of Pelagia of Tarsus.[1]
See also
- SS Marina the Monk & Margaret the Virgin, with whom she is also conflated
References
Citations
- Kirsch (1911).
- Philip R. Amidon, appendix 6.10 to Philostorgius, Church History.
- Wright's Syriac Martyrology.
- Greek Synaxarion.
- Butler (1866), "8 October: St. Pelagia, Penitent".
- Ambrose, De Virg., III, 7, 33.
- Chrysostom, Hom. in Matth. lxvii. (in Latin)
Bibliography
- Butler, Alban (1866), The Lives of the Saints, Vol. X: October.
- Kirsch, Johann Peter (1911), , Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church, Vol. 11, New York: Robert Appleton Co.