WOMEN SAINTS AND MARTYRS AUGUST 1-6
August 1
St. Elined. Welsh virgin and martyr, also called Ellyw and Almedha. She is honored in Lianelly and Llanelieu.
St. Hope. According to an Eastern allegory explaining the cult of Divine Wisdom, Faith, Hope, and Charity were the daughters of Wisdom, a widow in Rome. The daughters suffered martyrdom during Hadrian's persecution of Christians: Faith, twelve, was scourged and went unharmed when boiling pitch was poured on her, was beheaded; Hope, ten, and Charity, nine, were also beheaded after emerging unscathed, from a furnace; and Wisdom died three days later while praying at their graves.
St. Sofia. According to an Eastern allegory explaining the cult of Divine Wisdom, Faith, Hope, and Charity were the daughters of Wisdom (known as Sofia in the Roman Martyrology on September 30th), a widow in Rome. The daughters suffered martyrdom during Hadrian's persecution of Christians: Faith, twelve, was scourged and went unharmed when boiling pitch was poured on her, was beheaded; Hope, ten, and Charity, nine, were also beheaded after emerging unscathed, from a furnace; and Wisdom died three days later while praying at their graves.
St. Charity. The Roman widow, St. Wisdom, and her three daughters are said to have suffered for the Faith under the Emperor Hadrian. According to spurious legend, St. Faith, age 12, was scourged, thrown into boiling pitch, taken out alive, and beheaded; St. Hope, age 10, and St. Charity, age 9, being unhurt in a furnace, were also beheaded; and their mother, St. Wisdom, suffered while praying over the bodies of her children.
St. Almedha, sixth century. Virgin and martyr also called Aled or Filuned. The Welsh tradition reports that Almedha was the daughter of King Brychan. Having taken a vow of virginity and dedicated to Christ, Almedha fled from her father's royal residence to escape marriage to the prince of a neighboring kingdom. She went to three Welsh villages - Llandrew, Llanfillo, and Llechfaen - but the people turned her away, despite her promise warning that dreadful thing calamities would befall anyone who denied her sanctuary. Almedha reached Brecon, where she took up residence in a small hut, but the king arrived and demanded her return. When she refused him, he beheaded her. Tradition states that a spring of water appeared on the site of her murder. The three villages that refused her were visited by disasters.
St. Mary the Consoler, 8th century. The sister of St. Anno, bishop of Verona. Details of her life are not extant but she probably took part in the translation of the relics of St. Firmus and Rusticus.
August 2
St. Alfreda, 795 A.D. Virgin and hermit, also known as Afreda, Alfritha, Aelfnryth, and Etheldreda. She was the daughter of King Offa of Mercia, in England, and was either betrothed to or loved by St. Ethelbert, the king of the East Angles. Ethelbert went to Offa's court to ask for Alfreda but was murdered by Offa's queen, Cynethritha. Horrified by the deed, Alfreda departed the court and retired to the marshes of Crowland. There she lived as a hermitess until her death. Her sister, Aelfreda, also lost a husband to the political intrigue of Offa and his queen.
St. Theodota, 304 A.D. Martyr with her sons. According to dubious legend, she was a noblewoman slain at Nicaea (modern Turkey) with her three sons (one of whom was St. Evodius) by being hurled into a furnace. Theodota reportedly was denounced by Prefect Leucatius when she refused his proposal of marriage.
August 3
St. Lydia Purpuraria, 1st century. Lydia Purpuraria was born at Thyatira (Ak-Hissar), a town in Asia Minor, famous for its dye works, (hence, her name which means purple seller). She became Paul's first convert at Philippi. She was baptized with her household, and Paul stayed at her home there.
St. Trea, 5th century. Irish hermitess. A convert to Christianity through the efforts of St. Patrick, she embraced the eremitical life and lived out her days as a recluse at Ardtree, Derry, Ireland.
St. Senach, 6th century. A disciple of St. Finian. He became a bishop in Ireland and succeeded Finian as head of the great Irish school of Clonard.
August 5
St. Afra, 304 A.D. Martyr and penitent, listed in some records as the daughter of the king of Cyprus. Afra was caught up in the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian in Roman Augsburg. She is listed in the Martyrology Hieronymianum. Afra possibly operated a brothel in Augsburg or served as a prostitute in the temple of Venus, living with her mother, Hilaria, and serving women Eunomia, Eutropia, and Digna. When the persecutions started in Augsburg, Bishop Narcissus of Gerona, Spain, arrived in the city and took lodging with Afra and Hilaria, not knowing their profession. His holiness attracted the women, who converted. When officials came looking for the bishop, Afra hid him under a pile of flax. Afra and her household were baptized, and her uncle Dionysius was ordained as a bishop. Arrested, Afra was burned to death, tied to a tree on the small island of Lech. She was buried in Augsburg and her mother erected a chapel for her tomb. Soon after, Hilaria and her serving women were burned alive in their house. Afra's remains were buried in a church named after her. Pilgrims visited her shrine as early as 565. In 1012, the Benedictine monastery of St. Ulrich and St. Afra displayed her sarcophagus. The Acts of Afra give an account of her martyrdom.
St. Nouna. Wife of St. Gregory of Nazianzus. A Christian, she was responsible for converting Gregory to the Christian faith. He was originally a member of the Hypsistorians, a Jewish pagan group. All of their children became saints: Gregory Nazianzus the Younger, Caesarius of Nazianzus, and Gorgonius.
St. Elined. Welsh virgin and martyr, also called Ellyw and Almedha. She is honored in Lianelly and Llanelieu.
St. Hope. According to an Eastern allegory explaining the cult of Divine Wisdom, Faith, Hope, and Charity were the daughters of Wisdom, a widow in Rome. The daughters suffered martyrdom during Hadrian's persecution of Christians: Faith, twelve, was scourged and went unharmed when boiling pitch was poured on her, was beheaded; Hope, ten, and Charity, nine, were also beheaded after emerging unscathed, from a furnace; and Wisdom died three days later while praying at their graves.
St. Sofia. According to an Eastern allegory explaining the cult of Divine Wisdom, Faith, Hope, and Charity were the daughters of Wisdom (known as Sofia in the Roman Martyrology on September 30th), a widow in Rome. The daughters suffered martyrdom during Hadrian's persecution of Christians: Faith, twelve, was scourged and went unharmed when boiling pitch was poured on her, was beheaded; Hope, ten, and Charity, nine, were also beheaded after emerging unscathed, from a furnace; and Wisdom died three days later while praying at their graves.
St. Charity. The Roman widow, St. Wisdom, and her three daughters are said to have suffered for the Faith under the Emperor Hadrian. According to spurious legend, St. Faith, age 12, was scourged, thrown into boiling pitch, taken out alive, and beheaded; St. Hope, age 10, and St. Charity, age 9, being unhurt in a furnace, were also beheaded; and their mother, St. Wisdom, suffered while praying over the bodies of her children.
St. Almedha, sixth century. Virgin and martyr also called Aled or Filuned. The Welsh tradition reports that Almedha was the daughter of King Brychan. Having taken a vow of virginity and dedicated to Christ, Almedha fled from her father's royal residence to escape marriage to the prince of a neighboring kingdom. She went to three Welsh villages - Llandrew, Llanfillo, and Llechfaen - but the people turned her away, despite her promise warning that dreadful thing calamities would befall anyone who denied her sanctuary. Almedha reached Brecon, where she took up residence in a small hut, but the king arrived and demanded her return. When she refused him, he beheaded her. Tradition states that a spring of water appeared on the site of her murder. The three villages that refused her were visited by disasters.
St. Mary the Consoler, 8th century. The sister of St. Anno, bishop of Verona. Details of her life are not extant but she probably took part in the translation of the relics of St. Firmus and Rusticus.
August 2
St. Alfreda, 795 A.D. Virgin and hermit, also known as Afreda, Alfritha, Aelfnryth, and Etheldreda. She was the daughter of King Offa of Mercia, in England, and was either betrothed to or loved by St. Ethelbert, the king of the East Angles. Ethelbert went to Offa's court to ask for Alfreda but was murdered by Offa's queen, Cynethritha. Horrified by the deed, Alfreda departed the court and retired to the marshes of Crowland. There she lived as a hermitess until her death. Her sister, Aelfreda, also lost a husband to the political intrigue of Offa and his queen.
St. Theodota, 304 A.D. Martyr with her sons. According to dubious legend, she was a noblewoman slain at Nicaea (modern Turkey) with her three sons (one of whom was St. Evodius) by being hurled into a furnace. Theodota reportedly was denounced by Prefect Leucatius when she refused his proposal of marriage.
August 3
St. Lydia Purpuraria, 1st century. Lydia Purpuraria was born at Thyatira (Ak-Hissar), a town in Asia Minor, famous for its dye works, (hence, her name which means purple seller). She became Paul's first convert at Philippi. She was baptized with her household, and Paul stayed at her home there.
St. Trea, 5th century. Irish hermitess. A convert to Christianity through the efforts of St. Patrick, she embraced the eremitical life and lived out her days as a recluse at Ardtree, Derry, Ireland.
St. Senach, 6th century. A disciple of St. Finian. He became a bishop in Ireland and succeeded Finian as head of the great Irish school of Clonard.
August 5
St. Afra, 304 A.D. Martyr and penitent, listed in some records as the daughter of the king of Cyprus. Afra was caught up in the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian in Roman Augsburg. She is listed in the Martyrology Hieronymianum. Afra possibly operated a brothel in Augsburg or served as a prostitute in the temple of Venus, living with her mother, Hilaria, and serving women Eunomia, Eutropia, and Digna. When the persecutions started in Augsburg, Bishop Narcissus of Gerona, Spain, arrived in the city and took lodging with Afra and Hilaria, not knowing their profession. His holiness attracted the women, who converted. When officials came looking for the bishop, Afra hid him under a pile of flax. Afra and her household were baptized, and her uncle Dionysius was ordained as a bishop. Arrested, Afra was burned to death, tied to a tree on the small island of Lech. She was buried in Augsburg and her mother erected a chapel for her tomb. Soon after, Hilaria and her serving women were burned alive in their house. Afra's remains were buried in a church named after her. Pilgrims visited her shrine as early as 565. In 1012, the Benedictine monastery of St. Ulrich and St. Afra displayed her sarcophagus. The Acts of Afra give an account of her martyrdom.
St. Nouna. Wife of St. Gregory of Nazianzus. A Christian, she was responsible for converting Gregory to the Christian faith. He was originally a member of the Hypsistorians, a Jewish pagan group. All of their children became saints: Gregory Nazianzus the Younger, Caesarius of Nazianzus, and Gorgonius.
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