Pelagia the Virgin

For the Pelagia of Antioch also known as Pelagia the Penitant or Pelagia the Harlot, see Saint Pelagia. For other uses, see Pelagia (disambiguation).

Saint Pelagia
Virgin & 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)

Pelagia (Greek: Πελαγία), distinguished as Pelagia of Antioch and Pelagia the Virgin, was a Christian saint, virgin, and martyr who committed suicide during the Diocletian Persecution rather than be forced by Roman soldiers to offer a public sacrifice to the pagan gods. She was 15 years old. Originally, her feast day was celebrated on October 8, in common with SS Pelagia the Harlot and Pelagia of Tarsus. In the Roman Catholic Church, it came to be celebrated on June 9 and, at Naples in Italy, she is celebrated on October 5.

Life

Pelagia is mentioned by Ambrose and was the subject of two sermons by John Chrysostom. 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, she received permission to change her clothes. She went to the roof of her house and threw herself into the sea. The patristic sources treat this as a sacred martyrdom rather than an ignoble suicide.

Legacy

Pelagia's story was the probable basis for the later dubious accounts of Pelagia of Tarsus.

See also

• SS Marina the Monk & Margaret the Virgin, with whom she is also conflated

References

Bibliography

• Butler, Alban (1866), The Lives of the Saints, Vol. X: October.
• Kirsch, Johann Peter (1911), "Pelagia" , 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.