Anysia of Salonika
Anysia of Thessaloniki | |
---|---|
Martyr | |
Born | 284 Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece |
Died | 304 by the gate of Cassandra |
Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church Roman Catholic Church |
Feast | 30 December[1] |
Saint Anysia of Salonika was a Christian virgin and martyr of the 4th century.
Anysia was born to a wealthy and pious Christian family in Thessaloniki. She dedicated herself to vows of chastity and poverty, praying and helping the poor. The legend of her martyrdom states that in 304, a Roman soldier apprehended her as she was on her way to mass. Discovering she was a Christian, he beat her, and intended to drag her to a pagan temple to sacrifice to Roman gods. When he tore off her veil (a reminder of her vow of chastity), she spit in his face, and he murdered her.[2]
References
- ^ http://ww1.antiochian.org/node/17202
- ^ Jones, Terry. "Anysia of Salonika". Patron Saints Index. Archived from the original on 1 January 2008. Retrieved 2007-12-31.