Five Martyrs of Persia
Five Martyrs of Persia | |
|---|---|
| Died | 4th century |
| Means of martyrdom | Beheaded |
| Venerated in | |
| Feast | 6 June |
The Five Martyrs of Persia, also known as the Five Sisters of Persia or the Five Virgins of Persia, are a group of Christian women who are believed to have been martyred during the reign of Shapur II (309-379).
Their memory is commemorated on 6 June in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Sources and studies
The lives of the Five Martyrs of Persia are known through Syriac and Greek sources.[1] However, the history of their hagiography and life has remained quite complicated to establish for a long time, given that there are regional traditions of these same saints that are somewhat altered.[1] For instance, on the island of Crete, the regional tradition is said to have "Cretized" the story by simply changing the locations involved in the narrative to Cretan places.[1]
Regarding the exact names of the saints, Sebastian Brock provides the following comparisons:[1]
- Syriac: Thecla, Mariam, Martha, Mariam, Emmi (or Amai)
- Greek (Synaxarion): Thecla, Mariamne, Martha, Maria, Enneim
- Greek (Krētōn Hagioi): Martha, Maria, Ennatha, Thecla, Mariamne
- Greek (Synaxarists): Thecla, Mariamne, Martha, Maria, Ennatha
- Greek (from Spanakès): Thecla, Mariamna, Aithana, Martha, Maria
He further argues that the use of "Mariamne" in the Greek names is intentional, to avoid duplicating "Mariam", as in the original Syriac.[1] The name "Emmi" is a hapax legomenon in Syriac literature, meaning literally "my mother".[1]
Biography
According to the hagiographical accounts concerning them, the five martyrs are said to have lived near the village of Aza during the Sassanian Empire.[2][3] The five women were likely monastics or, at the very least, women living a monastic life of chastity and prayer; in some hagiographies, they are described as virgins.[2][3] They were believed to be under the spiritual guidance of a certain Paul, who was said to be a priest as well as a wealthy and greedy man.[2][3] The five Christian women reportedly distributed all their possessions and entrusted them to him, but he chose to keep everything for himself.[2]
Some countrymen become aware of Paul’s wealth, informed by a Nerses,[3] and threatened to kill all six of them if the group did not renounce their belief in Jesus Christ. Paul, renounced his belief in order to remain safe.[2][3] The five women, however, refused to abjure their Christian faith and were beheaded by Paul.[2][3] Paul was thrown into a river the next day.
Celebrations
Their memory has been commemorated since ancient times on 6 June in the Eastern Orthodox Church More recently, the date of 9 June has also been noted.[1][3]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Brock, Sebastian (2019-11-05), "Five Women Martyrs: From Persia to Crete", in Frank, Georgia; Holman, Susan; Jacobs, Andrew (eds.), The Garb of Being: Embodiment and the Pursuit of Holiness in Late Ancient Christianity, Fordham University Press, pp. 221–233, doi:10.1515/9780823287048-012, ISBN 978-0-8232-8704-8, retrieved 2025-01-24
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Five Nuns beheaded in Persia: Martyrs Thecla, Mariamne, Martha, Mary, and Ennatha". www.oca.org. Retrieved 2025-01-24.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Συναξάρι 9ης Ἰουνίου - Poimin.gr" (in Greek). 2020-06-08. Retrieved 2025-01-24.