Euphemia

Euphemia (; 'well-spoken [of]'), also known as the Great martyr Euphemia the All-praised in the Eastern Orthodox Church, was a virgin martyr, who died for her faith at Chalcedon in 303 AD.

According to tradition, Euphemia was martyred for refusing to offer sacrifices to Ares. She was arrested and after suffering various tortures, died in the arena at Chalcedon from a wound sustained from a bear. Her tomb became a site of pilgrimages. She is commemorated on September 16.

Historical background Euphemia's name and year of death are recorded in the 5th century Martyrologium Hieronymianum, the earliest extant list of Christian martyrs. The year, 303, was the first year of the Great Persecution under Roman emperor Diocletian. The Fasti vindobonenses, a collection of liturgical documents from the 4th to 6th centuries, says she died on the 16th of October. Other than this, there is no verifiable historical information about Euphemia.

Egeria, who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land about 381-384 and wrote an account of her travels, relates being shown the site of Euphemia's martyrdom in Chalcedon. From her youth she was consecrated to virginity.

The governor of Chalcedon, Priscus, had made a decree that all of the inhabitants of the city take part in sacrifices to the deity Ares. Euphemia was discovered with forty-nine other Christians hiding in a house and worshipping God, in defiance of the governor's orders. Euphemia, the youngest among them, was separated from her companions and subjected to particularly harsh torments, including the wheel, in hopes of breaking her spirit. She was placed in the arena, where lions were sent out to kill her, but they instead licked her wounds. It is believed that she died of wounds from a wild bear in the arena. to Leo of Rome by the council in which it mentions Euphemia (as Chalcedon is her city) without any miracle.

Relics Sarcophagus containing some of the relics of Saint Euphemia in Rovinj. When the persecution of Diocletian ended, the Christians laid Saint Euphemia's reputed relics in a golden sarcophagus, placed within a church that was dedicated to her. Her relics attracted crowds of pilgrims for centuries.

Around the year 620, in the wake of the conquest of Chalcedon by the Persians under Khosrau I in the year 617, the relics of Saint Euphemia were transferred to a new church in Constantinople. There, during the persecutions of the Iconoclasts, her reliquary was said to have been thrown into the sea, from which it was recovered by the ship-owning brothers Sergios and Sergonos, who belonged to the Orthodox party, and who gave it over to the local bishop who hid them in a secret crypt. The relics were afterwards taken to the Island of Lemnos, and in 796 they were returned to Constantinople.

Veneration

The primary feast day of Saint Euphemia, celebrated by both Eastern and Western Christians is 16 September in commemoration of her martyrdom. In the Coptic Orthodox Church, her feast day is on Abib 17, corresponding to July 11 in the Gregorian calendar. Additionally, Eastern Orthodox Christians commemorate her alleged miracle at the Council of Chalcedon on July 11.

St. Euphemia is a highly venerated saint across all Christian traditions, celebrated for her unwavering faith in the face of persecution, which ultimately led to her martyrdom. In the Eastern Orthodox communion, her miracle is also celebrated according to that 11th century account. Churches in her honor have been erected in many places, such as the Church of Holy Martyr Euphemia in Istanbul, Turkey.