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- Virgin-martyr Pelagia of Tarsus in Asia Minor (287)
- She was born in Tarsus (home of the Apostle Paul). Though her
parents were prominent pagans, she heard of Christ from Christians in
that city, and her heart was filled with love for the Savior. The
Emperor Diocletian visited Tarsus, and during his stay the Emperor's son
and heir fell in love with Pelagia and wished to marry her. To her
parents' complete amazement, Pelagia replied that she was already
promised to her betrothed, Christ the Lord. She then fled her parents'
house and went to the holy Bishop Linus, who instructed her in the Faith
and baptized her. Pelagia then gave away all her many possessions,
returned home, and told her parents that she was baptised. The
Emperor's son, despairing of marryng her, killed himself. Pelagia's
mother then denounced her daughter to the Emperor, who summoned her for
trial. When Pelagia freely confessed her unwavering faith in Christ,
the Emperor condemned her to be burned in a metal ox heated by fire. An
account of her martyrdom says that, entering the ox with prayers of
thanksgiving on her lips, she instantly melted like wax. Bishop Linus,
who had baptised her, found a few of her bones and buried them on a hill
near Tarsus. During the reign of the Emperor Constantine Copronymus
(741-775), a church was built there in her honor.
source: http://www.abbamoses.com
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