Pelagia

Holy Martyr Pelagia of Antioch.

May 4

The Holy Martyr Pelagia was a young Christian woman of the early Church who suffered during the persecutions of the pagan emperors. Refusing to deny Christ or to be turned from her purity, she gave her life rather than betray her Lord, and the synaxaria honor her steadfast confession.

Her name, which means 'of the sea', has been borne with love by generations of Orthodox women in her memory. She is commemorated on May 4.

October 8

St. Pelagia was a celebrated actress of Antioch, renowned for her beauty and wealth, who was brought to compunction by the preaching of a holy bishop. She was baptized, gave her riches to the poor, and departed secretly to Jerusalem, where she lived in a cell on the Mount of Olives in strict asceticism, unknown to all until her repose.

She is honored as a model of true repentance, showing that no life is beyond the reach of the mercy of God. She is commemorated on October 8.

Feast day

On the New Calendar, Pelagia is commemorated on May 4. Churches on the Old (Julian) Calendar keep the feast on May 17 of the civil calendar.

On the New Calendar, Pelagia is commemorated on October 8. Churches on the Old (Julian) Calendar keep the feast on October 21 of the civil calendar.

Who celebrates a name day

People with these names keep their name day on this feast:

Pelagia, Pelayia, Pela

Also commemorated on May 4

• Nikephoros of Mount Athos

  Venerable, Νικηφόρος ο Αθωνίτης

  Venerable Nikephoros the Hesychast of Mount Athos, teacher of Saint Gregory Palamas.

  Name days: Nikiforos, Nikephoros, Nicephorus

• Monica, Mother of Augustine

  Holy Woman, Μόνικα

  Saint Monica, whose years of prayer and tears brought her son Augustine to Christ.

  Name days: Monica, Monika, Monique

• Aphrodisios and Companions

  Martyr, Αφροδίσιος, Λεόντιος και Αντωνίνος

  Holy Martyrs Aphrodisios, Leontios, Antoninos and their companions, who suffered at Scythopolis in Palestine.

  Name days: Aphrodisios, Afrodisios, Leontios, Leontius

• Athanasios of Corinth

  Hierarch, Αθανάσιος Κορίνθου

  Venerable Athanasios, Bishop of Corinth, an ascetic hierarch of the Byzantine period.

• Florian the Martyr

  Martyr, Φλωριανός

  Holy Martyr Florian, a Roman officer drowned for his faith at Lorch in present-day Austria.

  Name days: Florian

• Hilarion the Wonderworker

  Venerable, Ιλαρίων ο Θαυματουργός

  Venerable Hilarion the Wonderworker, an ascetic honored in the Greek synaxarion.

  Name days: Ilarion, Hilarion

Icon: public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.