Saint Spotlight: Anastasia the Great Martyr (Dec. 22)

 

The Great Martyr Anastasia was a Roman who suffered for Christ during Diocletian’s persecution of Christians in 304. Her father was a pagan, and her mother was secretly a Christian. As a child, Anastasia was educated by a Christian. After her mother’s death, Anastasia's father gave her in marriage to a pagan named Publius, but by feigning illness, she preserved her virginity. Dressed in the clothing of a beggar, she and her assistants would visit, feed, and heal the Christians suffering in prison. St. Anastasia would later become known as the Deliverer from Potions, since by her intercessions, she has healed many from the effects of potions, poisons, and other harmful substances. When Publius heard of this, he beat his wife and confined Anastasia to her room. Publius would later die by drowning after setting out for Persia. Anastasia would distribute his wealth to the poor and continue her ministry.




Diocletian received word that the Christian captives refused to denounce their faith in Christ. Diocletian would order that all the christian in prison be put to death. Just after the martyrdom of the Christians, St. Anastasia and her assistant, a young widow named Theodótē, would be arrested and persuaded to deny Christ being tempted by luxury and riches. The two saints refused to denounce their faith in Christ. The pagan leaders tried to defile St. Anastasia, at which point they went blind. St. Anastasia and Theodote devoted themselves once more to the care of imprisoned Christians.




St. Anastasia was caught again and condemned to death by starvation. She remained in prison without food for sixty days. Seeing that hunger caused St. Anastasia no harm, the judge sentenced her to drowning together with other prisoners. The prisoners were put in a boat and sent into the open sea. The soldiers made holes in the ship and fled. St. Theodote, who was martyred along with her children, appeared to the captives and seared the boat to shore. When they reached dry land, 120 men believed in Christ and were baptized by St. Anastasia. All were captured and received a martyr’s crown. St. Anastasia was stretched between four pillars and burned alive. A certain pious woman named Apollinaria buried her body, which was unharmed by the fire, in the garden outside her house.




In the 5th century, St. Anastasia's relics were transferred to Constantinople, where a church was built and dedicated to her. Later, her head and one of her hands were transferred to the Monastery of St. Anastasia, near Mount Athos.