On May 17, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of Martyr Pelagia, Virgin of Tarsus (c. 290). She lived in the third century in the city of Tarsus in Asia Minor.
St. Pelagia was descended from a noble family and was very beautiful. Her parents gave her a brilliant education. At that time, Diocletian (284–305) was the Roman Emperor. He was looking for a wife for his son and heir. Diocletian persecuted Christians many times. Hearing about these persecutions, St. Pelagia was surprised, and asked her household:
“For what deeds are Christians so hated?”
But no one would answer her.
One day, renowned people, a husband and a wife who were secret Christians, came to visit St. Pelagia’s parents. St. Pelagia did not know about it, but wishing to find the answer to her question, she asked them as well. At that moment, she found herself alone with the couple; her father had not yet entered the house, and her mother was giving orders in the kitchen.
“Do you really want to know the answer to your question?” the guests asked her.
Having received an affirmative answer from St. Pelagia, they told her everything they knew about Jesus Christ, the Christian faith, the salvation of the soul, and the Heavenly Kingdom.
“But what about these gods?” St. Pelagia asked them and pointed at the statues of Zeus, Apollo, Venus and other pagan gods depicted on the walls of the hall.
“They are just idols, and we must not worship them,” the female guest replied.
Thus St. Pelagia came to love the Christian faith, and stopped worshipping and offering sacrifices to pagan gods. When she awoke, St. Pelagia realized that she needed to go to the bishop and get baptized by him.
“Henceforth you are a Christian. Keep the commandments of God faithfully, pray to the Lord, and He will not forsake you,” Bishop Clinon exhorted St. Pelagia.
St. Pelagia returned home filled with joy. Having embraced faith in Jesus Christ, she would spend many hours in prayer and reading the Holy Scriptures.
One day, when St. Pelagia was praying, her mother entered her room.
“Who are you praying to, my daughter?” her mother asked her.
St. Pelagia looked at her mother with her big, kind eyes and answered quietly, “To our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The noblewoman exclaimed, “Renounce Him at once! Our gods are your gods!”
“Mama, you are wrong. I believe you also can become a Christian.”
“That will never happen,” St. Pelagia’s mother said firmly.
At that time, Emperor Diocletian decided that a maiden of such noble birth as St. Pelagia, who was well educated and exceedingly beautiful, should become his heir’s wife. But when St. Pelagia’s parents joyfully told her about her upcoming wedding, the maiden refused. Then, taking her daughter by the hand angrily, her mother brought St. Pelagia to her proposed fiancé and said:
“Here is your fiancée—she is a Christian. Do whatever you please with her.”
Her rejected fiancé had already come to love the maiden for her modesty and beauty, so now he did not know what he ought to do. As a Christian, St. Pelagia would have to be tortured. But he was not sure whether this would bring results, because he saw that even after severe torments, Christians did not renounce their faith in the Lord.
Diocletian’s heir resolved the situation in a way most unexpected for everybody. Realizing that St. Pelagia would never agree to become his wife, he committed suicide. The maiden’s mother again flew into a rage. This time she brought her daughter to Emperor Diocletian himself and exclaimed, “Here is the one who is to blame for your son’s death! Punish her immediately.”
As Diocletian looked at St. Pelagia he marveled at her beauty and modesty. Of course, he grieved for his lost heir, but he could not be brought back to life. Meanwhile, he pitied the maiden who was so young, so beautiful and, as it seemed to him, so unhappy. Captivated by St. Pelagia’s beauty, Diocletian said finally, “Don’t ruin yourself, young maiden. Be my wife!”
All those present at this scene froze. Would the young beautiful maiden really reject such a flattering offer? St. Pelagia’s mother was waiting for her daughter’s answer with bated breath. And amid the ringing silence was heard the maiden’s gentle reply:
“I already have a Bridegroom—Jesus Christ. And I am ready to die for Him.”
These words were followed by the indignant screams of St. Pelagia’s mother:
“You wretch! How dare you oppose the Emperor’s will?”
Diocletian tried not to show his resentment in front of those present, so he only ordered angrily:
“Burn her in the brazen bull!”
The servants started bustling about, obeying the Emperor’s orders. Two guards grabbed St. Pelagia by the arms and took her to the area in front of the royal palace. The brazen bull was already towering there. The cavity inside it was intended for the sufferer, who would be placed there, the small door closed, and left to be burned alive. A fire had already been lit beneath the brazen bull.
The guards brought St. Pelagia to the brazen bull. The martyr addressed them calmly, “Let go of my hands. I will step inside myself.”
The guards fulfilled the maiden’s last wish, and St. Pelagia made the sign of the cross. Then she said, “Into Thy hands, O Lord, do I commit myself.”
With these words, St. Pelagia entered the brazen bull serenely. The door slammed shut behind her. Several armfuls of brushwood were thrown onto the fire, and huge flames engulfed the brazen bull from all sides. Women’s screams could be heard in the crowd. Many people wept, pitying the martyr’s youth and beauty. Some time after St. Pelagia’s martyrdom, the doors of the brazen bull were opened, and everyone saw that her body had not been burned or turned into embers but had melted like butter. The martyr’s bones remained absolutely intact.
Having received permission from the Emperor, Bishop Clinon buried Martyr Pelagia’s remains in a cave on a mountain near Tarsus. Some time passed, and people built a church there. Following the Virgin Pelagia’s martyrdom, many pagans in Tarsus and its surroundings converted to Christ and were baptized.
Holy Martyr Pelagia of Tarsus, pray to God for us!