- Sophia the Martyr
Infobox Saint
name= Saint Sophia the Martyr
birth_date=
death_date=~137 AD
feast_day=September 17
venerated_in=Eastern Orthodox Church
imagesize= 250px
caption= Saint Sophia and her three daughters: Faith, Hope and Love (Tretyakov Gallery ,Moscow )
birth_place=Italy
death_place=Rome
titles=
beatified_date=
beatified_place=
beatified_by=
canonized_date=
canonized_place=
canonized_by=
attributes=A woman accompanied by her three small daughters. Often she or all of them will hold crosses
patronage=
major_shrine=
suppressed_date=
issues=Saint Sophia the Martyr (d. 137 AD) is venerated in the
Eastern Orthodox Church onSeptember 17 . Born inItaly , Sophia had three daughters: Faith (age 12), Hope (age 10) and Love (age 9), who were named aftervirtues mentioned bySaint Paul in bibleverse|1|Corinthians|13|KJV. [Sophia's name means "wisdom" in Greek. Her daughter's names are rendered in Greek as "Pistis", "Elpis", and "Agape ". In Russian, they are called "Vera", "Nadezhda", and "Lyubov". In Bulgarian, they are called "Вяра, Надежда и Любов" ("Vyara, Nadezhda and Lyubov").]They are said to have been martyred during the reign of
Hadrian (117-138). The guards took Sophia's daughters one by one, from the eldest to the youngest and beat and tortured them to death. Sophia buried her daughters' bodies and remained by their graves for three days until she died herself.In the year 777 their
relic s were interred at El'zasa, in the church of Esho.The capital city of
Bulgaria ,Sofia , is named after Saint Sophia, and the city's holiday is onSeptember 17 .Troparion of St. Sophia and her 3 daughters (Tone 5):Thou didst blossom in the courts of the Lord as a fruitful olive tree, O holy Martyr Sophia; in thy contest thou didst offer to Christ the sweet fruit of thy womb, Love, Hope and Faith. With them intercede for us all.
Notes
ee also
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Faith, Hope and Charity External links
* [http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsLife.asp?FSID=102638 Martyr Sophia and her three daughters at Rome] Orthodox
synaxarion (OCA)
* [http://www.antiochian.org/saint_sophia Saint Sophia] (Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese )
* [http://www.comeandseeicons.com/s/cap50.htm Martyrs Sophia, Faith, Hope & Love]
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