Saint
Pistis, Helpis, Agape,
Sunday,
November 19, 2006
Saint Pistis, Helpis, Agape,
and their
mother Sophia
30 Toubah / 7 February
on this day, the holy and blessed virgins, Pistis, Helpis, Agape, and their
mother Sophia, were martyred. Saint Sophia was of a rich and noble family in
Antioch. When her daughters were born, she called them Pistis,
meaning ‘faith’, Helpis, meaning ‘hope’,
and Agape meaning ‘love’.
When the girl shad grown a little, their mother
went with them to Rome to teach them how to worship God, and to fear the Lord.
Emperor Hadrianus heard about this remarkable family, and thus
summoned them before him. Before going to the emperor, Saint Sophia preached to
her daughters and gave them solace, teaching them to be steadfast in the Faith
of the Lord Jesus Christ, saying to them, ‘Let not your determination grow
faint or weak, and let the glory of the world entice you, lest you lose eternal
glory. Be patient and persevere until you meet your Bridegroom, the Christ,
with Whom you will enter into the permanent joy’. At
this stage, the oldest girl was twelve years old, the second was ten years old
and the youngest was nine years old.
When they
arrived in the presence of the emperor, he asked the eldest to worship idols,
promising her that he would give her in marriage to one of the great men in his
kingdom, and that he would decorate her
with many jewels, but she refused. He ordered that she
be beaten and tortured and that she be placed in a kettle of boiling water, but
the Lord was with her and He saved and strengthened her, and everyone was
astonished and glorified God. The emperor them commanded that she be beheaded.
Likewise, Hadrianus also ordered that the second
daughter be beaten, put in boiling water, and then beheaded.
When the
turn of the youngest girl came, her mother feared that she would weaken, so she
encouraged her. When the emperor ordered that she be placed in the pressing
wheel, she cried to Christ, and He sent to her His angel, who broke it. The
emperor then ordered her to be thrown in fire, and she prayed again, made the
sign of the cross, and threw herself into it. All those who were watching saw
three men in white robes surrounding her, and the fiery furnace was as cold as
the dew. They marvelled, and many believed in Christ, and they were all
beheaded. The emperor then ordered that her sides be pierced with hot rids, but the Lord strengthened her and she did not feel
the pain. Finally, the young girl was beheaded.
At the
completion of this ordeal, Saint Sophia took the bodies of her daughters
outside the city, where she sat and wept, asking them to ask Christ to also
take her soul. The Lord immediately granted her wish. Some believers then went
to the place where the bodies lay, and buried them with great honour.
After
this, Emperor Hadrianus was struck with a disease in
his eyes; he became blind and died the most dreadful death, and God avenged the
death of these saintly girls.
