Xenia the Righteous of Rome was a saint of the 5th century, honored by some Christian Churches, including Orthodox and Catholic.[1] Xenia, originally born Eusebia, was the only daughter of a wealthy Senator in Rome. She and two devoted servants of hers, left to avoid an arranged marriage. She escaped to Mylasa, on the island of Kos, where she accepted name "Xenia" (stranger). She wanted to hide in a deserted place not to be discovered by her parents.
Xenia of Rome | |
|---|---|
 Icon of Saint Xenia; crypt of the Russian Orthodox Church Chiesa di Cristo Salvatore San Remo, Italy | |
| Died | c. 450 |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church Roman Catholic Church |
| Feast | January 24/February 6 |
Upon arrival, Xenia began a church dedicated to the Saint Stephen and a woman's monastery. Soon after, she was made a deaconess by Bishop Paul of Mylasa.[2][3][4]
It is written of her that she "helped everyone: for the destitute, she was a benefactress; for the grief-stricken, a comforter; for sinners, a guide to repentance. She possessed a deep humility, accounting herself the worst and most sinful of all."[5]
The Feast of St. Xenia is celebrated in the Orthodox church and Catholic church on January 24, the day on which she died. It was alleged that "during her funeral, a luminous wreath of stars surrounding a radiant cross appeared over the monastery in the heavens."[6] She is said to have foreseen her own death.[3][7]
Notes
edit- ^ Our Holy Mother Xenia of Rome, Holy Protection Russian Orthodox Church web-site
- ^ "Venerable Xenia of Rome, and her two female servants". www.oca.org. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
- ^ a b Poulos, George. St. Xenia. Orthodox Saints. qtd. in Orthodox Women Saints. The Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. Accessed on 2007-12-10.
- ^ "Xenia, Deaconess of Rome - Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America". www.goarch.org. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
- ^ "Saint Xenia the Righteous of Rome : OMHKSEA". Retrieved 2020-02-01.
- ^ "Venerable Xenia of Rome, and her two female servants". Православие.RU. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
- ^ "Saint Eusebia of Milas". CatholicSaints.info. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
References
edit- St. Nikolai Velimirović, Tepsić, Fr. T. Timothy (Translator). The Prologue of Ohrid: Lives of Saints, Hymns, Reflections and Homilies for Every Day of the Year, Vol. 1. Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Western America, 2002. ISBN 0-9719505-0-4
External links
edit
Media related to Saint Xenia of Rome at Wikimedia Commons
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