The Women Neomartyrs
The women of the company, and the particular pressures they faced. St. Philothei of Athens — the noblewoman who became a nun and was beaten to death in 1589 for sheltering enslaved and abused women — stands foremost. The second file treats the virgin-martyrs and the pressures specific to women: forced marriage and conversion, abduction, and the harem, as the sources present them (Kyranna of Thessaloniki, Akylina of Zagliveri, Argyre of Prousa).
Tradition: Greek Orthodox (women neomartyrs of the Ottoman period)
Overview
Women are a distinct and significant part of the neomartyr company, and their martyrdoms follow patterns partly their own. Where a man was most often pressed to convert by legal accusation, social advantage, or the devshirme, a woman was most often pressed at the point of marriage and the household — desired by a Muslim who could make conversion the price of her body, or claimed as a convert to force her into a marriage or a harem. The women’s acta are, correspondingly, dominated by the refusal to convert-and-marry, and by a chastity defended to death.
The first file, Philothei of Athens, treats the foremost woman neomartyr — Revoula Benizelou, St. Philothei (c. 1522–1589), the Athenian noblewoman, abbess, and social benefactor whose ransoming and sheltering of enslaved and abused women drew the violence that killed her.
The second file, The Virgin-Martyrs and the Pressures on Women, treats St. Kyranna (d. 1751), St. Akylina of Zagliveri (d. 1764), and St. Argyre of Prousa (d. c. 1721), and, through them, the specific pressures on women — forced marriage, forced conversion, abduction, and the harem — handled soberly and as the sources present them, per METHODOLOGY §4.1.
Contents
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| philothei-of-athens.md | St. Philothei (Revoula Benizelou), c. 1522–1589; the noblewoman, nun, and benefactress; the ransoming of enslaved women; her martyric death |
| the-virgin-martyrs-and-the-pressures-on-women.md | St. Kyranna (1751), St. Akylina of Zagliveri (1764), St. Argyre of Prousa (c. 1721); forced marriage and conversion; the harem; the sources handled soberly |
See Also
- The Word and the Three Paths — the general paths, and the women’s variation on them
- The Martyrs of the Cities — the men of the same company
- The Feast and the Cult — the veneration of the women martyrs
References
- Vaporis, Nomikos Michael. Witnesses for Christ. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2000.
- Nikodemos the Hagiorite, St., and St. Makarios of Corinth, comps. Neon Martyrologion. Venice, 1799.