Holy Martyr Sebastiana (+81–96)

The holy Martyr Sebastiana was a disciple of the Apostle Paul. During the persecution of the Orthodox by the Emperor Domitian (81–96) she was brought before the court of the governor George in the city of Marcianopolis in the province of Moesia. For her courageous confession of Christ the saint was beaten mercilessly and thrown onto a pyre, but at her prayer the fire went out. Then Sebastiana was sent to the city of Heraclea, tried a second time and thrown to the beasts to be torn apart; but the Lord again protected His chosen one: the wild beasts did not even touch her. At last, by the governor’s order, Sebastiana was beheaded.

The saint’s body, thrown into the sea, was carried by angels to the island of Rhodes (in Thrace, in the Sea of Marmara).