Kalliopi (Calliope) was a Christian

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

of the third century AD. She was executed in 250, near the beginning of

Emperor Decius Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius ( 201 ADJune 251 AD), sometimes translated as Trajan Decius or Decius, was the emperor of the Roman Empire from 249 to 251. A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was procla ...

' violent suppression of

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

within the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

Kalliopi's martyrdom according to Church tradition

By the age of twenty-one (by third century standards a ripe age), Kalliope had already passed the age at which most girls marry, having no social prospects. She instead spent her days dedicated to her religion, with little thought to social life. For a time, she had been deemed not ready for marriage even though she met the criteria for it and was considered overall compliant. When at last she became eligible, many suitors asked for her hand. One pagan suitor sent word that were she to reject him in favor of another, especially a Christian, he would see to it that the pagan authorities would carry out their form of justice. Kalliopi did not hesitate to not only deny this suitor, but make it plain that she would not marry him even if he were a Christian—such a conversion, she said, could not be reliably authentic. This put her at further odds with the Romans who saw her as rebellious, in addition to being a Christian in a pagan land. The spurned suitor arranged for her to be brought before a magistrate, where she was accused of a variety of crimes ranging from a mockery of the pagan faith to treason against the state. According to tradition, the suitor paid a parade of witnesses to testify against Kalliope in order to destroy her reputation. She was deemed guilty, and the rejected suitor stepped forth to offer a withdrawal of the charges against her if she would disavow Christ and become his pagan bride. The alternative was torture, and upon further refusal death. Taken to the public square, she was bound to the post and mercilessly flogged until her clothing and flesh were in tatters. Her beautiful face was scarred with branding irons and salt was poured into her open wounds, and while the breath of life was still within her she was told to disavow Christ. When she persisted in the faith she was beheaded.

Veneration

Kalliopi is venerated in the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

and

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. She is pictured in art with a hot iron pressed to her breast, emblematic of the branding that she is supposed to have suffered before death. Her feast is celebrated on June 8.

Sources

St. Calliope
at Catholic Online
Saint of the Day, June 8: Calliope
at SaintPatrickDC.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalliopi Year of birth unknown 250 deaths 3rd-century Christian martyrs Ante-Nicene Christian female saints Virgin martyrs