Xenia the Righteous of Rome was a saint of the 5th century, honored by some Christian Churches, including

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

and

Catholic 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 ...

. Xenia, originally born Eusebia, was the only daughter of a wealthy Senator in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. She and two devoted servants of hers, left to avoid an arranged marriage. She escaped to

Mylasa Milas ( grc, Μύλασα, Mylasa) is an ancient city and the seat of the district of the same name in Muğla Province in southwestern Turkey. The city commands a region with an active economy and very rich in history and ancient remains, the ter ...

, on the island of

Kos Kos or Cos (; el, Κως ) is a Greek island, part of the Dodecanese island chain in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Kos is the third largest island of the Dodecanese by area, after Rhodes and Karpathos; it has a population of 36,986 (2021 census), ...

, where she accepted name "Xenia" (stranger). She wanted to hide in a deserted place not to be discovered by her parents. Upon arrival, Xenia began a church dedicated to the

Saint Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

and a woman's monastery. Soon after, she was made a deaconess by Bishop Paul of Mylasa.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. 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." 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." She is said to have foreseen her own death.

Notes

References

*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.

External links

Year of birth missing 5th-century deaths People from Rome People from Kos Late Ancient Christian female saints 5th-century Christian saints 5th-century Italo-Roman people 5th-century Roman women 5th-century Italian women {{Italy-saint-stub