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Martyr · 3rd century

Martyr Agatha of Palermo

Commemorated as

The Holy and Glorious Martyr Agatha of Catania, the Pride of Catania

c. 231 – c. 251

Also known as Agatha of Sicily · Agatha of Catania

A young noblewoman of Sicily who consecrated her virginity to Christ and, refusing the advances of the governor Quintianus, endured cruel torture and martyrdom about the year 251 under Decius.

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Life

Agatha was a young noblewoman of Sicily, traditionally associated with both Catania and Palermo (ancient Panormos), who consecrated her virginity to Christ and suffered martyrdom about the year 251 during the persecution of the emperor Decius. Born into a wealthy and respected Christian family, she is remembered as a woman of notable beauty who had vowed her life to God.

According to her acts, the Roman governor of the district, Quintianus, pursued her and, when she steadfastly refused him, used his knowledge of her Christian faith to bring her before the authorities. She endured a series of cruel tortures rather than renounce Christ and died in prison of her wounds. She is one of the most widely venerated early virgin-martyrs, named in the late-sixth-century Martyrologium Hieronymianum and in the Synaxarion of Carthage, and is commemorated in the Eastern Orthodox Church on February 5.

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Timeline

  1. c. 231 Birth in Sicily Agatha is born into a wealthy and noble Christian family in Sicily, associated by tradition with both Catania and Palermo (ancient Panormos).
  2. 249–251 Persecution of Decius During the persecution under the emperor Decius, the governor Quintianus pursues Agatha and, on her refusal, denounces her as a Christian.
  3. c. 251 Martyrdom at Catania After being sent to the brothel-keeper Aphrodisia and then subjected to torture, Agatha dies of her wounds in prison.
  4. the following year Stilling of Mount Etna An eruption of Mount Etna is said to be halted through Agatha's intercession, giving rise to her patronage against fire.
  5. 1126 Translation to Gallipoli By tradition her relics are brought to Gallipoli, where she becomes patron of the cathedral.
  6. 1551 Deliverance of Malta Her intercession is credited with saving Malta from a Turkish invasion.

Contributions & Legacy

Life and Martyrdom

The sources place Agatha's life under the emperor Decius, whose persecution of Christians fell in the years 249 to 251. Governor Quintianus, learning of the young woman and drawn by her beauty, sought to win her, but she remained firm in the vow of virginity she had made for Christ.

To break her resolve, Quintianus delivered her to a woman named Aphrodisia, the keeper of a brothel, that she might be turned from her faith through enticement and corruption. Agatha kept her piety unshaken, declaring her desire to suffer for Christ rather than deny him, and was returned to the governor.

When persuasion failed, Quintianus turned to torture. According to her acts she was stretched on a rack and torn with iron hooks, scourged, burned with torches, and her breasts were cut off with tongs. The tradition relates that while she lay imprisoned after these torments, the Apostle Peter appeared to her in her cell and healed her wounds. She was afterward dragged over potsherds and burning coals, and an earthquake is said to have interrupted a final burning. She died in prison, commending her soul to God, about the year 251.

Veneration and Legacy

Agatha became one of the most honored of the early virgin-martyrs. She is named in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum, compiled in the late sixth century, and in the Synaxarion of Carthage of about 530, witnesses to a cult already long established by those dates.

The year after her death, an eruption of Mount Etna is said to have been stilled through her intercession, and from this her patronage against fire and volcanic eruption arose. Her relics came to be associated chiefly with Catania. By tradition, in 1126 her relics were carried off to Gallipoli, where she became patron of the cathedral, and in 1551 her intercession was credited with the deliverance of Malta from a Turkish invasion.

In the Orthodox Church her hymnography honors her as the pride of Catania, recalling the blood of the martyr and her tie to that Sicilian region. Her principal feast is kept on February 5, with the translation of her relics commemorated on March 10 and August 17.

Related Saints

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Feb 5