Among the Famous Women in the Bible and History
Women Are Not Lacking in Courage
- Saint Perpetua:
She was thrown to the wild beasts, yet she was not afraid, but confessed the name of Christ. - Mother Dolagy:
She encouraged her four sons to accept martyrdom, and offered her own head to the sword after making sure that her sons had gone before her into the Kingdom, for they were slain on her knees while she encouraged them. - Saint Catherine:
At the age of eighteen, she went before Emperor Maximian during the trial of the Christians, called him to faith in Christ, and explained the faith to him with courage. When the emperor summoned scholars and philosophers to debate with her, she spoke to them with such boldness that they believed. Fausta, the emperor’s wife, also believed, admiring the faith and courage of Saint Catherine, who was not afraid of all the instruments of torture. Finally, they cut off her holy head. - Saint Potamiena the Chaste:
With great courage, she accepted to be placed into a cauldron of boiling oil because of her faith. Her mother supported her with prayers and exhortations, and thus she was martyred. - Saint Demiana:
With great courage, she rebuked her father when he denied the faith, and remained steadfast until he was martyred. She also endured every kind of torture for the sake of her faith and was martyred together with her holy companions. - Saint Theodora:
When one of the holy young men rescued her, and she saw that they had taken him to be martyred, she followed him and said to him, “Do you want to take my crown from me?” So they seized her, and she also received the crown of martyrdom, with all willingness and with all courage. - Saint Hripsime the Beautiful:
She refused to marry either the pagan emperor or any of his governors, and courageously pushed the governor away, throwing him to the ground. She accepted death courageously, preserving her chastity. - Saint Sophia:
The governor tortured her by branding her joints and scourging her with whips, while she courageously cried out, “I am a Christian.” When the torture failed to overcome her, they cut off her head with the sword.
An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – El-Keraza Magazine – Eighth Year (Issue Thirty-Four) – 26-8-1977
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