Pelagia the Virgin

Pelagia (Greek: Πελαγία), distinguished as Pelagia of Antioch and Pelagia the Virgin, was a Christian saint, virgin, and martyr who committed suicide during the Diocletian Persecution rather than be forced by Roman soldiers to offer a public sacrifice to the pagan gods. She was 15 years old. Originally, her feast day was celebrated on October 8, in common with SS Pelagia the Harlot and Pelagia of Tarsus. In the Roman Catholic Church, it came to be celebrated on June 9 and, at Naples in Italy, she is celebrated on October 5.

Life

Pelagia is mentioned by Ambrose and was the subject of two sermons by John Chrysostom. She was home alone during the Diocletian Persecution when Roman soldiers arrived. She came out to meet them and, discovering they intended to compel her to participate in a pagan sacrifice, she received permission to change her clothes. She went to the roof of her house and threw herself into the sea. The patristic sources treat this as a sacred martyrdom rather than an ignoble suicide.

Legacy

Pelagia's story was the probable basis for the later dubious accounts of Pelagia of Tarsus.