Agathoclia

Saint Agathoclia (Agathocleia;[1] Spanish: Santa Agatoclia) (d. ~230 AD) is venerated as a patron saint of Mequinenza, Aragón, Spain. Her feast day is September 17.

"Agathocleia" redirects here. For the princess of Bactria, see Menander I.
Saint Agathoclia
Miniature from the Menologion of Basil II
Died~230 AD
Venerated inEastern Orthodoxy
Roman Catholic Church
FeastSeptember 17
PatronageMequinenza, Aragon

Biography

Tradition states that she was a virgin Christian slave owned by two people who had converted to paganism from Christianity, named Nicolas and Paulina. They subjected Agathoclia to regular physical abuse, including whipping and other violence, in an effort to get Agathoclia to renounce her faith. She repeatedly refused to do so.

Her owners then subjected her to a public trial by a local magistrate. There too, she refused to renounce Christianity, which subjected her to savage mangling from the authorities. When she was found guilty, her sentence included having her tongue cut out, a nonfatal injury.

There is some disagreement about how Agathoclia met her death. Some sources say that her mistress Paulina poured burning coals on her neck. Other sources say that she herself was cast into fire.

Veneration

The town of Mequinenza celebrates festivals in honor of Santa Agatoclia (called simply “La Santa”) from September 16 to 20.[2] There is also a confraternity in the town dedicated to the saint.[3]

See also

Notes
  1. Latinization of the Greek name Ἀγαθόκλεια.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2007-03-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-09-20. Retrieved 2008-09-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

References
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