Martyr 4th century

Martyr Charitina of Amisus

died c. 304

A virgin-martyr of Amisus on the Black Sea (c. 304); her principal feast is October 5

Feast Day

October 5

Also Sep 4

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Commemorated as

The Holy Martyr Charitina of Amisus

Life

Charitina of Amisus was a virgin-martyr of the early fourth century, venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church on October 5, with a secondary commemoration on September 4. According to her synaxarion, she lived at Amisus (Amisos) in Pontus, on the southern shore of the Black Sea, and suffered during the persecutions under the emperor Diocletian (284-305). Her martyrdom is traditionally dated to about the year 304.

The tradition relates that Charitina was orphaned in childhood and taken in by a pious Christian named Claudius, who raised her as his own daughter. Though, by the account, she had not yet been baptized, she was Christian in conviction and lived devoutly; she is remembered as gentle and intelligent, and she vowed to preserve her virginity as a bride of Christ. The synaxarion credits her with bringing many others to the Christian faith.

Because of the converts attributed to her, she came to the attention of Dometius, a governor under Diocletian, who ordered Claudius to send her for interrogation. When questioned, she confessed her faith openly. The accounts describe a series of severe tortures that she endured, after which she died in prayer before a planned outrage against her could be carried out. Her body was cast into the sea but recovered and honorably buried by her guardian.

Timeline 2 moments Read Hide

284-305 Persecution under Diocletian Charitina lives at Amisus in Pontus during the reign of the emperor Diocletian.
c. 304 Martyrdom After interrogation by the governor Dometius and a series of tortures, she dies in prayer; her body is cast into the sea and later recovered.

Contributions & Legacy

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Life and Conversions

The synaxarion presents Charitina as an orphan raised in the household of Claudius, a Christian of Amisus, who treated her as a daughter. Described as comely, sensible, and kind, she is said to have devoted herself to the law of God and to a life of chastity, vowing perpetual virginity. Several sources note that she had not yet received baptism at the time of her arrest, regarding her as a Christian in spirit who was nonetheless drawn to martyrdom.

Her renown in the tradition rests less on lineage than on her influence: she is credited with leading many of her contemporaries to the Christian faith. It was this missionary reputation that, according to the account, brought her to official notice and ultimately to trial.

Arrest, Tortures, and Death

The governor Dometius, having heard of her success in winning converts, ordered Claudius to surrender her for examination. When she was summoned and asked whether she was a Christian, the tradition records her reply affirming her faith and denying the charge that she deceived others.

The synaxarion describes a sequence of brutal torments inflicted upon her, several of which the account frames as miraculously thwarted: her hair was cut and is said to have regrown, burning coals were placed upon her head, she was cast into the sea and delivered, and she was bound to a wheel which, by the tradition, an angel halted. Faced at last with the threat of being handed over to be violated, she prayed for death and, by the account, surrendered her soul to God while kneeling in prayer. Her body was weighted and thrown into the sea; the tradition relates that it was carried to shore, where Claudius recovered and buried it with honor.

Identity and Commemoration

Charitina of Amisus is commemorated principally on October 5, with a secondary feast on September 4. Some sources identify her with, or conflate her under the name of, a 'Charitina of Rome'; the Western Martyrologium Romanum, however, locates a martyr of this name at Corycus in Cilicia rather than at Amisus, and the precise relationship between these notices is not settled.

Later tradition associates relics venerated under her name with the monastery of Kykkos in Cyprus and with the monastery of Jerusalem in Boeotia.

Sources: Synaxarion