Family and Early Life
Olympias came from the senatorial aristocracy of the Eastern Roman Empire. Her father, Anicius Secundus, held the rank of senator, and her maternal grandfather, Eulalios, had been an eparch; sources name her mother as Alexandra. One account records that her mother had earlier been married to the Armenian ruler Arsak before her widowhood.
In her youth Olympias was betrothed to a nobleman, but the bridegroom died before the wedding took place. Rather than seek another marriage, she resolved to dedicate her life and her inheritance to the service of God and the Church.
Wealth and Charity
On the death of her parents, Olympias became heir to a very large fortune. She regarded her wealth as belonging to God rather than to herself and distributed it widely to the poor, the orphaned, and the widowed.
Her generosity extended to churches, monasteries, hospices, and shelters for the homeless and destitute. The sources note that she gave not only to the deserving but also to those who had wronged her, and that her support reached many of the leading hierarchs of her day.
Ministry as a Deaconess
The Patriarch Nectarius of Constantinople, who occupied the see from 381 to 397, ordained Olympias a deaconess, an office she is recorded to have fulfilled honorably and without reproach.
In her service she provided hospitality and assistance to many bishops who came to the capital, including Amphilochius of Iconium, Onesimus of Pontus, Gregory the Theologian, Peter of Sebaste (the brother of Basil the Great), and Epiphanius of Cyprus.
Association with John Chrysostom
Olympias is principally remembered for her devotion to Saint John Chrysostom during his tenure as Archbishop of Constantinople. He held her in high regard and showed her spiritual friendship, and a body of letters addressed to her survives from his hand.
When Chrysostom was deposed and banished, Olympias and the other deaconesses were deeply grieved. Her continued loyalty to him made her a target of his opponents.
Persecution and Exile
Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria, who had himself formerly benefited from Olympias's generosity, turned against her on account of her support for Chrysostom and brought accusations against her.
Following a fire that damaged a church in Constantinople, she was charged with arson and fined a large sum of money, though the sources stress her innocence and the absence of evidence. She was removed from the capital to the region of Nicomedia, where she lived out her remaining years in hardship and exile.
Death and Veneration
Olympias reposed in exile near Nicomedia on July 25; sources record her death after that of Chrysostom (who died on September 14, 407) and place it in the year 408 or 409.
By tradition her remains were committed to the sea in a coffin, which came ashore at Brokthoi near Constantinople, where her relics were enshrined in a church and miracles and healings were reported. A later tradition records that under the Patriarch Sergius (610–638) the relics were translated to a convent known as the house of Olympias. Her feast is kept on July 25.
