Virgin Martyr Oraiozele

Conversion and Discipleship

The tradition records Oraiozele as a native of first-century Byzantium who had originally been devoted to pagan worship. Upon hearing the preaching of the Apostle Andrew, she converted to Christianity and received baptism at his hands. She is described as an educated woman, capable of grasping the truths of the Gospel, and the apostle authorized her to instruct women in its teachings.

Through this work she is said to have brought numerous pagan women to the Christian faith. Her association with the Apostle Andrew places her within his documented missionary activity in Byzantium and Thrace; the apostle is traditionally credited with founding the see of Byzantium, later Constantinople.

Ministry at Revma

According to the synaxarion, Oraiozele later established herself at a church dedicated to the Archangel Michael at Revma on the Bosporos, where she continued to evangelize. Two former pagan women whom she had converted became her devoted followers, joining her over several years in ascetical struggles of fasting, vigil, and prayer.

Martyrdom

During the persecution of Christians under the Emperor Domitian, who reigned from 81 to 96, Oraiozele was arrested and charged with refusing to offer sacrifice to the idols. When she held firm in her confession of Christ, she was ordered to be tortured. The account relates that after a prolonged beating she was beheaded, and her body was cast into the fire.

Traditional Accounts

By tradition, women experiencing infertility or difficulties in nursing were said to receive help through prayer to the saint.