Rhais of Alexandria was an Egyptian virgin-martyr of the early fourth century, put to death during the persecution of Christians in Roman Egypt. Her name is transmitted in a range of spellings, including Irais, Iraida, Herais and Rais, and she is commemorated in the Orthodox calendar on September 5 and September 23. The in-repo record dates her martyrdom to about 308, during the reign of the emperor Maximinus; some sources place the event in 303, within the broader Diocletianic persecution.
By tradition she was a young woman consecrated to a life of virginity. Several accounts relate that she was the daughter of a Christian priest named Peter and that from the age of twelve she dedicated herself to the Lord, living among other maidens in a women's community in Egypt. The Orthodox Church in America's synaxarion entry simply states that she lived at Alexandria.
The defining event of her life is her voluntary association with a group of captive confessors. As she drew water at a well, she saw a ship at the shore carrying men, women, clergy and monastics bound in chains for their confession of the Christian faith. On learning the reason for their captivity, she joined herself to them, and fetters were placed on her as well.
