Martyr 3rd century

Antonina of Nicea

Also known as Antonina

A Christian woman of Nicea in Bithynia who endured fierce tortures and imprisonment, remaining steadfast in refusing to offer sacrifice to idols during the reign of Maximian.

Feast Day

March 1

Also Jun 13

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Commemorated as

The Holy Martyr Antonina of Nicaea

Life

Antonina of Nicaea was an early Christian martyr who suffered at Nicaea in Bithynia, in Asia Minor, during the persecutions of the late third and early fourth centuries. The tradition places her death under the emperor Maximian, whose reign extended from 284 to 305, when she refused to renounce Christ or offer sacrifice to the pagan idols.

According to her account, Antonina openly confessed her Christian faith and, after refusing to sacrifice, was imprisoned and subjected to a series of tortures. She was hung up and torn at her sides and placed upon a heated bed or grill, yet was reported to have remained unharmed. The narrative recounts that angels appeared in her defense, frightening her executioners. After prolonged torture she was at last sewn into a sack and drowned in the lake of Nicaea, receiving the crown of martyrdom.

She is commemorated in the Orthodox Church on March 1, with a secondary commemoration in June. Nicaea, the city of her martyrdom, corresponds to modern Iznik in Turkey.

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Martyrdom

The surviving account of Antonina situates her in Nicaea during a persecution of Christians under Maximian. Presenting herself and confessing her faith, she was cast into prison when the authorities could not compel her to renounce Christ and sacrifice to idols. The tradition describes successive torments: she was hung up and her sides were torn, and she was placed on a red-hot bed or lit grill, from which she is said to have emerged unharmed. The hagiography reports angelic intervention against those who came to strip and beat her. Her martyrdom was completed when she was sewn into a sack and sunk in the lake of Nicaea. A liturgical verse preserved in her commemoration draws on the manner of her death: 'The sea has become a nuptial chamber, covering Antonina the bride of the Lord.'

Commemoration

Antonina is venerated as a holy martyr and is principally commemorated on March 1, with an additional commemoration recorded in June. Her veneration belongs to the early, pre-Nicene martyr tradition of Asia Minor, centered on Nicaea in Bithynia.

Notes

Also commemorated Jun 13.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints