Martyr 4th century

Martyrs Rhipsime Gaiane, and those with them

died c. 300

Also known as Hripsime · Gaiane · the Armenian women martyrs

Christian women who fled imperial pressure at Rome and suffered martyrdom in Armenia; their witness is bound up with the conversion-era history of Armenia.

Feast Day

September 30

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Commemorated as

The Holy Martyrs Rhipsime, Gaiane, and Those With Them, of Armenia

Life

Rhipsime, Gaiane, and their companions were a community of Christian virgins who, by tradition, fled the Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor Diocletian (284-305) and suffered martyrdom in Armenia. They are commemorated together by the Orthodox Church on September 30. Their witness is bound up with the conversion-era history of Armenia, and the principal martyrs are venerated as among the first Christian martyrs on Armenian soil.

According to the tradition, Rhipsime was a maiden of noble origin who had consecrated her virginity to Christ and lived in a community of women whose superior was Gaiane. When Diocletian sought her in marriage, the women fled to preserve Rhipsime's chastity, eventually taking refuge in Armenia near Vagharshapat (modern Echmiadzin). Diocletian then wrote to the Armenian king Tiridates, asking him either to return Rhipsime or to take her himself. When Tiridates attempted to force her, she resisted, and according to the synaxarion she remained unharmed through divine intervention.

Rhipsime was then subjected to cruel torments and put to death; the accounts relate that her tongue was cut out, her body cut open, and she was blinded before being killed. Inspired by her example, the superior Gaiane and other women of the community endured similar tortures and were beheaded, while the remaining members of the community were put to the sword. The number of those martyred with them is given variously in the sources.

By tradition the king and his men were struck with a grievous affliction after the killings, from which relief came only through the prayers of Gregory the Illuminator, who had been held prisoner; his intervention is connected in the tradition with the healing of the king, his conversion, and the subsequent Christianization of Armenia. A church dedicated to Saint Hripsime was built at Echmiadzin and consecrated in 618, and is said to contain her tomb.

Contributions & Legacy

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Flight and Refuge in Armenia

The tradition relates that Rhipsime belonged to a community of consecrated virgins under the superior Gaiane. When the emperor Diocletian sought to marry Rhipsime, who had vowed her virginity to Christ, the women chose flight over compliance and made their way eastward, by some accounts passing through Alexandria before settling in Armenia in the region of Vagharshapat. The OCA account describes them establishing themselves in a vineyard on the slopes near Mount Ararat, with the stronger among them working in the city to support the community.

Diocletian, unwilling to let the matter rest, is said to have written to the Armenian king Tiridates, asking that Rhipsime be returned to him or else taken by the king himself. This correspondence sets the stage for the confrontation that followed, in which Tiridates sought to compel Rhipsime and, meeting her refusal, ordered the torments that made her and her companions martyrs.

Martyrdom and Aftermath

The synaxarion accounts describe the martyrdoms in vivid and brutal terms: Rhipsime was tortured by the cutting out of her tongue, the opening of her body, and the loss of her sight before she was killed, and Gaiane with other women of the community endured comparable torments before being beheaded. The remaining members of the community were put to the sword; the sources differ on the exact number, with one tradition naming some thirty-two further virgin martyrs and others giving figures around thirty-seven of the original group.

By tradition the killings were followed by a divine affliction upon the king and his men. Relief is said to have come only through Gregory the Illuminator, who had been imprisoned and was released to pray for the king; the tradition links his intervention to the king's healing and conversion and to the wider Christianization of Armenia. The Church of Saint Hripsime at Echmiadzin, consecrated in 618, is held to contain the saint's tomb and remains a place of pilgrimage.

Notes

Named group kept as one row.

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