The feat of the martyr Agnia - “a vow that exceeds the laws of age”

Life

She was born in Rome from pious parents and was raised in the Christian faith. At the age of 13, she refused to marry the son of the head of the region and, without making a sacrifice to the goddess Vesta, was sent naked to an indecent house. But by God’s will, her hair grew so long on her head that it covered her entire body like clothing, and an Angel of God met her in the house and covered her with such a brilliant radiance that because of this shine the wicked youths could not look at her. When St. Agnia began to pray, then she saw in front of her a white robe woven by angelic hands. The young man, the culprit of evil, went to Agnia and wanted to commit violence against her, but fell lifeless, betrayed by the Angel of God to Satan. At the request of the young man’s father, the holy virgin resurrected the deceased with her prayer, who began to glorify God. And from this, 160 people believed in Christ, were baptized, and after some time the pagans cut off the heads of them and the resurrected young man. Then St. The martyr Agnia was given over to cruel torture, after which a sword was stuck in her throat, from which she gave up her spirit to the Lord. Praying at the tomb of St. Agnes, her peer Emerentiana suffered at the hands of the pagans and was buried near St. Agnia. Many years later, the daughter of Constantine the Great, Constance, was healed of a serious illness at the tomb of St. Agnes, in gratitude, having built a church in the name of St. at her burial place. martyrs, and then a nunnery. The Holy Martyr Agnia was born in Rome in the 3rd century from Christian parents and was raised by them in the rules of the Christian faith. From a young age, she devoted herself to God with all her soul and decided to devote herself to the virgin life. When she refused to marry the son of the city chief Symphronius, one of his close associates revealed to him that Agnia was a Christian. The embittered ruler decided to dishonor the holy virgin and ordered her to be naked and sent to a house for harlots for blasphemy against the pagan gods. But the Lord did not allow the saint to be desecrated—thick and long hair instantly grew on her head, hiding her body from people; placed in a house for harlots, the saint was clothed with Heavenly light, darkening the vision of all who came. The son of the ruler, who came to dishonor the maiden, fell dead, barely touching her with his hand, but through the fervent prayer of Saint Agnes he was resurrected and proclaimed in the face of his father and many people: “There is one God in heaven and earth - the Christian God, the rest are gods.” - dust and ashes! At the sight of this miracle, one hundred and sixty people believed in God and were baptized, soon suffering martyrdom from the pagans. Saint Agnia, at the request of the pagan priests, was given over to torture. They tried to burn her at the stake like a sorceress, but the saint remained unharmed in the fire, remaining in prayer to God, after which she was killed by a blow to the throat with a sword. The holy virgin martyr was buried by her parents near the city of Rome (about 304). Many miracles were performed at the grave of Saint Agnes. The saint's relics rest in Rome in a country church built in honor of her name, along the Via Nomentana.

The feat of the martyr Agnia - “a vow that exceeds the laws of age”

The first testimony about the feat of the Virgin Agnia was left by Saint Ambrose of Milan. “Not yet ripe for punishment, she is already ripe for victory; inaccessible to defeat, she is capable of receiving a crown,” wrote St. Ambrose of Milan about the saint, whose memory is celebrated today. In his work “On the Virgins” (“De Virginibus”), the saint admired the virtue of a young girl who, not yet knowing life, “so easily parted with it.” She literally strove for confession.

The Holy Martyr Agnia suffered in the year 304, during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. She was 12 years old. She was “noble by birth and beautiful in face,” as St. Demetrius of Rostov wrote about her. The beauty of the virgin Agnia, by her own decision, was destined for the Heavenly Bridegroom, whom she, having received holy Baptism, loved with all her heart. Therefore, when a young man from a noble and wealthy family wooed her, he was rejected and learned that Agnia was already engaged to Another Groom. Trying to understand who crossed his path, the young man found out that Agnia was a Christian. The young man's father, regional governor Symphronius, began to pursue Agnia: either with gentle persuasion or threats, which another girl's heart could not withstand and gave up, he tried to persuade her to renounce her faith and worship the pagan gods. No longer thinking about his son, the boss set out to turn the girl away from Christianity. He allowed her to maintain her virginity - to become a vestal virgin. To this the girl responded with surprising prudence at that age: “If for the sake of my Heavenly Bridegroom I despised a living person, how can I now bow to a soulless stone?” Agnia fearlessly listened to the threat to send her to an indecent house. She knew that the Lord would not leave her virtue of virginity to be desecrated. As soon as she was stripped naked, to be paraded through the streets in this form for greater dishonor, the girl instantly grew long hair, covering her nakedness. And while in captivity, an Angel appeared to her and brought her a beautiful light robe. The obscene house was consecrated by the presence of the holy virgin in it. Everyone who came there with sinful desires left changed - with the firm intention of no longer serving sin. The unlucky groom also came there. As soon as he approached Agnia, he fell dead. Through the prayer of the holy virgin, the young man came to life. Neither he nor his father wanted to pursue Agnia anymore. But the whole people, who had seen the miracles she had performed and now longed for her death, turned against the girl, just a girl. “And as shameful as this cruelty was, which did not spare even childhood, just as great, on the contrary, was the power of faith, which found proof even at this age,” writes St. Ambrose. The martyr went to her execution as if she were going to a wedding feast: “Seeing her joyful face, people thought that she was going down the aisle” (from the hymn of St. Ambrose, dedicated to the martyr Agnia). The fire of the bonfire on which the martyr was elevated did not cause her the slightest harm - the flame quickly died out. Then one of the soldiers, on the orders of the new commander, who feared popular unrest, stuck a sword in her throat.

This happened in the Roman square, now known as Piazza Navona (“Navona” is a corruption of “in agone” - “at the games”). At the time of the martyrdom of Saint Agnes, the circus of Emperor Domitian was located here. Today, this square boasts the Church of Sant'Agnese in Agone, built in the 17th century. In the crypt of the church is the head of the martyr Agnes, as the Italians call this saint.

There is another Roman church in honor of the holy virgin martyr, associated with the era of Constantine the Great. After the execution, Agnia’s parents took her body and buried her near the Nometan road. In 342, the daughter of the Emperor Constance came to the relics of the martyr as her last hope. According to legend, having miraculously recovered from a serious incurable illness, Constance founded a temple in honor of St. Agnes, today it is the Basilica of Sant'Agnese fuori le Mura ("Church of Agnes outside the city walls"). Every year on January 21 - the day of remembrance of the holy martyr in the Catholic Church - the Pope celebrates Mass in the basilica. During the service, he blesses two lambs. The animals are covered with two capes, symbolizing the virtues of Saint Agnes: the white cape represents virginity, and the red cape represents martyrdom. During Holy Week, the lambs will be shorn, and palliums will be made from their wool in the workshop - a special sign of archbishop's dignity - narrow ribbons with six black crosses.

In our country, the veneration of the holy martyr Agnes has not become as widespread as in the Catholic West, and is rather episodic in nature. Thus, in the Moscow region monastery of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Kolychevo, a chapel of one of the two large churches, the Transfiguration Church, was consecrated in honor of the martyr Agnia.

The veneration of the virgin martyr here is not an accident. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Kazan Icon was miraculously revealed at a spring near the village, on which, in addition to the face of the Most Holy Theotokos, the holy martyrs Margaret and Agnia were depicted. God's providence for the monastery, founded here in 1885 by Schemamonk Macarius, manifested itself quite quickly: the first abbess's name was Margarita, the second was Agnia. Under the second abbess, a new building of the monastery complex was built - the Transfiguration Church, to which the cell building was adjacent. According to the pious desire of the abbess, one of the chapels of the temple was consecrated in honor of her heavenly patroness, the martyr Agnia of Rome. In 1918, the monastery was closed, and an almshouse was established in its buildings. Since the 1960s, a psychoneurological boarding school has been located here. And the building of the Church of the Transfiguration with a chapel in honor of the martyr Agnia became the dining room of the boarding school. Today, in the appearance of the dining room, it is difficult to discern the features of an Orthodox church. However, monastic life is being revived, and the providential names of the martyrs Agnia and Margarita for the monastery resound within these walls: the first abbess of the newly acquired monastery was Nun Margarita (now the abbess of the Mother of God of Smolensk Novodevichy Convent), and nun Agnia still lives in the Kazan Monastery and prays to his patron saint.

Choir

The Life and Suffering of the Holy Martyr Agnia the Virgin The Holy Martyr Agnia was born in ancient Rome and was raised by her parents in the Christian faith. In the thirteenth year of her life, by a temporary death she was delivered from eternal death and gained endless life, since she loved the only Giver of life and became attached to Him from her youth. She was young in years, but old with a perfect mind; young in body, but the only thing in her soul was wisdom (Wisdom Sol. 4:9), beautiful in face, but even more beautiful in the depth of her faith. Inflamed with love for the Sweetest Jesus, born of the Most Pure Virgin, she became engaged to Him through her virginity, and besides Him, she did not want to have anyone else as her groom. Noble by birth and beautiful in face, with her beauty she so captivated the eyes and heart of one young man, the son of the regional governor Symphronius, that when he saw her returning from a girls’ school, he was immediately inflamed with love for her, and then, asking about her and recognizing the house her parents, began to send her abundant gifts, promising even more, and asking her to agree to become his bride and marry him. Saint Agnia rejected all these gifts, as if they were rubbish, without valuing them at all; about herself she said that she was betrothed to the best Bridegroom and had better and more valuable gifts from him: being His bride, she could not leave him and change her devotion and love for Him. But this young man, from day to day, was inflamed with ever greater love for her and recognized himself as more honorable and more worthy, in comparison with all other noble young men. Believing that the girl wanted better gifts from him, he prepared larger quantities and more valuable stones and pearls, precious vessels and clothes, and he himself brought them to her, begging him personally, then through acquaintances, friends and neighbors, so that she didn't prefer it to him. He pointed to his noble origin, to the wealth, the houses, the inheritance of the land, which she would own if she agreed to become engaged to him. Then the saint began to speak more clearly: “Get away from me, instigator of the sinful flame, passionate lover of filth, food destined for eternal death!” Depart from me, since you have already been warned by another Bridegroom, Who gave me much greater jewelry and betrothed me with the ring of His faith. You cannot compare with Him either in origin or in rank. He placed upon me other distinctions of spiritual beauty. He covered my right hand and neck with valuable stones, gave me earrings made of priceless emeralds in my ears, girded me with bright shining pearls, put a sign on my face so that I would not prefer any other groom to Him, dressed me in gold-woven clothes and adorned me with countless necklaces; Moreover, He showed me the priceless treasure that He promised to give me if I kept my faith in Him. That is why I cannot look at anyone else, lest I dishonor my first Bridegroom, nor leave Him with whom I am firmly bound by a bond of love. His nobility is the highest, his power is the strongest, his beauty is the most magnificent, his love is the sweetest, surpassing all grace; They have already prepared a palace for me. His voice is pleasant to me; His mouth has already poured out honey and milk for me; With His pure embrace I have already sincerely become attached to Him; His flesh had already united with my flesh and His blood painted my face. His mother is a Virgo, but his father did not know his wife. He is served by Angels; the sun and moon marvel at His beauty; at His command the dead are raised; by touching Him the sick are healed; His riches never fail and His treasuries are never empty. In Him alone I keep faith and I entrust myself entirely to Him. Having Him as my husband, I will remain a virgin; loving Him, I will be blameless; touching Him, I will remain pure; there are no children from this marriage; Childbearing in it is painless, and the fruits of cohabitation multiply every day. After these words, the crazy young man became even more inflamed with ardent love for her and, suffering in his heart from a love wound, fell into a serious illness from grief and sadness. When he lay down on his sick bed and sighed heavily from the depths of his heart, his heart wound became clear to the doctors. His father, having heard about all this, and having learned from inquiries about the cause of the illness, immediately sent to the girl and her parents, wanting to betroth her to his son as a bride. She, like the first time, refused, saying: “I will never cheat on my first Groom.” The angry head of the region tried to thoroughly investigate who could compare with his son and humiliate the nobility of his family? Then one of those present explained that Agnia had been a Christian since childhood and had been so seduced by Christian magic that she considered Christ, whom Christians recognize as God, to be her Bridegroom. Having learned about this, the head of the region rejoiced, since he could, being a judge, recognize her as worthy of execution for insulting his gods; moreover, he hoped with his own power to force her into a marriage with her son. Immediately he sent his servants to bring her, and began his wicked trial against her. At first he tried with caresses, and then with threats, to turn her away from Christ and the virginity promised to Christ. However, the Virgin of Christ was not seduced by caresses and was not afraid of threats, but, being courageous in spirit, she equally mocked both caresses and threats. The regional governor Symphronius, seeing such courage of the girl, turned to her parents and talked a lot with them about the betrothal, and since they were of noble origin, not daring to allow violence against them, he only advised in every possible way to convince his daughter to marry. But they refused, saying: “Governor, we will not be able to convince her, because as far as we know her will from childhood, she will never do this and will never give up her intention.” Then the ruler again ordered the girl to be presented to him for trial, talking to her a lot about carnal love and marriage; when all the affectionate and flattering speeches proved powerless, he finally said: “Choose one of two things: either marry my son, or, if you want to preserve your virginity, devote yourself to the constant service of the goddess Vesta880, for she requires such maidens.” To these words, blessed Agnia replied: “If I despised your son, although corrupted by mad passion, he is, however, a living person, moreover, having a mind, capable of hearing, seeing, walking and enjoying the blessings of this world - if I cannot even look at him.” , in view of my vow to Christ, then all the more I cannot honor an idol that is deaf and dumb, soulless and unreasonable. In order not to offend Almighty God, I will not bow my head before an insensitive stone, for I undoubtedly know that there is no other God than He who created heaven and earth through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, for us for the sake of Him who became incarnate, suffered and was buried , on the third day he rose again and now reigns in heaven with an endless kingdom. I worship and serve Him alone as the True and Living God, and I curse your lying goddess and all your vile gods. Having heard this, Governor Symphronius said: “Sparing your youth, I forgive you the blasphemies that you uttered against our gods, for I see that you have an imperfect mind; So spare yourself and do not anger the gods. Saint Agnes answered: “Why do you despise my youth, as if unreasonable, and why do you think that I am looking for some kind of mercy from you?” Know that the dignity of faith does not depend on the years of life and not on bodily age, but on the mind, and Almighty God exalts a person more by mind than by years, and does more good through reason than through longevity. And leave your gods, from whose wrath you warn me; let them themselves be angry with me, let them speak for themselves, let them themselves command me to honor them and worship them. The ruler of the region said to this: “Choose one thing for yourself: either with other girls, to save the honor of your house, make a sacrifice to the goddess Vesta, or, to the eternal shame of your family, you will go to an indecent house with shameless women.” Saint Agnes courageously answered him: “If you knew who my God is, you would not say this.” But I, knowing the power of my Lord Jesus Christ, do not attach any importance to your threats, for I am quite sure that I will not worship your gods, and my virginity will remain pure and undamaged. I have a guardian for my body, an Angel of God. My Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, whom you do not know. For me, he is an indestructible fortress, a tireless guard, a constant protector - not like your gods, who are either pieces of copper suitable for making cauldrons useful in household use, or stones with which to pave the streets. The deity does not live in stone, but has heaven as its throne, and does not live in copper, or any more valuable thing, but in the kingdom above, being glorified and revered by every creature. But you and those like you, if you do not turn from idolatry to the True God, then together with your gods, who are cast by sculptors in fire and melt in fire, you will be tormented in eternal fire. The head of the region became very angry, ordered the saint to be naked and led naked into an indecent house, and the herald had to exclaim: “Agniya, the wicked virgin who has blasphemed the gods, is being led into an indecent house like a harlot.” But while the holy maiden was naked to be mocked, God did not abandon her in her hope and did not allow His bride to be mocked and shamed. By God's will, her hair immediately grew so long on her head that it covered her entire body, like some thick clothing, and no one could see her nakedness. When she entered the house of harlots, she saw the Angel of God, ready to guard her virginal purity, who covered her with such an indescribable brilliant radiance that, due to the strong shine, the eyes of shameless and wicked young men could not look at her. The whole room shone with light like the sun, shining in all its glory, and when anyone tried to look at it with a curious eye, his eyes were immediately greatly darkened by the invisible, holy one, because of that light. When the girl began to pray, she saw before her a white robe, woven not by human hands, but by angelic hands. Having dressed in it and seeing herself dressed in accordance with her age, the saint said: “I thank You, my Lord Jesus Christ, that You, including me among Your servants, gave me this clothing!” Then the house of sin became a house of prayer, the place of demonic pleasures became the village of the glory of God, the unclean house of harlots became a magnificent palace, where the bride of Christ with the Angel who appeared to her glorified and sang praises to God. Many came here, corrupted in mind and inflamed by passion, but fearing the glory that surrounded the maiden, and seeing the Divine power protecting her virginity, they became chaste and, bowing, left. The young man himself, the author of evil, filled with unclean passion, came with his peers. He wanted to commit violence against the holy maiden and, seeing others who had entered and left before him without any success, he laughed at them, calling them insignificant and weak. He entered with bold intention into the room in which the saint was praying, and, seeing the heavenly radiance, did not honor the glory of the Lord and shamelessly rushed towards the bride of Christ. But before he touched her with his hand, a demon instantly took possession of him, forcefully threw him to the ground and, strangling him, made him lifeless. The young men who came with him, seeing that he lingered for a long time in the room, thought that he was doing a sinful deed. Then one of his closest friends, wanting to praise him and congratulate him on the fulfillment and achievement of his desire, entered the room, and, finding him lifeless, began to shout loudly: “Men of Rome, help!” This sorceress killed the ruler’s son with her sorcery. Immediately a multitude of people came running. Seeing what happened, some called her a sorceress, while others recognized her as innocent in the death of the young man. Having learned about this, the father of the deceased hastily appeared in the crowd and, seeing his son lying lifeless, turned to the saint with a sob: “Oh, inhuman and cruelest of all women!” Why did you kill my son? Couldn't you show the power of your sorcerer's art on someone else? Woe is me! What have you done? Tell me how you killed him? The saint meekly answered him: “The one whose will he wanted to fulfill, the original enemy of the human race, who has power over fornicators and those who do not fear God, and especially over the corrupters of virginity, he killed him.” For everyone, no matter how many of them entered here before him, remained alive and healthy, since they gave honor to God, who sent His Angel to clothe me with this robe of mercy and preserve intact my virginity, bequeathed to Christ from the cradle. Seeing the brilliance of the angelic radiance, they all worshiped and left without harm, and your son, being shameless and not fearing God, as soon as he entered, began to rage and rage, and when he shamelessly extended his hand to touch me, the Angel of God immediately betrayed his Satan for this bitter and shameful death that you see. Thus, not by my sorcery, as you believe, but by the authority and command of the Angel of God, he was killed. To this the ruler said: “Then it will only become clear that you did not do this by magic when you beg your Angel to resurrect my son.” The saint answered: “Although you are unworthy for your unbelief of such a miracle, but since the time has come for the power of my Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed and glorified, then come out of here, everyone, and I will make the usual prayers to my God.” And while she was praying, lying prostrate on the ground, an Angel of God who appeared to her raised her crying and resurrected the dead young man. The latter, leaving the house, began to exclaim in a loud voice: “There is one God in heaven and on earth and on the sea, the Christian God; other gods are nothing, but only deception and delusion, bringing eternal destruction to those who believe in them!” Seeing and hearing this, many of the people believed that day, numbering one hundred and sixty people, and were baptized. After some time, the pagans cut off the heads of them and the resurrected young man. The pagan priests and sorcerers were greatly embarrassed about such a miracle. Having spread the word about the miracle and causing great excitement among the people, they shouted loudly, turning to the judge: “Exterminate this sorceress from our midst, kill the sorceress who not only kills bodies, but also produces a revolution in souls and hearts!” Symphronius, seeing this miracle, was perplexed: he wanted to release the saint, but, fearing the indignation of the priests against him and even expulsion from the fatherland, he left his governor, named Aspasia, to pacify the popular unrest, and he himself left, grieving that he could not free , after the resurrection of the son, the holy maiden. Aspasius, having assumed power, ordered a fire to be lit in the middle of the city and Saint Agnes thrown into it to be burned. When the saint was thrown into the fire, the flame immediately divided into two parts and gave her a spacious and cool place in the middle; on the contrary, it rushed towards those standing around and scorched them. The people, seeing the maiden unburned, attributed this not to the omnipotence of God, but to the power of sorcery and, reasoning about this, they were worried and cried out to the clouds with blasphemous voices. Meanwhile, the holy martyr, standing in the middle of the fire and raising her hands up, prayed: “Glory to You, Almighty, confessed and glorified Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom You delivered me from the hands of wicked people, preserved my soul and my body from defilement.” kept clean! And now, with heavenly dew from the Holy Spirit, the fire is cooled for me, the flame is divided, and all the power of the fire rushes towards the servants who are trying to burn me. I thank You, worthily glorified God, for even in the midst of the flames You give me a fearless path to You. I already see what I believed in fulfilled; I have what I hoped for, and I got what I wanted. I confess You with my lips and heart; I rushed to You with all my feelings, and now I come to You, the Living and True God, with our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, who lives and reigns forever, amen. When this prayer was said by the saint, and all the fire of the fire had died out completely, Aspasius, fearing the continuation of popular unrest, ordered a sword to be thrust into the saint’s larynx. Thus, the martyr of Christ Agnia, stained with her own blood, went to the marriage of the Immortal Bridegroom881. The parents of Saint Agnes joyfully took the honest body of their daughter and laid it in their field, not far from the city, along the road called Numentana. Here many faithful gathered for prayer, especially at night, due to fear of the pagans, who, lying in wait both there and on the way, caused much oppression to the believers. One day, attacking by accident, they injured many with thrown stones and dispersed everyone; only one girl remained, the same age as Saint Agnes, named Emerentiana. She, filled with boldness, reviled the robbers, saying: “Why do you, hard-hearted ones, stone innocent people?” What guilt have you found in those who glorify the one God and with their prayers ask for many benefits for you? The pagans, enraged, stoned her. Thus, she, praying at the tomb of Saint Agnes, gave up her spirit to the Lord. And immediately a stronger earthquake, lightning and terrible thunder began; Most of the killers fell dead, struck down from above. From that time on, the pagans no longer dared to oppress the believers going to the tomb of the Martyr of Christ. Parents of St. Agnia, who came with the elders at night, washed the bloody honest body of St. Emertian and buried near St. Agnia, and they themselves were constantly at the coffin of his beloved daughter, wakefully and crying at night. One of the nights, they saw the face of the girls walking past them - decorated with light golden clothes and shining with heavenly glory, and among them they saw their daughter, Holy Agnia, like them shining and who has a white snow on the right side of themselves. She, turning to her friends, so that they stop and wait a bit, said to her parents: “Do not cry about me as a deceased, but better rejoice and triumph with me, since I, together with your virgins, have already moved into bright monastery and now I connected in the sky with the one whom I loved with all my heart on Earth. Having said this, she became invisible. Many years later, Konstantin the Great entered the kingdom. His daughter Constance was heavily ill. Her whole body was covered with purulent scabs, and there was no healthy place on her body from head to toe. Doctors could not help her. Following the good advice, she went at night to the coffin of the Holy Martyr Agnia and there, praying with firm faith and tears, she fell asleep and saw in a sleepy vision the Holy Agnia, who told her: - Dare, Constance, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, son, son God, by faith in which you are now healing from your wounds. Waking up, Constance felt as good as if she had never been sick. Returning home, she told her father and brothers, as Her Saint Agnia healed. Great joy was in the royal house; The whole city was also happy, glorifying God for this great miracle. Many began to come to the coffin of the Holy Martyr and received various healings. After that, Princess Constance asked her father to build a church in the name of the Holy Martyr Agnia at the place of burial. Having arranged a dwelling there, she remained the girl with many other noble and noble girls until her death. So the girl’s monastery was founded at the church of the girl and the bride of Christ, St. Agnia, in honor and praise, in the glory of our God, with the father and the Holy Spirit of the glorious forever, Amen. 880 Vesta (among the Greeks - Hestia) was revered by the ancient Romans of the goddess of the hearth, domestic consent, peace and happiness; She herself, according to their beliefs, was a virgin. In honor of her, a special sanctuary with her statue and a hearth was arranged, in which the unquenchable-hot fire was supported, which her ministers, the so-called Vestalka, chosen from pure maiden, who vowed the eternal virginity, and enjoyed great respect and honorary took care of. 881 St. Agnia suffered in the 304th year.

Holy Agnes of Rome what they pray for

Martyr Agnia (Anna) of Rome, virgin
(memoried January 21 and July 5, old style)

She was born in Rome from pious parents and was raised in the Christian faith. At the age of 13, she refused to marry the son of the head of the region and, without making a sacrifice to the goddess Vesta, was sent naked to an indecent house. But by God’s will, her hair grew so long on her head that it covered her entire body like clothing, and an Angel of God met her in the house and covered her with such a brilliant radiance that because of this shine the wicked youths could not look at her. When St. Agnia began to pray, then she saw in front of her a white robe woven by angelic hands. The young man, the culprit of evil, went to Agnia and wanted to commit violence against her, but fell lifeless, betrayed by the Angel of God to Satan. At the request of the young man’s father, the holy virgin resurrected the deceased with her prayer, who began to glorify God. And from this, 160 people believed in Christ, were baptized, and after some time the pagans cut off the heads of them and the resurrected young man.

Then St. The martyr Agnia was given over to cruel torture, after which a sword was stuck in her throat, from which she gave up her spirit to the Lord.

Praying at the tomb of St. Agnes, her peer Emerentiana suffered at the hands of the pagans and was buried near St. Agnia. Many years later, the daughter of Constantine the Great, Constance, was healed of a serious illness at the tomb of St. Agnes, in gratitude, having built a church in the name of St. at her burial place. martyrs, and then a nunnery.

In our country, the veneration of the holy martyr Agnes has not become as widespread as in the Catholic West, and is rather episodic in nature. Thus, in the Moscow region monastery of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Kolychevo, a chapel of one of the two large churches, the Transfiguration Church, was consecrated in honor of the martyr Agnia.

Transfiguration Church in Kazan

Kolychevsky Monastery

The veneration of the virgin martyr here is not an accident. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Kazan Icon was miraculously revealed at a spring near the village, on which, in addition to the face of the Most Holy Theotokos, the holy martyrs Margaret and Agnia were depicted. God's providence for the monastery, founded here in 1885 by Schemamonk Macarius, manifested itself quite quickly: the first abbess's name was Margarita, the second was Agnia. Under the second abbess, a new building of the monastery complex was built - the Transfiguration Church, to which the cell building was adjacent. According to the pious desire of the abbess, one of the chapels of the temple was consecrated in honor of her heavenly patroness, the martyr Agnia of Rome. In 1918, the monastery was closed, and an almshouse was established in its buildings. Since the 1960s, a psychoneurological boarding school has been located here. And the building of the Church of the Transfiguration with a chapel in honor of the martyr Agnia became the dining room of the boarding school. Today, in the appearance of the dining room, it is difficult to discern the features of an Orthodox church. However, monastic life is being revived, and the providential names of the martyrs Agnia and Margarita for the monastery resound within these walls: the first abbess of the newly acquired monastery was Nun Margarita (now the abbess of the Mother of God of Smolensk Novodevichy Convent), and nun Agnia still lives in the Kazan Monastery and prays to his patron saint.

She grew up in a wealthy family that converted to Christianity. When the girl became an adult, the son of a noble prefect noticed her as his wife. But Agnia refused him because she had made a vow of celibacy to the Lord. In anger, Prefect Sempronius began to find out what was the reason for this refusal, and when it turned out that Agnia was a Christian, he ordered her to either make a sacrifice to pagan idols or she would be sent to a public institution. After the refusal, the guards proceeded to the girl and took her naked to a depraved house. But the saint’s hair quickly grew and unraveled so that it enveloped her body and the libertines were unable to mock her. While in captivity, an Angel of God appeared to Agnia and gave her a veil, with which she covered herself from lustful eyes.

The miracles that the Lord showed through his chosen one continued every day. Everyone who wanted to approach her with impure desires immediately changed their thoughts and left the brothel, with a deep sense of shame and disgust from their intentions. One day a young man came into her room, but he never managed to achieve what he wanted; at the same time he fell dead on the floor. Having learned about this news, his father came to Agnia in tears with a request to resurrect him. And through the prayers of the holy virgin, he returned to life. The father believed in the Lord and along with him hundreds of other people. Later, their heads were cut off for confessing Christ (including the resurrected guy).

Seeing that the maiden had resurrected a man, people began to consider Agnia a witch and decided to burn her at the stake, but it still could not catch fire, then one of the guards plunged his sword into the martyr’s throat. The wound turned out to be fatal. It is worth noting that according to the surviving data of various chronicles, Agnia was only 12 years old. The saint was buried in the catacombs, today they are named in her honor.

Icon of the Holy Martyr Agnia of Rome

Memorial dates according to the new style.