By Fr. George Dorbarakis
1. Saint Pelagia was from Tarsus, in the time of the emperor Diocletian. She heard about the faith of Christ and desired to learn what it was. Then she saw in a dream the bishop of her region baptizing her. So she left her mother, pretending that she was going to her nurse, but instead she went to the bishop. He, being enlightened by God, received her and baptized her. The son of the emperor, who desired her as his wife, learned what had happened and became so enraged by the passion that possessed him that he took his own life. Then Diocletian sent for the virgin girl to be brought before him, and since he could not persuade her to abandon the faith of Christ, he heated a bronze bull and placed the Saint inside it. There the Saint received her end and the crown of her confession.”
2. The Holy Martyr Pelagia is not incidental. She was a wealthy and beautiful girl who would have become a queen, since the son of Emperor Diocletian desired her as his wife. And yet, without any particular connection from her family to the Christian faith, she not only becomes a Christian, but also gives her life for Christ. How? The Lord called her through a dream, which ultimately became her path for entering into the Body of Christ, the Church, through Holy Baptism. These are those exceptional cases of dreams whose origin is neither natural nor demonic, but from God. And how are we certain of the divine nature of the dream? It was the bishop who, by divine illumination, recognized the Lord’s calling through this means. Otherwise, we know from our saints that dreams in most cases are means of deception, and therefore we should not give them attention or rely upon them. According to the saying of John Climacus, “the one who trusts in dreams is utterly inexperienced and unwise.”
The cause of the Lord’s calling of the virgin maiden is described repeatedly by the Holy Hymnographer of our Church: even though she was in ignorance, from infancy she thirsted for the truth. And from that time — indeed according to the foreknowledge of God — she had entrusted herself to her Creator: “From infancy, by divine foreknowledge, you were dedicated to your Creator, O modest one” (Ode 1).
And whoever thirsts for the truth, whoever seeks the truth, belongs — according to the word of the Lord Himself — to Him: “Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18:37). Therefore Saint Pelagia, even before her Baptism, was already a Christian. And her longing for the Lord was kindled all the more after she perceived His calling and became His member through Baptism:
“Having found, O martyr, the one who initiated you, you ran quickly with joy to the Beloved, and were made worthy of wondrous visions; like a young bride you ran after your Bridegroom” (Vespers Sticheron).
Most of the hymns of her Service refer to this fervent love for the Lord, which gave her the strength to despise all the beauties of this life and to sacrifice even her own life. For example:
“Your soul burning with desire for Christ, you courageously entered the intensely heated bronze” (Kathisma of Matins).
“The longing for heavenly beauty overshadowed earthly desires, O victorious one; you were given wings toward Christ, crying: glory to Your power, O Lord” (Ode 4).
The Holy Hymnographer also notes something especially important: through her martyrdom — which clearly demonstrated her love for Christ — the Saint became a true theologian. According to our Holy Fathers, a theologian is not one who has earned a degree from a theological school, nor even one whose speech easily moves through theological teachings. A true theologian is one whose life reveals the presence of God, whose life is a continual prayer: “If you truly pray, you are a theologian; and if you are a theologian, you truly pray.
The truth of the faith is revealed above all at the moment of martyrdom. There no one can deceive — it is the decisive moment of life itself. Saint Pelagia, therefore, as a martyr of the Lord, was theologizing the power of Christ at the very hour of her martyrdom. And this grace-filled moment of hers called others to believe in the Lord:
“As a most true martyr of Christ, O glorious one, you proclaimed His power, teaching all in a God-minded way and drawing the peoples to piety” (Ode 8).
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
