Sainte Anyse
Martyre à
Thessalonique (+ v. 305)
A la mort de ses parents, elle utilisa sa fortune pour aider les pauvres. Se rendant à la messe, pendant la persécution de Maximien, elle fut arrêtée par un soldat qui la transperça de son épée car elle refusait d'adorer le soleil.
Canonisée par l'Eglise orthodoxe.
Le récit de son martyre aurait été décrit par Syméon
le Métaphraste.
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/10857/Sainte-Anyse.html
Sainte Anysia de
Salonique
Vierge et martyre à
Thessalonique
Fête le 30 décembre
Salonique, Thessalie,
Grèce – + 304 (?)
Autre graphie :
Anysia ou Anyse
Sainte Anyse ou Anysia
fut martyrisée à Thessalonique (Grèce) durant la persécution du gouverneur
Dulcitius, sous l’empereur Maximien, vers le début du IVe siècle. Vierge de
Salonique, dont la légende dit qu’elle fut tuée par un soldat pour son refus de
participer à un sacrifice païen.
SOURCE : http://www.martyretsaint.com/anysia-de-salonique/
Also
known as
Anysia of Thessalonica
Profile
Born to a wealthy and
pious family, Anysia lived private vows of chastity and poverty, praying and
using her wealth to help the poor.
One day, during the persecutions of Maximian
Galerius, an imperial Roman soldier accosted
her as she was on her way to services. When he discovered she was a Christian,
possibly she crossed herself in fear, he beat her, and said was going to drag
her to a pagan temple
and force her to make a sacrifice. When he tore off the veil she habitually
wore as a sign of her chastity, she spit in his face; he murdered her. Martyr.
Born
in Salonika,
Thessaly, Greece
stabbed
with a sword in the street in Salonika, Thessaly, Greece on 30
December 304
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Francis
Xavier Weninger
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
video
sites
en français
nettsteder
i norsk
MLA
Citation
‘Saint Anysia of Salonika‘. CatholicSaints.Info.
29 December 2020. Web. 1 March 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-anysia-of-salonika/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-anysia-of-salonika/
Article
ANYSIA (Saint) Martyr
(December 30) (4th century) A Christian woman who, by order of Dulcitius,
Governor of Thessalonica, was arrested on her entering that city to attend the
assembly of the Faithful, and put to death (30th December A.D. 304), in the
reign of the persecuting Emperor Maximian Galerius, Diocletian’s colleague.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Anysia”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 24 July 2012.
Web. 2 March 2026. <http://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-anysia/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-anysia/
St. Anysia
Feastday: December 30
Birth: 284
Death: 304
Martyr of Greece. She was
a wealthy woman of
Salonika, in Thessaly, who used her personal funds to aid the poor. A soldier
accosted her in the street and tried to drag her to a pagan sacrifice.
Anysia resisted and was killed when the soldier attacked her with his sword.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=1480
Saint Anysia
The Holy Virgin Martyr
Anysia lived in the city of Thessalonica during the reign of the emperor
Maximian (284-305). Upon the death of her parents, who had raised her in
Christian piety, St Anysia sold everything she owned, distributing her riches
to the poor, and she began to lead a strict life of fasting, vigil, and prayer.
[Fervent in her love for
Christ, she often said: “Oh, how false is the life of youth, for you either
scandalize or are scandalized. Better is old age; but sorrow overcomes me
because of the length of time that separates me from heaven.”…When sleep
overcame her she would say to herself: “It is dangerous to sleep while my enemy
keeps vigil.”
During his persecution
against Christians, Maximian issued an edict stating that anyone had the right
to kill Christians with no fear of punishment. Soon there were many bodies to
be found in cities, towns, and by the roadside. Once, when St Anysia was on her
way to church, a pagan soldier stopped her and demanded that she come along to
the festival of the sun to offer sacrifice. St Anysia gently pulled herself
away from him. When he soldier boldly grabbed her and attempted to tear the
veil from her head, she shoved him, spit in his face and said, “My Lord Jesus
Christ forbids you!”
In anger, the soldier ran
her through with his sword. Those gathering over her body wept and loudly
complained against the cruel emperor for issuing an edict that resulted in the
death of many innocent people. Christians buried the martyr near the city
gates, and a chapel was built over her grave.”
SOURCE : http://ucatholic.com/saints/anysia/
Anysia of Salonika M (RM)
Born in Thessaloniki, Greece; died 304. Anysia's parents were both rich and pious. She herself led a life of unobtrusive prayer, using the money and estates her parents had left her to relieve the poor.
An ancient legend, dating back to the beginning of the 4th century, tells us that one day a Roman soldier accosted her as she was on her way to a meeting of Christians. When he discovered her faith, he became even more abusive, deciding to make sport with her by dragging her to a temple to make a pagan sacrifice. Anysia resisted. The retiring saint habitually covered her face with a veil, but the soldier ripped it away to peer at her. She struggled all the more and spit in his face. In his rage he drew his sword and thrust it through her, killing the saint immediately.
It is discreetly and silently that Anysia fell one day on the field of honor of our faith. Only her given name has remained, but she lives forever in the eternal name of God himself. The martyrs are the saints of saints. They are at the very top of the supreme hierarchy. There is no more sumptuous brocade than the red robe of martyrs, for the real letters of nobility are written and sealed in blood. It is enough to have truly suffered a single hour in the flesh, to have truly spilled a pint or two of one's blood, to be able to measure the immense compass, the prodigious significance of the Passion and death of Our Lord and the martyrs who followed him.
Death itself is nothing. But each of us has the instinctive desire to hold on to life. To wait for death faithfully, prepare oneself for it serenely, face it with indifference, that is a great deal. But to accept, seek out, gladly demand not only death, but also the hideous test of torture, that is still more. For the theologians of a purely scholastic stoicism are not displeased by the sufferings of the body. "It is not death I fear, but dying," said Montaigne. Scorn for the torment of torn flesh, quivering, this is the great miracle, the unbelievable miracle, of the faith and the will of the martyrs. They do not fear death. They do not fear dying.
Anysia, little martyr of Salonika, replays the eternal drama of innocent weakness overcome by blind brute force. And generally, hardly has the sword been sheathed when remorse, grace, and the frenzy of conversion burn and transport the soul of the powerful. The powerful are overcome by the seemingly weak. "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" (Benedictines, Bentley, Encyclopedia).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/1230.shtml
WHILST the governor Dulcitius carried on a cruel persecution at Thessalonica to deter the Christians from holding religious assemblies, in 304, in the reign of Maximian Galerius, a Christian young lady, called Anysia, of rich and noble parents, by whose death she was left an orphan, resolved to go to the assembly of the faithful. As she passed by the gate of Cassandra, one of the emperor’s guards, who happened to see her, was taken with her beauty, and stepping before her said: “Stay, whither are you going?” Anysia startled at his insolence, and fearing a temptation, made the sign of the cross upon her forehead. The soldier, offended at her silence, seized her, and asked her roughly, “Who art thou, and whither art thou going?” “I am,” said she, “a servant of Jesus Christ, and am going to the Lord’s assembly.” “I will prevent that,” said he, “and will bring thee to sacrifice to the gods; for to-day we adore the sun:” that day being called by the pagans Sunday. Saying this, he tore off her veil to discover her face. Anysia endeavoured to hinder him; but the soldier enraged, drew his sword, and ran it through her body, so that it came out on the other side. She fell down immediately, trembling, and bathed in her blood, and there expired. Her name occurs in the Roman Martyrology, in the Greek Synaxary, and the Menology of the Emperor Basil, on the 30th of December. See her genuine Greek Acts, also her panegyric by Philotheus, patriarch of Constantinople, mentioned by Allatius and by Fabricius, Bibl. Græc. t. 6. p. 513. See also Surius, 30th Decem. Baron. ad an. 303. n. 48. Fleury, l. 8. n. 304.
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume XII: December. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/12/302.html
In the reign of Maximian,
the cruel persecutor of the Christians, there lived at Thessalonica, a virgin,
named Anysia, who was known and esteemed through the whole city on account of
her virtues. She was born of Christian parents, and very piously educated.
Inheriting great riches, after the early death of her parents, she feared to
fall, by the misuse of them, into vice, and therefore she resolved to employ
them only for the comfort of the poor, the sick and prisoners. Generous as was
this resolution, she was faithful in carrying it into execution. She visited
the sick and prisoners, and provided them with all they needed To the poor and
suffering she gave until she had nothing left; and taking up her abode in a
small house, she maintained herself by the labor of her hands. She spent her
days in fasting and prayer, visiting the Church, devout reading and work, and
passed the greater part of the night in singing psalms. Her bed was the floor,
her sleep short, and her dress made of sack-cloth. She seldom prayed without
shedding many tears, and her only wish was to be admitted soon into the
presence of her beloved Spouse, to whom she had consecrated her virginity. But
she desired to appear before Him only as a martyr. “Let me partake of Thy
bitter sufferings,” she prayed to the Lord, “and do with me according to Thy
holy will.” She feared to live long in the world amid so many dangers; hence
she sighed for death, which would free her from all danger of offending God. An
Angel appeared to her, and brought her the welcome message that her wish would
soon be fulfilled; hence she prepared herself with great zeal, looking upon
each day as her last on earth. Thus, filled with heavenly aspirations, she, one
day, repaired to church, where she Was seen by one of the imperial soldiers,
who, hastening to her, said: “Stay! whither are you going?” . The chaste virgin
was at first startled at this unexpected question, but soon composing herself,
she called on God, as the protector of her chastity, made the sign of the holy
Cross upon her forehead, and passed on without answering the insolent man.
Following her, he repeated his question: “Who are you and whither are you
going?” “I am a handmaid of Jesus Christ,” said Anysia, “and am going to Church.”
“I will not let you go, but take you with me to worship the gods,” said the
soldier; and seizing the veil that covered the head of the holy virgin, he
endeavored to take it away. Anysia defended herself with all her strength, spat
in his face and said: “Away with you; the Lord will punish you.” Enraged at
this he drew his sword, and, running it through her body, killed her on the
spot. Thus was her wish fulfilled, and she went, as a chaste virgin and martyr,
to her beloved Spouse, after whom she had sighed so fervently.
***
To this short biography,
we add that of another holy virgin and martyr. This is Saint Columba, who was
born in Spain, of rich but heathen parents. God bestowed on her, from her early
youth, so strong an inclination to the Christian faith, that she could never be
persuaded by her parents to worship the gods. As she found no opportunity,
under her father’s roof, of being instructed in the faith, she fled from her
home, and, accompanied by several companions, went to France, although she had
hardly reached her sixteenth year. At Vienne, in France, she was instructed in
the Christian faith, and baptized. From Vienne she went to Sens, where,
entirely devoted to prayer, fasting and other good works, she converted many
souls to God by her edifying life. The Emperor Aurelian, well known as an enemy
to the Christians, came to Sens, searching for the faithful, either to force
them to abandon their God, or to execute them, Columba and her companions were
among the first who were brought before him.. He asked her, who she was, and
whence she came. She fearlessly answered: “I am a Christian, as are also these,
my companions; and neither flatteries, promises, menaces, nor the most painful
death, will be able to make one of us forsake the faith of Christ.” The tyrant,
enraged at this answer, ordered all of her companions to be beheaded before her
eyes, hoping that this would alter her determination. For the same reason; he
had her cast into a dungeon, until the following day, when she was again brought
-before him. Speaking to her most kindly, he promised to mtike her the spouse
of his own son, if she would obey him, and sacrifice to the gods. Columba
replied: “I am already united with Christ, and neither honor, riches, torments,
nor death itself, can make me faithless to Him. But thou, O Emperor! shalt not
escape eternal torments, if you dost not’ repent and worship the only true
God.” Such freedom of speech roused the tyrant’s wrath. He knew that nothing
was more! painful to Christian virgins than the loss of their chastity; but.
Columba, having called on God for aid, was protected from all, harm. An
insolent youth, who had approached her, saw that she was surrounded by a bright
light, and had not the courage to touch her, but, running away, he cried aloud:
“Truly, the God whom Columba worships is the only true God.” When the tyrant
was informed of this, he had the chaste virgin scourged, torn with iron combs,
and then thrown upon a burning pyre. Finally, when a heavy rain had
extinguished the flames, the Christian heroine was beheaded. Her holy body, by
command of the Emperor, remained for a long time unburied, but was: afterwards
interred, with great solemnity, by Count Albertus, whose sight had been
restored by touching it. God has wrought many miracles through* the
intercession of Saint Columba. Hence, many churches and convents have been
erected in her honor, as at Vienne, in France, where she had been baptized, and
at Sens, where she had dwelt. At Cologne, on the Rhine, the principal parish
church is named after this holy virgin and martyr. Saint Eligius, bishop of
Noyon, founded a chapel in her honor, at Paris, wherein her relics reposed in a
silver casket, made by order of king Dagobert. The holy bishop Lupus daily
visited her shrine, and desired to be buried at the feet of the holy martyr.
Saint Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury, when he, as was related yesterday,
remained for some time in the monastery of Saint Columba, at Sens, passed also
daily some time in prayer before her shrine. In so great esteem was the holy
virgin and martyr held by these great men.
Practical Considerations
• Anysia and Columba, two
holy virgins, are tempted to sin, but both resist courageously and earnestly.
They spurn those who would incite them to evil, and remain unharmed. What I
have told you several times during the year, I here repeat: learn from these
two virgins how you should act when tempted to sin. Think first, how you ought
to regard those who tempt you; they are devils, or tools of the devil. Hence
you must treat them as you would treat the devil, were he to appear visibly
before you. Would you receive him kindly, or allow him anything that is wrong?
I do not think so. Therefore, act in the same manner towards those who tempt
you to sin, because they are devils or tools of the devil. Secondly, both holy
virgins never permitted themselves to be touched. In this they acted rightly,
and you must follow their example; for, had they permitted it, they would
surely have fallen into greater sin, and at last have been condemned. And this
is what you must expect, if you permit what our holy virgins refused. “Whoever
allows kissing,” says the venerable Bede, “knocks at the door of hell, and will
soon fall into it, if he does not quickly draw back.” Thirdly, both holy virgins
resisted with all their might, and so remained unharmed. You must act in the
same manner. You must not show yourself weak, but strong and fearess; you must
use all your strength. Spit upon such devils, though they be aristocratic
devils; cry aloud for help and resist with all your force. The Angels honor
such fights, and you will gain the respect of the whole world, besides the
glory which will be prepared for you in heaven. Both our holy virgins now enjoy
the honor of the world; and how great must be their happiness in heaven! Shame
and dishonor will be your lot on earth, and eternal torments await you in hell,
if you allow a devil in human shape to persuade and overcome you.
• Saint Anysia gave her
rich, inheritance to the poor, the sick and prisoners, that she might not, by
misusing it, fall into vice and thus perish. Saint Columba leaves her house and
prefers to be poor in a foreign land and obtain heaven in the true faith, than
remain at home and go to perdition. Behold the sacrifices the saints made to escape
damnation and save their souls. What are you doing? What have you done during
the past year to save your soul? Do you believe that, living as you have done
and as you do, you will escape damnation and go to heaven? May I not say, with
the very best reason, the same words that Saint Columba said to the wicked
Emperor: “You will not escape the eternal pains, if you do not repent and do
penance.” Yes, yes, I say to you, without any hesitation, if you will not do
penance, change your life, and work with great zeal for your salvation, you
will not escape the eternal torments. If you desire to escape them, do penance
immediately, and without any delay; for, who knows whether you will live a year
hence, and whether you will have then, as now, an opportunity to work out your
salvation. Thousands will not, because death will call them into the other
world. May not the same happen to you? “As we do not know,” writes Saint
Augustine, “when we shall be called away from this world, let us go without
delay, from the left to the right. We must neither trust to health nor to
youth. Let us begin a better life, while we possess the means to do so.”
MLA
Citation
Father Francis Xavier
Weninger, DD, SJ. “Saint Anysius, Virgin and Martyr, and Saint Columba, Virgin
and Martyr”. Lives of the Saints, 1876. CatholicSaints.Info.
4 June 2018. Web. 2 March 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-anysius-virgin-and-martyr-and-saint-columba-virgin-and-martyr/>
Memory of Saint Anysia of
Thessaloniki
Saint Anysia, venerated
by the Orthodox Church on December 30, lived during the reign of Emperor
Diocletian (298 AD) and hailed from the city of Thessaloniki, born to parents
who were both pious and affluent.
Following the untimely
demise of her parents, Anysia faced life with self-reliance. The wealth she
inherited did not allure her, and her orphanhood did not lead her astray.
Demonstrating prudence and self-control, she consistently sought to discern
“what is pleasing to the Lord.”
Her unwavering piety became
known even among the pagans. While on her way to the church, she encountered a
pagan soldier who, in a violent act, seized her and forcibly brought her to the
altars of idols. He pressured her to make sacrifices to the Roman gods.
However, Anysia fearlessly confessed her unwavering belief in the One and True
God, Jesus Christ, emphasizing her daily commitment to pleasing Him.
The soldier, overwhelmed
by fury, cursed God, prompting Anysia to defiantly spit in his face. In the
face of this act, he was left embarrassed, drawing his sword in a fit of rage
and ruthlessly piercing her ribs. In that moment, Anysia received the eternal
crown of martyrdom, a testament to her steadfast devotion and unyielding
commitment to her faith.
SOURCE : https://orthodoxtimes.com/memory-of-saint-anysia-of-thessaloniki/
Virgin Martyr Anysia at
Thessalonica
Commemorated on December 30
The Holy Virgin Martyr
Anysia lived in the city of Thessalonica during the reign of the the co-Emperor
Maximian (286-305). Upon the death of her parents, who had raised her in
Christian piety, Saint Anysia sold everything she owned, distributing her
riches to the poor, and she began to lead a strict life of fasting, vigil, and
prayer.
During his persecution
against Christians, Maximian issued an edict stating that anyone had the right
to kill Christians with no fear of punishment. Soon there were many bodies to
be found in cities, towns, and by the roadside. Once, when Saint Anysia was on
her way to church, a pagan soldier stopped her and demanded that she come along
to the festival of the sun to offer sacrifice. Saint Anysia gently pulled herself
away from him. When the soldier boldly grabbed her and attempted to tear the
veil from her head, she shoved him, spit in his face and said, “My Lord Jesus
Christ forbids you!”
In anger, the soldier ran
her through with his sword. Those gathering over her body wept and loudly
complained against the cruel emperor for issuing an edict that resulted in the
death of many innocent people. Christians buried the martyr near the city
gates, and a chapel was built over her grave.
SOURCE : https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/12/30/103691-virgin-martyr-anysia-at-thessalonica
Den hellige Anysia av
Thessaloniki ( -304)
Minnedag:
30. desember
Den hellige Anysia ble født på 200-tallet i Thessaloniki i Hellas. Hennes foreldre var både rike og fromme, men selv levde hun et liv av stillferdig bønn og avla private løfter om kyskhet og fattigdom. De pengene og eiendommene som hennes foreldre hadde etterlatt henne, brukte hun til å hjelpe de fattige. Men dette var under den grusomme herskeren Galerius Maximinus (305-11), og det var mange forfølgelser av kristne. De kunne ikke dyrke sin Gud offentlig, så de møttes i hemmelighet.
En gammel legende, som
stammer fra begynnelsen av 300-tallet, forteller at hun en dag ble antastet av
en romersk soldat da hun var på vei til et møte med andre kristne. Da han
oppdaget hennes tro, ble han enda grovere og bestemte seg for å drive ap med
henne ved å trekke henne til et hedensk tempel for å ofre til avgudene. Men
Anysia sto imot. Hun pleide å dekke ansiktet med et slør, men soldaten rev det
av for å kikke på henne. Men hun kjempet imot og spyttet ham i ansiktet, og i
sitt raseri trev han sverdet og kjørte det gjennom henne, og hun døde
øyeblikkelig.
Dette skal ha skjedd i
304. Hennes minnedag er 30. desember, samme dag som den hellige Anysius av
Thessaloniki, som levde rundt et århundre senere og godt kan ha blitt
oppkalt etter henne. Hennes navn står i Martyrologium Romanum.
Kilder:
Attwater/Cumming, Bentley, Benedictines, Bunson, KIR, CSO, Patron Saints SQPN,
e3mil.com - Kompilasjon og oversettelse: p. Per Einar Odden -
Sist oppdatert: 2004-04-04 22:47
