Martyr 4th century

Virgin Martyr Fausta and her Companions

c. 298 - 311

Also known as Fausta of Cyzicus · Evilasius · Maximus

A young Christian maiden of Cyzicus whose constancy under torture converted her persecutors, the elder Evilasius and the eparch Maximus, who suffered martyrdom with her.

Feast Day

February 6

Draft

Draft — pending review. Not yet verified for publication.

Hymn / Apolytikion Icon gallery Video / Media

Commemorated as

The Holy Virgin Martyr Fausta and the Holy Martyrs Evilasius and Maximus, at Cyzicus

Life

Fausta of Cyzicus was a young Christian maiden of the city of Cyzicus in Asia Minor (near modern Erdek in Balikesir Province, Turkey) who was martyred during the early-fourth-century persecutions. Orthodox tradition places her suffering in the persecution under the emperor Diocletian, between the years 305 and 311.

According to her vita, Fausta was raised by Christian parents and, orphaned at a young age, led a strict and virtuous life. When it became known that she was a Christian, she was handed over to an aged pagan priest named Evilasius, who was charged with turning her from Christ. Her constancy under torture instead converted her persecutors: first Evilasius and then the eparch Maximus confessed Christ and were martyred together with her.

She is commemorated together with Evilasius and Maximus in the Eastern Orthodox Church on February 6. The same martyrs are also honored in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic Churches, where their feast is kept on September 20.

Timeline 3 moments Read Hide

c. 298 Birth at Cyzicus Fausta is born at Cyzicus in Asia Minor and, by tradition, is raised by Christian parents before being orphaned young.
305 - 311 Persecution under Diocletian During the persecution of Christians associated with the emperor Diocletian, Fausta is arrested for her faith and handed over to the pagan priest Evilasius to be turned from Christ.
c. 311 Martyrdom of the three Fausta endures torture without renouncing Christ; Evilasius and the eparch Maximus are converted by her constancy, and all three are martyred together in a boiling cauldron.

Contributions & Legacy

2 contributions Read Hide

The Martyrdom

Word that Fausta confessed Christ reached the local governor, and she was delivered to Evilasius, an eighty-year-old pagan priest, who was ordered to make her renounce her faith. The girl bravely confessed Christ and was subjected to many cruel tortures, which she endured without yielding.

By tradition, Evilasius was shaken by the manifest power of God displayed in her endurance; he came to believe in the Savior and confessed himself a Christian. Seeing the faith and steadfastness of the saints, the eparch Maximus was in turn converted to Christ and prayed for the forgiveness of his sins.

The vita relates that Fausta was cast into a boiling cauldron together with Evilasius, and that Maximus, thrown into the same cauldron, shared with them the crown of martyrdom. The accounts of the two men's conversions are transmitted as tradition rather than documented record.

Veneration

In the Orthodox Church the three are commemorated as a single company on February 6, Fausta styled 'Virgin Martyr' and Evilasius and Maximus as 'Martyrs, at Cyzicus.' The liturgical hymns for the day address them collectively as the Lord's martyrs who received the crowns of incorruption.

The martyrs are also venerated in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic Churches, where their commemoration falls on September 20.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Feb 6