The Holy and Righteous Mariamne the Apostolic Virgin, Sister of the Holy Apostle Philip
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Missionary Work
Life
Saint Mariamne, called "the Apostolic Virgin," was the sister of the Apostle Philip, one of the Twelve. By tradition she made a vow of virginity and joined her brother as his companion in the work of the Gospel, sharing in the apostolic labors of the first century.
She is remembered above all for accompanying Philip and the Apostle Bartholomew on their missionary journeys through Asia Minor and for continuing to preach after her brother's death. The Orthodox Church commemorates her on February 17.
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Apostolic Labors
According to the Church historian Nikephoros Callistus, Mariamne, her brother Philip, and the Apostle Bartholomew preached together with success in the Phrygian city of Hieropolis. There the three were arrested and imprisoned for their proclamation of the Gospel.
A wider tradition, preserved in the apocryphal Acts of Philip, places their mission across Greece, Phrygia, and Syria, and recounts their preaching and signs among the peoples of those regions. Mariamne is named in this tradition rather than in the canonical Gospels.
After the Death of Philip
During their imprisonment at Hieropolis, the Apostle Philip was put to death on a cross, while Saint Mariamne and Saint Bartholomew were set free.
Having buried the body of her brother, Mariamne continued the apostolic mission alone, preaching the Gospel in Lykaonia in Asia Minor. There she reposed in peace, ending her life as a missionary rather than a martyr.