Martyr 4th century

Martyr Epicharis of Rome

died c. 300

Also known as Epikharis

A Christian woman of Rome arrested under Diocletian who confessed Christ and endured torture before her martyrdom.

Feast Day

September 27

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Commemorated as

The Holy Martyr Epicharis of Rome

Life

Epicharis was a Christian woman of Rome who suffered martyrdom during the reign of the emperor Diocletian (284-305), a period traditionally dated to around the year 298. The synaxarion relates that she was arrested for her faith by the prefect Caesarius and, when questioned, courageously confessed Christ before her judges. She is commemorated on September 27.

According to the tradition recorded in the Lives of the Saints, Epicharis was subjected to severe tortures: she was suspended and her body was torn with iron hooks, and she was beaten by soldiers wielding lead-tipped scourges. The accounts relate that while she prayed in the midst of her sufferings, an angel of the Lord struck down those who were tormenting her. She was finally condemned to death and beheaded, receiving, in the words of the tradition, the crown of martyrdom.

Details of Epicharis beyond the martyrdom account are sparse, and the surviving sources differ in some particulars. Some accounts give her name in the alternate form Eparchia, and certain Western references describe her as the wife of a Roman senator. She is venerated in both the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions on the same day.

Timeline 2 moments Read Hide

c. 298-300 Arrest and confession Arrested at Rome by the prefect Caesarius during the persecution under Diocletian and confessed Christ.
c. 298-300 Martyrdom After being tortured she was beheaded, receiving the crown of martyrdom.

Contributions & Legacy

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Martyrdom

The narrative of Epicharis's passion follows a pattern common to the martyr-accounts of the Diocletianic persecution. Brought before the prefect Caesarius as a confessed Christian, she refused to renounce her faith and was handed over to torture. The synaxarion describes her being hung up and mangled with iron claws and scourged by soldiers, before her sentence of beheading was carried out.

The tradition preserves a miraculous element in her passion: as she prayed under torture, an angel is said to have struck down the soldiers afflicting her. One account further relates that at the place of her execution, as she stood upon a rock, a spring of water flowed forth before she was beheaded. Such miraculous signs are recurring features of the early martyr literature.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints