Historical Context
Domnina lived in the region of Cilicia in Asia Minor during a period of intense persecution of Christians under Roman authority. The sources situate her martyrdom in the reign of the emperor Diocletian, whose rule (284-305) coincided with severe measures against the Church.
She was imprisoned at Anazarbus, a city of Cilicia whose site corresponds to modern Anavarza (also identified with Aǧaçlı) in Adana Province, Turkey. She was accordingly counted among the saints of Roman Anatolia.
Martyrdom
Domnina was brought before the Roman governor named in the sources as Lysias (also given as Licius) and confessed Christ. For this confession she was sentenced to torture.
According to the accounts, she was beaten at length and burned with fire by order of the governor. Traditional accounts describe further torments, including being scourged, having her feet burned with heated iron, and the breaking of her bones, before she was thrown into prison.
She endured these sufferings without renouncing her faith and died in prison in the year 286.
Veneration and Sources
Domnina is recognized as a martyr by both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, with her feast kept on October 12.
Her story is preserved in traditional Orthodox sources, including the illustrated martyrology known as the Menologion of Basil. A scholarly note concerning the Latin tradition observes that the Roman Martyrology appears to have drawn on a corrupt manuscript in which the place-name Lycia was substituted for the governor's name, Lysias.
