Zoya and Photinia ( V century ) - Palestinian monks, saints of the Orthodox Church , the memory takes place on February 13 (26) .
Life Story
About Reverend Zoe and Photinia is known from the Life of Reverend Martinian , who from 18 years old settled in the desert in the vicinity of Caesarea of ββPalestine . The fame of his ascetic life caused admiration, and once a certain prostitute named Zoya heard a conversation about the virtues of Martinian and promised to seduce him with a dispute. At night, dressed in poor dilapidated clothes, she came to his cell and asked to sleep. The saint let her in, left to spend the night in the outer part of the cell, and himself retired to the inner. According to the story of Dimitri of Rostov, β Satan confused him that night with carnal lust. At midnight, the wife stood up and took out all her jewelry from the bag and put them on the seduction of the saint . β [1] Reverend Martinian, in order not to fall into sin , lit a brush in the middle of his cell and entered the fire. Coming out of the fire, he could not stand for severe burns and prayed while lying down, asking God for forgiveness. Zoe, seeing this, repented of her sins, threw her jewels into the fire and put on a rags again. She fell at the feet of Martinian with the words:
| Forgive me, cursed and sinful, servant of God; you, sir, know how powerful and diverse are the intrigues and delights of the devil. He inspired me to tempt you. Pray for me, Holy Father, so that through your prayers I can receive salvation and I am a great sinner [1] . |
At the direction of Rev. Zoe went to Bethlehem , where she settled in the monastery of St. Paul .
In monasticism, Zoe led an ascetic life: β throughout her repentance she did not eat wine, oil, or vegetables, but only some bread and water. She took food only once a day in the evening, and sometimes two days later, the bed was the bare ground β [1] . Before her death, Zoe asked God to indicate whether her repentance was accepted. Then Pavel pointed out the sick woman with her eyes and asked her to pray for her healing. Through the prayer of Rev. Zoe, the sick recovered. Zoe died in Bethlehem after 12 years of living in a monastery.
Seven months later, Reverend Martinian healed from burns and, in search of solitude, moved from a deserted cell to an uninhabited rocky island. One day, a young Christian Fotinia was thrown to his island during a storm. Martinian, in order not to fall into temptation , left her on the island, pointing to the stocks of bread and water, which the sailer delivered every two months, rushed into the sea and was carried away by dolphins to the shore.
Photinia remained on the island, fed by the shipowner, who, like Martinian, began bringing food to her. According to Dimitry of Rostov,
| While on the island, the blessed virgin praised the Lord for her life. Every day she offered 12 prayers to God, and every night she aggravated this pious deed and prayed twenty-four times to the Lord. A pound of bread served as food for her for two days [1] . |
After six years of living on the island, she died and was buried by the Bishop of Caesarea of ββPalestine, to which her body was brought by a boatman.
Notes
- β 1 2 3 4 The Life of our Reverend Martinian, and the memory of the holy wives Zoe and Photinia