Sophia the Martyr

Who was Sophia the Martyr?

Saint Sophia the Martyr is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church on September 17. Born in Italy, Sophia had three daughters: Faith, Hope and Love, who were named after virtues mentioned by Saint Paul in 1 Corinthians 13.

They are said to have been martyred during the reign of Hadrian. The guards took Sophia's daughters one by one, from the eldest to the youngest and beat and tortured them to death. Sophia buried her daughters' bodies and remained by their graves for three days until she died herself.

According to tradition, in 778 part of their relics were transferred to the women's convent at Eschau in Alsace.

The Bulgarian capital city of Sofia is named after the Church of Saint Sophia. The ancient name of Sofia was Serdica or Sardica. In 343 AD, the Council of Sardica was held in the city, in a church located where the current 6th century Church of Saint Sophia was later built. The city, known earlier as Sredets in Bulgarian, was renamed Sofia in 1376 after the famous church.

In general, in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Hagia Sophia as the name of a church refers to the "Holy Wisdom", i.e. "The Holy Wisdom of God" which is also the patron name of the Sofia church. Nevertheless, since recent times, the city's holiday is on September 17, and there is a 20m-tall statue of the saint in the Bulgarian capital's city centre.