Agape of Thessalonica

Holy Martyr Agape of Thessalonica was one of the three sisters, Agape, Irene and Chionia, martyrs of Thessalonica, put to death in the year 304 in the persecution of Diocletian, in the time of Maximian. They are commemorated on 16 April (new style).

The three sisters were spiritual offspring of the Church of Thessalonica, their souls adorned with many Christian gifts. When the persecution began, they fled to a high mountain, but their hiding place was discovered. In 304 they were seized and brought before the governor Dulcitius, who tried in every way to make them renounce Christ. They confessed Christ the Crucified. Agape and Chionia died, thrown into the fire. Irene was shut up in a brothel, but no one dared touch her, and she died pierced by a soldier's arrow. The remains left from the pyre were gathered by Christians and buried west of the city, near the walls, where a small chapel was raised, later enlarged.