Constantia of Paphos

Saint Constantia of Paphos was a noble woman of Paphos on the island of Cyprus, a disciple of Saint Hilarion the Great, and she remained in the memory of the faithful as a protector of the city.

Saint Jerome writes about her in his book on ecclesiastical writers and in his Life of Saint Hilarion. Saint Hilarion, who struggled in a village in the diocese of Paphos, healed her daughter and son-⁠in-⁠law by anointing them with oil and so saved them from death. After his repose Constantia stayed near the grave of her spiritual father and led a life of asceticism there in imitation of him, praying without ceasing and striving for spiritual perfection. Through her faith and the prayers of Saint Hilarion she was also granted the gift of working miracles.

Saint Jerome relates that when the news reached her that the Saint's body was in Palestine, Constantia fell dead on the spot. She had the habit of keeping vigil each night at his tomb and speaking with him as if he were present. The Cypriot scholar Stephen Lusignan, of the sixteenth century, writes that she died of unbearable grief on learning that his disciple Hesychius had taken her master's body, and he praises her faithful love, which lasted beyond his death. She is also mentioned by the chronicler Cyprian.

In the Cypriot Menaion the Saint has a full service, and in her troparion she is called "the protectress of Paphos". The Church commemorates her on 25 August, according to the new calendar.