Julitta of Tarsus

Holy Martyr Julitta of Tarsus was a Christian woman of Iconium in Lycaonia, mother of the child martyr Cyricus, and suffered at Tarsus in Cilicia in the year 304, in the persecution of Diocletian. She is commemorated on 15 July (new style) with her son.

Of noble family, she was widowed young and brought up her three-⁠year-⁠old son Cyricus. When the persecution began, she left the city with the child and two faithful maidservants, leaving her house and property, and hid herself in the guise of a beggar, first at Seleucia, then at Tarsus. There she was recognized, arrested and brought before the governor Alexander. Strengthened by the Lord, she confessed Christ without fear. The governor ordered her beaten with rods, and she kept saying: “I am a Christian and I will not sacrifice to demons.” The child Cyricus wept, longing for his mother, and cried: “Let me go to my mother, I am a Christian.” According to tradition, the child was thrown down the stairs and died, and Julitta was condemned and received the crown of martyrdom by beheading.