Maria Methymopoula

Maria Methymopoula was a young woman of Kato Fourni in Merambello, Crete, killed in 1826 by a Turkish-⁠Albanian gendarme because she refused his dishonourable desire. She is honoured as a new martyr, for her faith and purity, and is commemorated on 1 May. She has no known canonization.

She was born at Kato Fourni to devout and God-⁠loving parents. A Turkish-⁠Albanian gendarme fell in love with her and tried repeatedly to draw her to his improper desires. The more he pursued her, the more she avoided him. Unable to win her, he resolved to kill her. One day he found her gathering leaves to feed silkworms, attacked her and struck her fatally in the heart.