Tabitha

Saint Tabitha, called Dorcas in Greek, was a disciple of the Lord at Joppa, famed for her good works and almsgiving, whom the holy apostle Peter raised from the dead. She is commemorated on 25 October by the old calendar, that is, 7 November by the new.

Her name

Her Aramaic name, Tabitha, and her Greek one, Dorcas, both mean “gazelle”. It seems she used the Greek form because she lived in a port city, where many spoke Greek. Dorcas was a common name at the time, among Jews and Greeks alike.

Her works

Her story is found in chapter 9 of the Acts of the Apostles. Tabitha lived at Joppa, today Jaffa, a seaport now absorbed into Tel Aviv. The book shows her full of good works and almsgiving and beloved of the Christian community there. It is not known whether she was herself poor or a widow, but what Scripture testifies of her remains this: she sewed clothes with her own hands for those in need.

The raising

One day she fell ill and died, and her body was prepared for burial. The believers learned that Peter was nearby, at Lydda, and sent for him. When he reached Joppa he went into the room where the dead woman lay, surrounded by weeping widows. They showed him the tunics and garments that Tabitha had made while she lived, a witness to her goodness. Peter put everyone out, prayed and said, “Tabitha, arise.” She opened her eyes and, seeing him, sat up. He gave her his hand and lifted her up, then called the believers and the widows and presented her alive. The miracle became known throughout Joppa and many believed in the Lord.

The places and her memory

The house of Simon the tanner, where she died and was raised, can still be visited in Tel Aviv-⁠Jaffa. Her tomb, according to a tradition, lies in Jaffa, in a garden that belongs to a Russian Orthodox church. From ancient times societies of women were named after her, gathering, mending and distributing clothes to the poor, and in the nineteenth century such societies, called Dorcas societies, appeared again in the West. Saint Basil the Great gives her as an example to widows who can labour in good works.