Tryphaena

Holy Martyr Tryphaena of Cyzicus was a Christian woman of the first century, venerated as a martyr at Cyzicus in Asia Minor and as protector of the city. The Orthodox Church commemorates her on 31 January by the old calendar (13 February on the new, according to the Serbian source).

She was the daughter of Roman nobles, Anastasius and Socratia. Her parents named her in honour of Antonia Tryphaena, a prominent citizen of Cyzicus, a Pontic princess and former client queen of Thrace. Tryphaena was born and raised at Cyzicus. The Roman governor of the region, Caesarius, condemned her because she would not believe in the pagan Roman religion and had chosen to be a follower of Jesus. Caesarius regarded this as mockery of the state religion and ordered her death.

Roman soldiers threw her into a red-⁠hot oven, then tied her to a high tree to fall on sharp spears, and then took her away to be torn apart by wild beasts. When they realized that the Lord had kept her unharmed, they finally threw her before a raging bull, which tore her apart. So she died. Another source says only that she bravely endured many torments for Christ and that, since she would not renounce the faith, a raging bull was let loose on her, which gored her and killed her. She is said to have lived in the first century.

Tryphaena is one of the many saints of Cyzicus. She is honoured by the Orthodox Church and by the Catholic Church, on 31 January. Mothers who cannot nurse their children call on her for help.