Xanthippe

Saint Xanthippe is venerated as a saint by both the Orthodox and the Catholic Church, and is commemorated on 23 September together with her sister, Saint Polyxene. According to tradition she lived in the first century, in the time of the emperor Claudius (41 to 54).

She was of Spanish descent. She was the wife of Probus, ruler of the land, and was led to faith in Christ by the apostle Paul when he was in her homeland (Romans 15:28). Together with her sister Polyxene she worked for the Christian faith, helping many people. Both ended their lives in peace, in old age.

Although in some lists she is called a martyr, the account contains no martyrdom. Saint Polyxene has her own entry, and it says that she received the faith from the apostle Andrew, not from Paul, so the sources do not agree in every point. Their troparion praises them for following the paths of the apostles and spending their life in works of brotherly love and pure charity.