SAINT MATRONA OF THESSALONIKI

On April 9 (March 27), the Church honors the memory of the holy martyr Matrona of Thessaloniki. The saint was a slave of a rich mistress who regularly attended the synagogue. Matrona would accompany her to the entrance to the synagogue, and then quickly go to where the Christians were praying. This was the time of the early Church, when believers in Christ were persecuted by Jews and pagans.

When Matrona’s faith became known, her mistress demanded that she renounce it. Having received a refusal, she subjected the saint to beatings and then starved her to death. To conceal the crime, the saint’s body was secretly thrown from a height but was found and buried by Christians. Saint Bishop Alexander of Thessaloniki, a participant in the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea (325) and an interlocutor of Athanasius the Great (296-373), later found the relics of Saint Matrona.

The name Matrona is translated as mistress. The example of the holy martyr teaches Christians that true freedom is in Christ (Gal. 5:13), and true slavery is a life of sin and unbelief.

“Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give an account of your faith,” writes Apostle Peter in his Epistle (1 Pet. 3:15). The saint’s confession of faith, which she pronounced on the eve of her martyrdom, has been preserved. “God is present in the Church. Therefore, I do not go to the pagans, nor to the synagogue, but to the assembly of Christ’s disciples.” “God is present in the Christian Church.” Let us learn these simple words by heart so that we can always answer exactly this way to everyone who asks us to give an account of our faith.