The Holy Martyr Sophia (Wisdom) and Her Three Children, Faith, Hope and Charity.
They all lived and suffered in Rome
during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. Sophia was wise, as her name
implies. She was left a widow, and had established herself and her
daughters well in the Christian Faith. When the persecuting hand of
Hadrian extended even over the virtuous home of Sophia, Vera was only
twelve years old; Nada, ten years old; and Lyubov, nine years old.
Brought before the emperor, these four held each other's hands ``like
a woven wreath,'' humbly but steadfastly confessed their faith in
Christ the Lord and refused to offer sacrifices to the pagan idol
Artemis. Before their suffering, the mother encouraged her daughters
to endure to the end: ``Your heavenly Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, is
eternal health, inexpressible beauty and eternal life. When your
bodies are slain by torture, He will clothe you in incorruption and
the wounds on your bodies will shine in the heavens as stars.'' One
by one the torturers inflicted cruel torments, first on Vera, then on
Nada, and then on Lyubov. They beat them, slashed them, cast them
into fire and boiling pitch, and finally beheaded them with the sword
one after another. Sophia took the dead bodies of her daughters
outside the town and honorably buried them. She remained at their
grave for three days and three nights, praying to God. Then she gave
her spirit to God, flying off to Paradise, where the blessed souls of
her glorious daughters awaited her.
Respectfully Taken From the:
"The Prologue of Ohrid"
by St. Nikolai of Zica, Serbia(Velimirovic)
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