Saint Pelagia
The story of Saint Pelagia is an impressive testimony of faith and courage at the beginning of the Christian persecution under Emperor Diocletian, in the year 302. Saint Pelagia, a young girl of just fifteen years old, faced a dilemma that led her to a heroic decision : preferring to die for the love of Christ rather than giving up your virginity.
The Guardian of Virginity
When Emperor Diocletian's soldiers were sent to capture Saint Pelagia because of her Christian faith, she welcomed them into her home with kindness. However, when informed that she would be taken to court and face likely condemnation due to her faith, Pelagia asked for permission to change her clothes. The head of the escort consented, without suspecting her true intentions.
What happened next is the heart of the story of Saint Pelagia. Instead of changing her clothes, she climbed to the highest point of her home in Antioquia and threw herself to the ground. With courage and determination, she preferred to face death in a terrible way rather than renounce her virginity consecrated to God. His action was quick, and Pelagia died almost instantly.
Sisters for Martyrdom
Saint Ambrose of Milan, in his treatise “On the Virgins”, identifies Saint Pelagia as the sister of the martyrs Berniceia and Prosdoceia. The three shared a singular characteristic: a willingness to sacrifice their lives to preserve their virtue and chastity.
Berniceia and Prosdoceia also faced a terrible prospect: being arrested and taken to prison during the same persecution by Diocletian. However, in an act of courage and faith, they decided not to wait for the court's verdict. When they came close to a river during the journey, they asked the soldiers for permission to move away a little. The soldiers consented, and the sisters, in a joint act, threw themselves into the stream, ending their own lives.
Martyrdom for the Virtue of Chastity
A natural question arises: Could this be a case of suicide? The answer is no. Suicide involves taking one's own life out of despair, heartbreak or frivolous reasons. In the case of Saint Pelagia and her sisters, they chose to face death to avoid sin, and it is this willingness to die for virtue that makes them martyrs.
These women did not hesitate to give their lives, as they believed that dying in this world was preferable to suffering eternally in hell due to sin. The courageous attitude of Saint Pelagia and her sisters highlights the beauty and virtue of chastity in a heroic way. In an era where many people give in to worldly pleasures in search of love, Saint Pelagia chose to demonstrate her love for Jesus Christ by longing for heavenly riches and joys.