The Furnace in Which Saint Agatha Suffered Martyrdom by Fire

On the spot where Saint Agatha was burnt to death in a furnace, a pit filled with burning coals and shards, a small church had been built with a single nave. Still visible today through a port-hole, in the chapel on the right hand side, is the furnace which at the time of the persecutions was used for the tortures and was the place where Saint Agatha was burnt alive in her martyrdom. Having survived this torture, her breasts were cut off and she died in prison.

 

In Praise of Saint Agatha (St. Methodios of Constantinople)

Saint Methodios was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from March 4, 843 to June 14, 847. However, he was born and raised in Syracuse and did not forget a popular saint of nearby Catania, Saint Agatha, when he was Patriarch of Constantinople. In fact, there were two churches in Constantinople dedicated to her. For this reason he preached an encomium in her honor on her feast day, February 5th, of which an excerpt can be read below.

My fellow Christians, our annual celebration of a martyr’s feast has brought us together. She achieved renown in the early Church for her noble victory; she is well known now as well, for she continues to triumph through her divine miracles, which occur daily and continue to bring glory to her name.

The Plague Column of Saint Agatha in Catania

 

Saint Agatha is the patron saint of Catania. On several occasions Saint Agatha has laid her hand benignly on the city to protect it also from the Plague. When the Plague began to spread in 1576 not far from Catania, the Senate decided to call on the intercession of their Patron. The relics were carried in procession along the streets of the city and, once they had reached the hospitals where had been taken those people stricken with the Plague, the sick immediately recovered and no further person was afflicted. 

 

Cave Chapel of Saint Agatha in Haraki, Rhodes (14th-15th cent.)

 

 

Cave Chapel of Saint Agatha in Haraki, Rhodes (14th-15th cent.)

 

 

 

 

Saint Agatha as Protector of Catania

The Christians who were witnesses to Agatha’s martyrdom and death recovered her body devoutly and covered it with perfumed oils, as was the custom at that time. Then with great veneration they placed it in a stone sarcophagus, which to this very day is still an object of veneration in Catania. Sources say that when the sarcophagus was ready to be sealed a young man came close, dressed in white silk and escorted by a hundred others. Beside the virgin’s head he laid a marble tablet, which today is a precious relic kept in the Church of Saint Agatha in Cremona and which bears the Latin inscription “M.S.S.H.D.E.P.L.”, which means “Healthy and lively mind, Honor to God and Freedom for the City”. This inscription, called also “the Angel’s praise”, summarizes the characteristics of the Patron Saint of Catania and is also a solemn promise of her protection for the city.

Saint Agatha the Martyr Resource Page

St. Agatha the Martyr (Feast Day - February 5)

Verses

As a guardian against darkness Agatha I rejoice,

Having hated the light, now the appearance of error I see.

On the fifth Agatha died in prison in excellent form.

 

Synaxarion of Saint Agatha the Martyr 

 

The Life and Veneration of the Holy Virgin Martyr Agatha  

 

Saint Agatha the Virgin Martyr

 

February: Day 5: Holy Martyr Agatha

 

Holy Martyr Agatha in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church 

 

In Praise of Saint Agatha (St. Methodios of Constantinople)

 

Saint Agatha and our Proper Intention (Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi) 

 

The Furnace in Which Saint Agatha Suffered Martyrdom by Fire

  

Saint Agatha as Protector of Catania 

 

The Plague Column of Saint Agatha in Catania

Saint Lucy of Syracuse 

 

The Purge and Consecration of the Church of Saint Agatha of the Goths in Rome

 

Cave Chapel of Saint Agatha in Haraki, Rhodes (14th-15th cent.) 

 

The Festival of Saint Agatha in Stamna of Aitolia

Saint Agatha and our Proper Intention (Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi)

By Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi

The Lord always seeks to find the proper intention in man, for it is said that ‘Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver’ (2 Cor. 9:7). He also urges: ‘Let your reasonableness be known to everyone’ (Philip. 4:5) which has almost the same meaning.

Our Church celebrates tomorrow the memory of Saint Agatha. Even though she was a young girl, she fought the good fight so fiercely that she surprised even the Heavens so much that after her martyrdom an angel wrote on her tomb: ‘A venerable mind of its own free will, was honored by the Lord and delivered the country’ (Νούς όσιος αυτοπροαίρετος, τιμή εκ Θεού και πατρίδος λύτρωσις).

Synaxarion of Saint Agatha the Martyr

On the fifth of this month [February], we commemorate the Holy Martyr Agatha.

Verses

As a guardian against darkness Agatha I rejoice,

Having hated the light, now the appearance of error I see.

On the fifth Agatha died in prison in excellent form.