Commemorated September 17 (New Calendar) September 30 (Old Calendar)

Saint Faith was the eldest daughter of Sophia, an Italian widow in Rome in the reign of the emperor Hadrian. She was twelve. Her mother raised her openly as a Christian and named her for the virtue she was to keep. She refused to sacrifice to Artemis. After torture she was beheaded. Her mother took her body and later buried her on a high hill outside the city.

The Great Collection of the Lives of the Saints – September 17

(Please forgive me for any mispronounciation of words in this reading. God Bless!)

The words of Saint Faith

“O Almighty God, do with us according to Thy holy will, and forsake us not, but rather grant us Thy holy aid, that our hearts be not frightened by the proud tormentor, that we be not terrified by his fearful tortures nor terrorized by bitter death, and that nothing might separate us from Thee, our God.” (With her mother and sisters, when the emperor’s servants came to take them.)

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“Help us, O God our Saviour, for the sake of the glory of Thy holy name!” (At the palace doors, as they signed themselves with the Cross.)

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“Pray for me, Mother, that I may complete my course and arrive at the end which I desire, to behold my beloved Lord and Saviour and be filled with the vision of His divinity.” (After she heard the sentence of death by the sword.)

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“You know, my dear sisters, to Whom we have promised ourselves and to Whom we have been betrothed. You know that we have been signed with the holy Cross of our Lord to serve Him to eternity. Therefore, let us endure unto the end. A single mother has borne us and has reared and instructed us, so let us accept a common death since we are sisters and share a single will. May I be an example to you, that you both might follow me to our Bridegroom, Who summons us to Himself.” (To Hope and Love before she bowed her head to the sword.)

The words of others in the reading

“I am a Christian, and in that honorable name I rejoice.” (Sophia, when Hadrian asked her lineage, names, and faith.)

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“My beloved daughters, the time has now come for you to contend for Christ; the hour has arrived for you to be betrothed unto your immortal Bridegroom. In accordance with your names, may you display firm faith, undoubting hope, and unfeigned and never-failing love.” (Sophia, instructing her daughters in the house of Palladia.)

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“My daughter, I bore you and on this account endured suffering. But you will redeem my suffering if you die for Christ’s sake, confessing Him and shedding the blood which you received in my womb. Go to Him, my beloved offspring, stained with your blood, as if clothed in crimson. When you appear most fair before the eyes of your Bridegroom, remember before Him your lowly mother and pray to Him for your sisters, that He strengthen them so that they might have the same patience which you possess.” (Sophia, taking Faith’s body after the sword.)

Who stood with her

Sophia was her mother. Hope, ten, and Love, nine, were her sisters. Their father died soon after Love’s birth; his name is not kept in this reading. Antiochus denounced the household. Palladia, a noblewoman, was charged to watch them. Believers later buried Sophia beside her daughters.

She went first, and asked her sisters to follow the same Bridegroom.

We ask her prayers when the eldest in a household must keep faith first, and when a child is told to buy safety by denying Christ.

Pray for us

Troparion, Tone 4 “The Church celebrates and rejoices in the feast of the three daughters: Faith, Hope, and Love and their Mother Sophia, named for her wisdom: For in them she gave birth to the three godly virtues. Now they eternally behold their bridegroom, God the Word. Let us rejoice spiritually in their memory and cry: O our three Heavenly Protectors, establish, confirm and strengthen us in Faith, Hope and Love.”

Kontakion, Tone 1 “The holy branches of noble Sophia, Faith, Hope, and Love, confounded Greek sophistry through Grace. They struggled and won the victory and have been granted an incorruptible crown by Christ the Master of all.”

Saint Faith, pray for us.

Sources

St. Demetrius of Rostov, Lives of the Saints, September 17. https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Dmitrij_Rostovskij/zhitija-svjatykh/796

Orthodox Church in America, Martyr Sophia and her three daughters at Rome. https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2024/09/17/102638-martyr-sophia-and-her-three-daughters-at-rome

This site is a lamp, not a parish. Listen to the life. Then find a living Orthodox church and ask a priest to pastor you. https://pieceofhumanity.com/find-a-parish/

Other Names

Vera, Viera, Βιέρα, Πίστις, Pistis, Вера