Great Martyr Irene of Thessalonica

Irene is one of the great martyrs of the early Church, though her story survives only as legend. Her Life, said to have been written by her teacher Apelian, tells that she was born Penelope, the daughter of a pagan ruler named Licinius in the city of Magedon, and that her father kept her in a richly furnished tower until she was old enough to marry.

There, the Life says, she came to faith, and the presbyter Timothy baptized her with the name Irene, which means 'peace'. She is said to have been tortured by her father and by a series of rulers in several cities of Thrace, and to have converted great numbers of people. At the end, according to the Life, she lay down in a tomb at Ephesus, which was found empty on the fourth day.