The Lois Drewer Calendar of Saints
in Byzantine Manuscripts and Frescoes

Calendar of Saints and Feasts for September 17

Select a month: Select month January February March April May June July August September October November December

Select a day: Select day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

---

Sophia and her daughters Pistis, Elpis and Agape.
Wisdom, Faith, Hope and Charity.

Mother and virgin daughters. Said to be martyred at Rome under Hadrian.

Synax.CP, Sept. 17, par. 1 (cols. 51-2).

Simeon Metaphrastes, Sept. 17.

BHG 1637x-1639; BiblSS XI 1277-80; Holweck 927; LCI VIII 382-4; ODB 1927.

London, British Library, Add. 11870, fol. 132v. Martyrdom, beheading. One of the daughters is about to be beheaded; the headless corpses of the other two lie on the ground. Sophia waits at the left. (Ševčenko, N., Metaphrastian Menologion, p. 122, fig. 3E4; Walter, "London September Metaphrast," pp. 16-7, fig. 11).

Oxford, Bodleian Library, Barocci 230, fol. 3v. Four women saints, hands raised (Hutter, I, p. 50, fig. 172; Hutter, III, p. 331; Ševčenko, N., Metaphrastian Menologion, p. 17, fig. 1A3).

Oxford, Bodleian Library, Gr. th. f. 1, fol. 9v. 1) Sophia. Woman saint, holding cross. Half-figure. 2) Elpis, Pistis and Agape. Martyrdom, beheading. (Hutter, II, p. 4, fig. 14).

Vatican, gr. 1156, fol. 253r. Nuns, holding crosses.

Vatican, gr. 1613, p. 43. Pistis, Elpis and Agape. 1) Martyrdom, beheading. 2) Burial. Sophia places the bodies of her three daughters, wrapped in winding sheets, in a sarcophagus. (LCI VIII, fig. col. 383; Menologio, I, p. 14, II, fig. p. 43).

Venice, Marciana, gr. Z 586, fol. 136r. Martyrdom, beheading. One of the daughters is about to be beheaded; the headless corpses of the other two lie on the ground. Sophia stands at the right, her arms flung out. (Ševčenko, N., Metaphrastian Menologion, p. 178, fig. 5D6).

Cozia. Narthex, vault, south side. Martyrdom, beheading. (Mijović, Menolog, p. 349, fig. 64).

Dečani. Narthex, center aisle, north wall. Martyrdom, beheading. Pistis, Elpis and Agape bend forward, their severed heads falling into an open sarcophagus. Sophia stands at the right, her arms flung above her head. (Babić et al, Dečani, no. 18, fig. T IV 14; Mijović, Menolog, p. 318, fig. 42, pl. 176).

Gračanica. Southwest pier, east face. Martyrdom, beheading. (Mijović, Menolog, p. 287, fig. 24; Petković, Peinture serbe, I, pl. 53b; Todić, Gračanica, p. 101; Živković, Gračanica, fig. VI southwest 12).

Staro Nagoričino. Narthex, north aisle, south wall. Four women saints, holding crosses. Half-figures. (Mijović, Menolog, p. 260, fig. 11, pl. 24; Todić, Staro Nagoričino, p. 84).

---

Agathoclia, Martyr.

Servant. Denounced by her pagan mistress and martyred. Time and place unknown.

Synax.CP, Sept. 17, par. 2 (cols. 52-3); Sept. 16, Synaxaria selecta (cols. 49-50).

BiblSS I 339-40; DHGE I 913-4; Holweck 30; LCI V 50.

Oxford, Bodleian Library, Gr. th. f. 1, fol. 9v. Agathoclia? Woman saint. Half-figure. Not inscribed. (Hutter, II, p. 4 [unidentifed], fig. 14).

Vatican, gr. 1156, fol. 253r. Sept. 16. Woman saint, holding cross.

Vatican, gr. 1613, p. 44. In prison. Martyrdom, hot iron bar. Within prison walls, Agathoclia''s mistress Paulina kills her by stamping her neck with a hot iron bar. Paulina wears a brocade tunic and transparent veil. (Menologio, I, p. 14, II, fig. p. 44).

Gračanica. Southwest pier, east face. Woman saint, holding cross. (Mijović, Menolog, p. 287, fig. 24; Petković, Peinture serbe, I, pl. 53b; Todić, Gračanica, p. 101; Živković, Gračanica, fig. VI southwest 12).

Staro Nagoričino. Narthex, north aisle, south wall. Martyrdom, burning. Half-figure. (Mijović, Menolog, p. 260, fig. 11; Todić, Staro Nagoričino, p. 84).

---

Lucy and Geminianus of Rome.

Lucy, a widow, martyred with Geminianus at Rome under Diocletian and Maximian.

Synax.CP, Sept. 17, par. 3 (cols. 53-4).

BHG 2241; BiblSS VIII 260-2; DHGE XX 335: Holweck 623; LCI VI 357.

Vatican, gr. 1613, p. 45. 1) Lucy. Death. Taken into mountain. The body of Lucy is lying in a cleft in a wooded mountain. 2) Geminianus. Martyrdom, beheading. (BiblSS VIII, fig. cols. 259-60; Menologio, I, p. 14, II, fig. p. 45).

SEE ALSO: Sebastiana of Heraclea, September 16

---