Domnina of Syria
| Saint Domnina of Syria | |
|---|---|
|
Miniature from the Menologion of Basil II | |
| Died |
~460 Syria |
| Venerated in | Maronite Church Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church; |
| Feast | March 1 |
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Saint Domnina of Syria, also known as Domnina the Younger,[1] was a 5th-century ascetic.[2] Her name is mentioned in the Byzantine Synaxarium.[2] and according to Theodoret, bishop of Cyrrhus, Domnina was born to a rich Syrian family.[2]
She became a disciple of Saint Maron.[3]
As a young woman she constructed a straw-covered hut made with millet stalks[1] in the garden of her mother's house, located in Cyrrhus near Antioch.[1]
She passed all of her life there, to the point where she became extremely thin.[2] She only ate lentils soaked in water[3] and went to church in the morning and in the evening. Domnina covered her face in a veil so that no one could see her face.[3] She had 250 female followers, who passed the time doing manual labor and "assigning their hands to card wool, and consecrating their tongues with hymns."[1]
Theodoret writes, in his Religious History (chap. XXX in Patrologia Graeca), that Domnina acquired such a state of religious ecstasy that she could not speak without weeping as she was considered to have been inspired by the love of God.[2]
She died between 450 and 460 AD.[3]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Guita G. Hourani (n.d.). "Domnina: A Female Disciple Of Saint Maron". Marunoye. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Antonio Borrelli (6 Feb 2003). "Santa Domnina". Santi e beati. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
- 1 2 3 4 Fr. S. Janos (1996–2001). "The Nun Domnina of Syria". Holy Trinity Orthodox. Retrieved May 19, 2009.