Память преподобной Домники

Saint Domnica with four other maidens arrived in Constantinople from Carthage during the reign of Emperor Theodosius the Great, while still a pagan 324. She burned with a strong desire to accept Christianity and live according to the rules of pure heavenly faith. The Archbishop of Constantinople, Saint Nektarios 325, received a special revelation about her. Therefore, having accepted her, he not only granted her holy baptism, but also appointed her to the rank of deaconess 326. Emperor Leo gave her land outside the city. On this land, Saint Domnica founded a monastery in honor of Saint Zechariah, gathered virgins around her and began to live with them, laboring in fasting. She performed many miracles: for example, she saved sailors who were dying from a storm at sea by throwing oil into the sea with a blessing, causing the sea turbulence to cease. She also had the gift of prophecy, for she foreknew and predicted the death of the king. She once saw an Angel descend from heaven and consecrate the nature of water, and also received other revelations of Divine mysteries. The saint rested peacefully in old age, having lived to see the reign of Leo and Zeno, 327 and predicted the time of her departure to the Lord. Theodosius the Great was a Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, the Christian faith was finally established in the Roman Empire. St. Patriarch Nektarios ruled the Church of Constantinople from 381–397. His memory is celebrated on Cheese Saturday. Deaconess - from Greek: servant. This was the name given to a special class of persons in the Church, whose establishment dates back to apostolic times (Rom. 16:1; cf. 1 Tim. 5:3–10). For the most part, elderly (at least 40 years old) virgins or widows were elected to the position of deaconesses. Their duty was to instruct converting wives and girls how they should behave during baptism, serve the bishop at their baptism and instead anoint other parts of the body except the forehead, monitor order and decorum among women during Divine services, visit the sick and prisoners in prison, serve confessors and martyrs in custody, help the poor, etc. Regarding deaconesses, there are several canonical rules, namely: the IV Ecumenical Council, rule 15, the IV, rule 14, and St. Basil the Great rule 44. Here, of course, is Emperor Leo II, who reigned for less than one year (in 474); Emperor Zeno reigned from 474 to 491. St. Domnica died in the first years of Zeno’s reign, around 474. Since she came to Constantinople, in any case, before 385, and since she was undoubtedly at least 20 years old at that time (for Patriarch Nektarios found it possible to soon appoint her to the rank of deaconesses), then St. Domnika died at over 100 years of age. You might be interested in: