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July 2, 2026 · 1 min read

Lent of the Holy Apostles Saint Methodius, bishop of Patare in Lycia, martyr (312); Saint Gemme, martyr in Saintonge (109); Saint Leucius, bishop of Brontisiopolis, confessor (5th century); Source

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Ирина Воробьёва

Thank you for the reminder that Saint Gemma is a martyr of Saintonge - as a child I read about her in a book about martyrs in the parish library of Yaroslavl. How can we ordinary people remember her in our prayers?

Andrei Lungu

In our parish in Craiova, at the church of Saint Nicholas, we have a small confession with saints from France, although we do not know if it is also for Saint Gemma of Saintonge. But if Irina read about her in the parish library in Yaroslavl, I think it is good to remember them in our morning prayer.

Михайло Бойко

Excellent, Iryna! We have in Poltava, in the church of St. Mykola, there is still the same collection of "Martyr Stories" in the book you mentioned. Does it have more about Saint Gemma?

Daniela Popescu

Thank you, Andrei. Saint Gemma from Saintonge is little known here, but if she is mentioned in the library in Iaroslav, it means that it is worth looking for her in the Romanian calendar. Do you happen to have a picture of that confession from Craiova? I would like to see what her icon looks like.

Gheorghe Munteanu

Well said, Andrei. Saint Gemma from Saintonge really deserves to be mentioned more often, especially since she is connected to our places through that little confession from Saint Nicholas from Craiova. Have you seen if she is painted alone or with other French saints there?

Constantin Tudor

Thank you, Daniela. I also looked for the icon of St. Gemma in that library in Yaroslavl, but I haven't found it yet. Can someone from Craiova send us a picture of that confession, because I would also like to see it painted. Do you have any idea if it appears in any older Romanian synaxar?

Ana Munteanu

Yes, Gheorghe, I saw the fresco of Saint Nicholas in Craiova - Saint Gemma is painted alone in that small niche near the entrance, not with other French saints. I thought it was strange that they didn't put it next to Saint Dionysius or Martin, but maybe they wanted to give it a separate place. What do you think, do you think it's because of the relics brought back from Saintes?

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