THE HOLY FEMALE MARTYR GOLINDUC

July 12

From the Prologue

Golinduc was a Persian by birth. She entered into marriage with a Persian sage and lived three years in the marital state. She then had a vision of angels who showed her the other world: the torments of sinners and the unbelievers and the joy of the righteous. After this, she left her husband and was baptized. At baptism, she received the name of Mary. Persecuted by her husband, she was sentenced to prison for life. She was imprisoned for eighteen years and remained steadfast in her faith. After this, she was thrown into a pit with a terrible snake but God saved her and the snake did not harm her. When evil young men were sent to defile her, God made her invisible to their eyes. Astonished at her sufferings, many Persians embraced the Faith of Christ. She visited Jerusalem where she denounced the Severian heresy, which taught that the divine nature in Christ suffered for which they read the Trisagion [TrisvjatojeThe ThriceHoly Hymn] in the following form: "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy and Immortal crucified for us, have mercy on us." Finally, after preaching the True Faith, she peacefully died near the city of Nisibus in the year 587 A.D.