September 17: The Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope and Love and their Mother Sophia
The holy martyr Sophia and her three daughters, Faith, Hope and Love [Sophia, here is taken to be a woman’s name rather than “Wisdom”, as in the church of Holy Wisdom (Ayia Sofia) in Constantinople; similarly, the third daughter is Love, in accordance with Saint Paul, who calls her Love (which was translated, correctly, into Latin as “caritas” and then, wrongly, into English as “charity”)], lived at the time of the Roman emperor Hadrian, (117-138) and belonged to fine, exalted stock. They inherited the Christian faith from their forebears and lived their lives in accordance with the will of God.
Saint Sophia and Her Three Daughters: Faith, Hope, and Love
These Saints were from Italy and contested for the Faith about the year 126, during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Faith was twelve years old, Hope, ten, and Love, nine; each was tormented and then beheaded, from the eldest to the youngest. Their mother Sophia mourned at their grave for three days, where […]