Our Venerable Mother Photina of Caesarea in Palestine
Come to them for
A Peaceful Death
Life
Saint Photina of Caesarea in Palestine was an ascetic who is commemorated together with Saint Martinian of Caesarea and Saint Zoe on February 13. According to the synaxarion, she came to the uninhabited rocky island on which Saint Martinian had withdrawn for solitary asceticism, and after he departed she remained there alone, taking his place as a solitary dweller until her repose.
She is not to be confused with Saint Photini the Samaritan Woman, a distinct saint who also bears the name Photina.
Timeline 3 moments
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5th centuryShipwrecked upon Martinian's islandAfter a ship was wrecked by a powerful storm, Photina floated to the rocky island on pieces of the wreckage. Saint Martinian, who lived there in solitude, helped her to survive, giving her bread and water and telling her that in two months a boat would come to return her to the mainland.
5th centuryChooses to remain in solitudeWhen the rescue ship arrived, Photina did not board it, electing to stay on the island by herself. According to the synaxarion she asked the captain to have his wife bring her men's clothing and some wool, promising to make clothes for his family, along with bread and water, so that she could provide for her solitary life there.
5th centuryRepose after six yearsSaint Photina lived on the island for six years and then went to the Lord. Two months after her death the captain and his wife found her relics incorrupt and brought them to Caesarea in Palestine; the captain, having received a vision revealing details of her life, told the bishop, and she was buried with great honor and reverence.
Contributions & Legacy
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The Island Hermitage
Saint Martinian had gone to live in the wilderness near Caesarea in Palestine at the age of eighteen, devoting himself for twenty-five years to ascetic labors and silence and receiving the gift of healing illnesses and casting out demons. Seeking still deeper solitude, he withdrew to an uninhabited rocky island, where he lived under the open sky and was sustained by provisions brought by a sailor.
It was to this island that Photina came after her shipwreck. By taking up the solitary life there in Martinian's place, she continued the witness of ascetic withdrawal for which the island had become known.
Relics & Shrines
The synaxarion relates that two months after Saint Photina's repose, the captain and his wife found her relics incorrupt. They brought the relics to Caesarea in Palestine, where, after the captain reported a vision concerning her life to the bishop, she was buried with great honor and reverence.
Commemorated With
Saint Photina is commemorated on February 13 together with Saint Martinian of Caesarea and Saint Zoe. By tradition Zoe had been a prostitute who wagered that she could seduce Martinian; she repented and was sent to Bethlehem to Saint Paula, where she lived as a nun in strict asceticism for twelve years until her blessed end.
