Euphemia of Chalcedon

d. c. AD 304 (martyr) · Virgin-martyr of Chalcedon · Chalcedon

The Ante-Nicene Church

Who Euphemia of Chalcedon was

A virgin-martyr of Chalcedon whose great shrine across the water from Constantinople would, a century and a half later, house the Council of Chalcedon of 451 — the fathers laying their rival definitions on her tomb. Asterius of Amasea's ekphrasis, describing a painting of her passion, is the early literary witness to the cult.

Also listed in martyrs, women and the great persecution.

Common questions

When did Euphemia die?

Euphemia of Chalcedon is dated d. c. AD 304 (martyr) in the archive, which places Euphemia in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.

Which early sources mention Euphemia?

Euphemia of Chalcedon is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Egeria and Asterius of Amasea. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Where was Euphemia from?

The archive associates Euphemia of Chalcedon with Chalcedon.

Who were Euphemia’s contemporaries?

The archive links Euphemia of Chalcedon to 1 other figure, including Emperor Diocletian. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.

Primary-source mentions (2)

Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Egeria, Pilgrimage 23 (travel diary, c. AD 384; original Latin, working translation)

c. AD 384

[A pilgrim's notice of the shrine, ~80 years after the martyrdom.] Journeying through Bithynia we came to Chalcedon, and there I stayed because of the far-famed martyr-memorial of holy Euphemia, known to me of old, which is in that place.

Egeria · source text

Asterius of Amasea, Description of the Painting of the Martyr Euphemia (c. AD 400; original Greek, working translation)

c. AD 400

There stands the maiden in her dark mantle, gravity and comeliness together... the painter has drawn the drops of blood, and thou wouldst say they fell indeed from her lips; and so he sent me away in tears, for art had mingled grief into the colors.

Asterius of Amasea · source text