Daily Saint

St. Anastasia of Sirmium, also known by the titles “Anastasia the Pharmakolytria” (Deliverer from Potions) or “Anastasia the Healer,” is a martyr of the early Church who died around the year 304 during the persecution of Diocletian.

Although we know very little about her life, mainly from tradition, it still provides a context for the lives of Christians in the early Church. Tradition holds that St. Anastasia was born late in the third century, possibly in Rome, to a noble family. Her father was a pagan of rank, and her mother, Fausta, a Christian. She was secretly baptized and instructed in the Christian Faith by her mother. She was later mentored in the Faith by St. Chrysogonus.

After the death of her mother, St. Anastasia’s father arranged a marriage for her to a pagan named Publius. He died not long after, leaving her a widow. St. Anastasia then dedicated her life to helping persecuted Christians—visiting prisoners, giving them comfort, and healing their wounds.

According to tradition, Roman officials arrested and beheaded St. Chrysogonus. Soon after, St. Anastasia was also arrested. Some accounts say she was beheaded, others that she was burned alive.

St. Anastasia is among the few women saints named in the Roman canon. She is mentioned during the second Mass at Christmas. Her relics were said to have been transferred to Constantinople in the fifth century, and churches named in her honor are found in Rome, Zadar, and elsewhere.