Martyr
Martyr Chionia of Thessalonica
†304
Martyr Chionia of Thessalonica — sister of the Martyrs Agape and Irene; during the persecution of Emperor Diocletian in 304, she suffered for refusing to eat food sacrificed to idols and for keeping forbidden Christian books; the memory of these martyrs is one of the most ancient, attested already in the Syriac menologion of 411–412. She is sometimes identified with or considered close to the similarly-named Western group of martyrs of Aquileia.
Martyr Chionia was the sister of the Martyrs Agape and Irene; they were orphaned young and led a devout Christian life under the spiritual guidance of the presbyter Zeno. During the persecution of Emperor Diocletian in 304, they were seized for keeping forbidden Christian books and refusing to eat food sacrificed to idols. After cruel torture and interrogation by the governor Dulcitius, the martyrs were put to death. The memory of the Thessalonian martyrs Agape and Chionia appears already in the most ancient Eastern menologion — the Syriac one (411–412) — attesting to the exceptional antiquity of their veneration. Their memory is kept on April 16/29 together with Martyrs Agape and Irene. There is also a Western tradition of venerating a similarly-named group of martyrs of Aquileia, which in some sources leads to a conflation or convergence of the two groups.