Martyr
Martyr Martyrs Chrysanthus and Daria of Rome
†283
Martyr Daria of Rome — an Egyptian priestess of the goddess Athena, wife of the martyr Chrysanthus (with whom she entered a virgin marriage by mutual consent); converted to Christ by her husband, she suffered with him in Rome under Emperor Numerian (283-284): the couple preached the Gospel to Roman youth, for which they were seized and, after cruel torture, buried alive.
Chrysanthus, son of a nobleman who had moved to Rome from Alexandria, while studying at a philosophical school read the books of the New Testament and secretly came to believe in Christ, receiving baptism. His father, seeking to turn his son away from Christianity, married him to a pagan priestess of the goddess Athena named Daria. However, Chrysanthus, through his preaching, converted Daria to Christ, and by mutual consent the couple decided to preserve their virginity, entering only a formal marriage in order to avoid further pressure from his father. The house of Chrysanthus and Daria became a gathering place for Christians, and the couple themselves, through their preaching, converted many young Roman men and women, urging them to preserve chastity for Christ's sake. Alarmed by this, pagans denounced them to the prefect Celerinus, and the couple was seized. After cruel tortures, during which, according to tradition, they remained unharmed, Chrysanthus and Daria were buried alive in the ground near Rome, on the Via Salaria, around 283, under Emperor Numerian. Their memory is kept on March 19/April 1.