Righteous Drusiana of Ephesus

Righteous Drusiana was one of the residents of Ephesus who became disciples and spiritual children of the Apostle John the Theologian during his preaching ministry in that city. According to the apocryphal Acts of John, an early Christian literary monument of the 2nd century, Drusiana imitated the apostle throughout her life and, before her death, expressed a passionate wish to see him once more. When the Apostle John, returning to the city, learned of her death, he halted the funeral procession and proclaimed in a loud voice: "Drusiana, arise and go home, and prepare me a little food." Drusiana was miraculously raised from the dead. The same text contains the well-known account of the pagan Callimachus's love for the chaste Drusiana: both later die but are likewise raised by the Apostle John and turn to a new, Christian life. Although the Acts of John is not among the canonical New Testament books, the memory of Righteous Drusiana is preserved in church tradition in connection with the veneration of the Apostle John the Theologian.