Righteous
Righteous Martha of Bethany
I–XV век
Righteous Martha of Bethany — sister of Lazarus of the Four Days and Mary, mentioned in the Gospel; she received Jesus Christ in her home at Bethany and, per Orthodox tradition, later accompanied her brother into exile on Cyprus, where he became the first bishop of Kition.
Righteous Martha of Bethany — sister of Lazarus of the Four Days and Mary, mentioned in the Gospel (Luke 10:38-42; John 11-12). She received Jesus Christ in her home at Bethany; she is known for the Gospel episode in which Christ told her that her sister Mary had "chosen the good part" (Luke 10:42). She was present at the raising of her brother Lazarus by Christ (John 11).
According to Eastern church tradition (first attested in John of Euboea, early 8th c.), after his resurrection Lazarus lived another 30 years and became the first bishop of Kition (modern Larnaca) on Cyprus, consecrated by the Apostles Paul and Barnabas. Martha and Mary followed their brother into exile and lived with him on Cyprus, helping him in his labors. The exact time and place of the sisters' deaths remain unknown — tradition on this point honestly makes no claim to precision.
In Moscow, the Martha-Mary Convent of Mercy is dedicated in honor of the holy sisters Martha and Mary, founded in 1909 by Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.
Her feast is kept on June 4/17.
IMPORTANT CORRECTION: a content mismatch in the entry's English text has been removed — it erroneously called Righteous Martha "a Christian female ascetic who dedicated her life to monastic service"; she was never a nun. The text has been brought into line with the correct category, "righteous" (a laywoman who received Christ in her home). Three byte-identical duplicate images (venerable_martha_bethany_1/2/3.jpg, identical to the entry's own 1/2/3.jpg) have been removed — only the unique files remain.