Venerable
Venerable Pelagia of Antioch (of Eleona), the Penitent
V в., † ок. 457
Also known as: Маргарита (прозвище до крещения), инок Пелагий (имя в затворе)
Venerable Pelagia of Antioch, the Penitent — a famous beautiful dancer and courtesan, converted by the preaching of Bishop Nonnus of Heliopolis, who secretly withdrew in male disguise to the Mount of Olives, living the rest of her life as a recluse under the name of the monk Pelagius.
N.S. DATE FILLED IN (October 21 — missing from the stub) AND BISHOP'S NAME CORRECTED: the bishop who converted Pelagia was Nonnus, Bishop of Heliopolis (modern Baalbek in Phoenicia/Lebanon), not "of Edessa" as sometimes mistakenly stated in popular retellings.
Venerable Pelagia of Antioch (of Eleona / the Mount of Olives) lived in 5th-century Antioch, renowned for her beauty and wealth, nicknamed "Margarita" ("Pearl"), and was a leading dancer and courtesan. When the bishops of Syria gathered for a council in Antioch, among them was Nonnus, bishop of Heliopolis, a monk of great ascetic reputation. Seeing Pelagia ride past the church in splendid dress while he preached, Nonnus prayed at length for her conversion.
Struck by his sermon on the Last Judgment, Pelagia sought him out and, despite despairing over the weight of her sins, begged for baptism. Afterward she gave away her entire fortune, secretly left Antioch disguised as a man, and withdrew to Jerusalem, settling in a cell on the Mount of Olives under the name of the monk "Pelagius," living as a strict recluse.
Only after her death around 457 did the monks preparing her body discover the famed hermit was a woman. Her Life is traditionally attributed to Deacon James of Heliopolis. NOTE: distinguish this saint from another saint of the same name and the same feast day in this same batch — Martyr Pelagia the Virgin of Antioch (see pelagia_the_virgin) — these are two genuinely distinct, independently developed hagiographic traditions, not a duplication of the same person.