St. Photina

Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Photina. She is the Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well in John chapter She had five husbands and she was living with a man who was not her husband. But then she meets Jesus. She has no theology degree, no professional training; but she knows Jesus is the One Savior of the World. She goes immediately and tells her family and friends.

In 66 AD Photina and her grown children, being warned that Rome was about to conquer Israel, left and moved to Carthage in North Africa. Her son Victor became an officer in the Roman army. A Government official and friend of Victor, named Sebastian wrote him, urging him and his mother to stop leading people to Jesus and to keep their faith private. As Sebastian was writing the letter, he fell blind for three days. On the 4th day he declared: “The God of the Christians is the only true God.” He asked for Baptism, after which he immediately regained his sight. Reports of this reached the Emperor Nero. Both Sebastian and Victor were arrested and taken to Rome.

Hearing this news, Photina and her family went to Rome, accompanied by many Christians. They too were arrested and brought before Nero, but they refused to renounce Jesus Christ and were imprisoned, were they continued to speak to the fellow prisoners about Jesus and converted many. Finally they were tortured and put to death. A relic of the skull of Photina resides in the Church of Jacob’s well in Nablus in the Holy Land.

Photina has the two great qualities which we need: she desired God. And the second, she is not timid, she is not controlled by fear. She has courage. We are not like Photina, we are too timid. Our faith was meant to be personal, but it was never meant to be kept private.