Saint Eugenia of Rome

Eugenia of Rome (died c AD 258) was an early Christian Roman martyr whose feast day is celebrated on December 25 in the Roman Catholic Church, on December 24 (January 6, New Style) in the Eastern Catholic Churches and Eastern Orthodox Church, and on January 23 in the Armenian Apostolic Church. She was said to have been the daughter of Philip, a "vir illustris" sent to govern Egypt by Commodus in his seventh consulate (192). Philip thus left Rome with his wife Claudia and his children Sergius, Avitus and Eugenia and set up a home in Alexandria. Eugenia was beautiful, virtuous and studious, and when she was sixteen she studied Greek and Latin literature and gained philosophers' admiration for her gravity. Her father wished her to marry and provided several handsome candidates, but she forcefully rejected them, thinking good morals superior to high birth. By luck she was given copies of "the letter of Paul" (the title of which is not specified) and the Acts of Paul and Thecla, which she read keenly. She then gained her parents' permission to go out in a covered litter on their country estate and during the journey discussed the two books with her eunuchs, Protus and Hyacinth (who grew up with her and shared her pagan background). She argued that all pagan religious writings were ridiculous and hollow compared to the two books and – as they continued their discussion – they heard Christians led by Helenus, bishop of Heliopolis, singing "All the gods of the nations are demons" (Psalm 96:5). She saw this as the answer to her questions and decided to go back the next day to see the Christians, but only after the eunuchs had cut her hair and disguised her in men's clothing (much as the character Thecla does in the abovementioned text). The eunuchs accompanied her to see the Christians, who this time were singing the words of Isaiah 26:7, which were also relevant to her own situation.