Saint Hermione of Ephesus

Hermione of Ephesus (Greek: Ερμιόνη της Εφέσου; d. A.D. 117) is a 2nd-century saint and martyr venerated by the Eastern Orthodox Church and Catholic Church. She was well known as a "great healer": 16  and founded the first Christian hospital in Ephesus.: 16  Hermione was born in Cæsarea and was one of the four daughters of Saint Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven deacons as described in chapter 6 in the Acts of the Apostles, chosen by the early Christian church to minister to the community of believers in Jerusalem. Her name does not appear in the Bible, but she and her sisters are described as virgins and "gifted with prophecy.": 16  Hermione also appears in the Menaion, the liturgical book used by the Eastern Orthodox Church.: 45  She is often confused with a daughter of St. Philip the Apostle. According to tradition, around the early 100s, after studying medicine, Hermione travelled with her sister Eukhilda to Ephesus, through Anatolia, to meet St. John the Theologian in the hopes that they could help him in his evangelization efforts. They found that he had already died, but met Petronius, a disciple of Saint Paul, and followed him instead. Hermione became well known for her healing and built a hospital in Ephesus. Soon, her reputation as a doctor and as a devout Christian attracted the attention of the Roman emperor Trajan who stopped in Ephesus on his way to a war with the Persians in 114 to convince her to renounce Christ.