Saint Theodosia of Tyre

Saint Theodosia of Tyre, according to the historian of the early Christian church Eusebius, was a seventeen-year-old girl who deliberately sought to be executed as a martyr to Christianity in the city of Caesarea in 307 AD. She was tortured, urged to reject Christianity, and, when she refused, thrown into the sea. She is commemorated on April 2. There are two extant versions of Eusebius' Martyrs of Palestine, and in both the shorter and the longer versions, the story of Theodosia is recounted, though with variations. Eusebius was present in Caesarea during the persecutions, part of the empire-wide campaign to suppress Christianity. For five years, the governor Urbanus had sought to enforce the orders of the Emperors that all should perform sacrifices to the Roman gods, upon pain of death. From Tyre, Lebanon, the seventeen-year-old Theodosia had made her way to Caesarea in Palestine. On Easter Day, 307, according to Eusebius, she went to the public square where a number of Christians were in chains awaiting interrogation. She congratulated them and asked to be remembered in their prayers.