Domnina of Syria
Encyclopedia
Saint Domnina of Syria, also known as Domnina the Younger, was a 5th century ascetic. Her name is mentioned in the Byzantine
Synaxarium
. and according to Theodoret
, bishop of Cyrrhus
, Domnina was born to a rich Syrian family.
She became a disciple of Saint Maron.
As a young woman she constructed a straw-covered hut made with millet
stalks in the garden of her mother's house, located in Kyra
near Antioch
.
She passed all of her life there, to the point where she became extremely thin. She only ate lentils soaked in water and went to church in the morning and in the evening. Domnina covered her face in a veil so that no one could see her face. She had 250 female followers, who passed the time doing manual labor and "assigning their hands to card wool, and consecrating their tongues with hymns."
Theodoret writes, in his Religious History (chap. XXX in Patrologia Graeca), that Domnina acquired such a state of religious ecstasy that she could not speak without weeping as she was considered to have been inspired by the love of God.
She died between 450 and 460 AD.
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
Synaxarium
Synaxarium
Synaxarion, Synexarion, pl. Synaxaria —Latin: Synaxarium, Synexarium—the name given in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches to a compilation of hagiographies corresponding roughly to the martyrology of the Roman Church.There are two kinds of synaxaria:*Simple...
. and according to Theodoret
Theodoret
Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus was an influential author, theologian, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus, Syria . He played a pivotal role in many early Byzantine church controversies that led to various ecumenical acts and schisms...
, bishop of Cyrrhus
Cyrrhus, Syria
Cyrrhus, or Kyrros was a city in ancient Syria founded by Seleucus Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals. Other names for the city include Hagioupolis, Nebi Huri نبي حوري, Khoros . Its ruins are located in northern Syria, near the Turkish border. It lies about 70 km northwest of Aleppo...
, Domnina was born to a rich Syrian family.
She became a disciple of Saint Maron.
As a young woman she constructed a straw-covered hut made with millet
Millet
The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...
stalks in the garden of her mother's house, located in Kyra
Kyra
Kyra may refer to:*Kyra, Cyprus, a village in Cyprus*Kyra, Russia, a rural locality in Kyrinsky District of Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia*Kyra River, a river in Russia and Mongolia*Kyra, a former snout moth genus synonymized with Myelois...
near Antioch
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
.
She passed all of her life there, to the point where she became extremely thin. She only ate lentils soaked in water and went to church in the morning and in the evening. Domnina covered her face in a veil so that no one could see her face. She had 250 female followers, who passed the time doing manual labor and "assigning their hands to card wool, and consecrating their tongues with hymns."
Theodoret writes, in his Religious History (chap. XXX in Patrologia Graeca), that Domnina acquired such a state of religious ecstasy that she could not speak without weeping as she was considered to have been inspired by the love of God.
She died between 450 and 460 AD.