They showed admirable spiritual courage; they wholeheartedly loved the Lord and dedicated their lives to Him. They endured the labors of asceticism and the pains of martyrdom, and they housed God in their hearts.

They preferred to adorn themselves with good deeds and virtues rather than with false material ornaments. They hated vanity and loved the peace of humility. They rejected the world and its deceptive shine, longing for heaven.

Their example emits a comforting light through the ages, a light that fills with hope and soothes the souls that are weary from searching in desolate places for true happiness.

Hermione, Polychronia, Drosia, Anyssia, Eleusa... A brief synaxarion of 26 lesser-known holy women whose passage through the earth generously spread the precious, valuable, and life-giving fragrance of the Holy Spirit...