Tomorrow in Kalmykia will honor the memory of St. Pelagia of Antioch

Tomorrow the inhabitants of Kalmykia will remember the Monk Pelagia of Antioch, who lived in the third century.

The girl was distinguished by extraordinary beauty and before the adoption of Christianity led a libertine lifestyle, was a dancer and prostitute. Once a council was held in Antioch, where bishops from all over Syria gathered. One of them, Bishop Nonn, saw Pelagia and, struck by her shamelessness, prayed all night for the salvation of her soul.

The next morning, an unknown force led Pelagia to the temple. The worship and preaching, according to legend, so impressed the girl that she was horrified at how sinful her life was, and asked Bishop Nonn to baptize her. Having become a Christian, Pelagia distributed all her property to the poor and under the guise of a young man took monastic tonsure. No one knew she was a woman until she died.