St. Argyre 

the New Martyr

The Life of St. Argyre

St. Argyre was a very beautiful young woman who more than anything yearned to be close to Christ. She was born to a pious family in Proussa and possessed a deep religious conviction. At eighteen, St. Argyre married a young Christian man, but enjoyed a mere few happy days as a newlywed, as a neighbor coveted Argyre and threatened to take her for himself. Argyre outwardly rejected the neighbor’s advances time and time again, until the neighbor slandered her, dishonestly accusing her of having succumbed to his advances. St. Argyre was imprisoned and her case was eventually taken to Constantinople, upon request of her husband. There, she declared herself a Christian who would never abandon Christ.

The judge in Constantinople ordered her to be beaten and sent to prison for an indefinite amount of time. St. Argyre suffered in a Turkish prison among criminals who tormented her for the seventeen years she spent in prison. All the while, St. Argyre bore every trial with a loving and grateful heart. She was steadfast in her faith and reposed on the 5th of April in her jail cell. After three years, her relics were uncovered, and her body was intact and fragrant. Her relics were brought
to the Church of St. Paraskevi, but after a disastrous fire in the church, were relocated to Lesvos.

We celebrate St. Argyre’s feast day on April 30th, the day of the relocation of her relics.

St. Argyre’s name means “silver” in Greek. She is the patron saint of marriage.

Learn her Troparion

“You put to shame tyrants by your tortures, O pure one, and you were shown forth, O much-sufferingone, as strong as a diamond. O glorious martyr of Christ, you showed forth in struggles for Christ the savior, love and zeal and unquenchable longing, who worthily glorified you O Argyre.” (Mode 4)