St. Olympias – The Devoted Deaconess of the Church

They exiled her to various places, using degrading methods to humiliate and embitter her, because she did not want communion with the adulterously-installed archbishop of Constantinople, [St.] Arsacius. We ask the modern slanderers of ecclesiastical history and practice: Was the Saint a schismatic?

Lambros K. Skontzos, Theologian and Professor

 

In the populous firmament of the holy women of our Church, a bright star stands out, which shines through the ages and reveals the value of womanhood—a value that only Christianity elevated to its rightful dimension and which our holy Church honored. This is Saint Olympias, the heroic and devoted deaconess, whose life and work are connected with the great hierarch of our Church, Saint John Chrysostom, and demonstrate the grandeur of social ministry.

She was born in Constantinople in 368 to aristocratic and very wealthy parents. Her father was named Seleucus and her mother Theodosia, who was the sister of Saint Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium (344–394). Her grandfather Avlavius had served as governor of Asia and Thrace. Her affluent parents sought to provide her with the highest possible education. However, she felt sorrow early in life. While still a child, her parents died, and she was left orphaned and unprotected. Her protection was undertaken by her relative Procopius, a Byzantine official, eparch of Constantinople, and friend of Saint Gregory the Theologian, who had been in the Queen City since 379 to confront the scourge of the Arian heresy.

Through her uncle Procopius, she was connected with Saint Gregory, whom she felt and called her "father." Saint Gregory also esteemed her modest character and her gifts, and he loved her as his own child. In fact, this love is captured in a poem he dedicated to her wedding—a marvelous poetic composition that praises the female nature and presents the ideal of the married woman. But she too benefited from the great saint and profound theologian Gregory. His theology was a milestone for her.

An aristocratic young man, Nebridius, eparch of Constantinople, asked for her hand in marriage. She accepted, and they were married. But another misfortune struck the aristocrat Olympias. A short time after their wedding, Nebridius fell ill and died. Olympias experienced the trial of widowhood. The historian Palladius notes that her married life was so brief that "it is said she fell asleep a spotless virgin"!

Her beauty, her wealth, and her social status made her a highly sought-after prospective bride in Constantinople. Hundreds of prominent young men pursued her, hoping she would agree to marry them. But she remained unwavering in the memory of her husband. Her response was firm: “If God wanted me to remarry, He would not have taken my first husband from me.” Emperor Theodosius himself (379–395) exerted immense pressure for her to be forced to marry his relative Elpidius. But Olympias categorically refused, for she regarded her early widowhood as a calling from God to serve His Church and suffering people. The emperor persisted and began persecuting her, confiscating a large portion of her paternal estate. Olympias sent him a letter with a weighty response and a tone of mockery. As for Elpidius, blinded by his passionate love for her, he deprived her of the right to attend church. Not even this measure made her change her mind. Thus, seeing that it was futile to try to persuade her, the emperor changed his mind and ceased the persecutions. He returned her confiscated property and promised not to trouble her again.

The pious Olympias, now free from all coercion, arranges her life according to her inner inclinations. She burns with desire to dedicate her life to the service of Christ, to works of love. Her first action is to rid herself of the burden of wealth. She distributes the greater part of her immense fortune—gold, precious stones, silver, furniture, estates, and mansions—to the Church, on the condition that they be used for the relief of the needy.

She was already thirty years old. In 393, she placed herself at the disposal of the Archbishop of Constantinople, Nectarius (381–397), to work in the social sector. Nectarius ordained her a deaconess and enrolled her in the volunteer army of love consisting of 250 women who served the Church's social ministry. She submitted to the commands of the team leaders and, this noblewoman, carried out with admirable eagerness even the most toilsome and most humble services.

In 397, Nectarius died, and in 398 Saint John Chrysostom ascended the throne of Constantinople. Olympias was among those who would become a close associate of the holy archbishop. She donated her remaining fortune and built a small monastery in the center of the City, next to Hagia Sophia, where she henceforth resided, gathering a group of numerous women whom she appointed as her collaborators. Among them were Pentadia, widow of a general, Karteria, Chalkidia, and others, who supported the work of Chrysostom.

Thanks to her and her collaborators, the social work of the Church in the Queen City continued and expanded. She presided, with the blessings of John, over his magnificent humanitarian work. The suffering multitudes of the City were fed and sheltered by the Church, thanks to her care and labor. At the same time, she worked for the preparation of the numerous missionaries who were sent by Chrysostom to countries where the Gospel had not yet been preached.

She was bound by close spiritual ties with the holy hierarch. He became her father, and she his daughter, who now shared in his insurmountable difficulties, his problems, and above all his sorrows and persecutions by the corrupt aristocracy and those in power. The sufferings, persecutions, and exiles of her spiritual father pierced her sensitive heart like a two-edged sword. His troubles became her own troubles. She exhausted all her means to prove the innocence of her teacher and to expose the intrigues of the demonic Empress Eudoxia, who had made it her life’s aim to destroy John. Indeed, it was not long before the persecutors of Chrysostom turned against her as well. During John's first exile (404), she attempted to go to him, but was arrested and exiled to Nicomedia.

Then they slandered her as immoral. Afterwards, they dragged her to the courts with the fabricated accusation that she was responsible for the fire at the church of Hagia Sophia, which was burned during a popular uprising in the Queen City at the time of the first exile of Saint Chrysostom. In court, with a gentle yet serious demeanor, she defended herself and tried to prove her innocence. Indeed, she did not hesitate, when the false witnesses became brazen, to use a mocking and ironic tone in order to show her pity for these tragic people who, in her view, did not know what they were doing!

The outcome of the trial was very painful for the heroic deaconess. She was given a heavy monetary fine, which she was unable to pay, as she no longer had any property of her own. She was exiled to various places, with humiliating methods used to demean and embitter her, because she did not want communion with the adulterously-installed archbishop of Constantinople, Arsacius. The entire situation worsened her health. She fell gravely ill. Her only consolation was her correspondence with her beloved spiritual father, Chrysostom, from his exile. He sent her 17 magnificent letters, true jewels of piety, tenderness, and love toward her for her pure devotion.

Since then, we have no information about the remainder of her life. We do not know where or when she departed from earthly life. She evidently followed her teacher into eternity, out of sorrow, shortly after his death in 407. The only information we have is from the historian Palladius, who wrote his well-known treatise in 408 about his teacher, John Chrysostom, also mentioning Olympias. In it, he extols her faith, her character, her heroism, and her devotion to the martyred archbishop and her spiritual father.

Our Church proclaimed her a saint and appointed her commemoration to be celebrated on July 25.

 

Greek source: https://eugenikos.blogspot.com/2025/07/blog-post_25.html