Venerable Matrona Abbess of Constantinople

c. 424 – c. 524

Also known as Matrona of Perge

A married woman of Perge who left worldly life for monastic asceticism and later became an abbess in Constantinople.

November 9New Calendar

Feast Day

November 22Old Calendar

Suggest a correction Contribute

Commemorated as

Our Venerable Mother Matrona, Abbess of Constantinople

Life

Matrona of Perge was a fifth- and early-sixth-century monastic of Asia Minor who left married life for asceticism and ultimately became an abbess at Constantinople. Born around 424–425 into a wealthy family in Perge in Pamphylia (Asia Minor), she was given in marriage to a wealthy man named Dometian (also rendered Domitianus) and bore one daughter, Theodota. After the family resettled in Constantinople, she devoted herself to attending churches and keeping night vigils, which provoked her husband's suspicion and jealousy.

Seeking an ascetic life, Matrona left her home, entrusting her daughter to an acquaintance named Susanna. To evade her husband's pursuit she cut her hair, dressed in men's clothing, and entered the monastery of Saint Bassianus disguised as a eunuch named Babylos, working in the garden for roughly three years before her identity was discovered. She subsequently led a women's community, gaining a reputation for healing, and after further travels returned to the vicinity of Constantinople, where Bassianus established a monastery for her and the nuns she gathered. She is commemorated in the Eastern Orthodox Church on November 9 as Venerable Matrona, Abbess of Constantinople.

Kontakion & Troparion2 hymnsReadHide

KontakionTone 8

You passed through the storm of life without faltering, chosen and godly Mother Matróna,
guided to the harbor of life, where you sing hymns to the Deliverer.
You ever pray that Christ may grant us grace and mercy;
you preserve the flock which you painstakingly gathered!

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

TroparionTone 8

The image of God was truly preserved in you, O Mother,
for you took up the Cross and followed Christ.
By so doing, you taught us to disregard the flesh, for it passes away;
but to care instead for the soul, since it is immortal.
Therefore your spirit, O holy Mother Matróna, rejoices with the angels.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline6 momentsReadHide

c. 424–425Birth in PergeMatrona is born into a wealthy family in Perge in Pamphylia, in Asia Minor.
Early adulthoodMarriage and familyShe is given in marriage to a wealthy man named Dometian and bears a daughter, Theodota; the family later resettles in Constantinople.
In ConstantinopleDeparture for the ascetic lifeAmid her husband's suspicion, she leaves her home, entrusts her daughter to Susanna, disguises herself in men's clothing, and enters the monastery of Saint Bassianus as the eunuch Babylos, working in its garden for about three years.
After her discoveryAbbess in Emesa and wanderingsFollowing the revelation of her identity, she is sent to a women's monastery in Emesa in Syria, becomes abbess, gains a reputation for healing, and travels through Jerusalem, Syria, and Beirut.
Later lifeMonastery near ConstantinopleBassianus establishes a monastery for Matrona and her nuns near his own; she opposes the Monophysite policies of Emperor Anastasius I.
c. 524ReposeMatrona dies at approximately one hundred years of age; she is commemorated on November 9.

Contributions & Legacy

3 contributionsReadHide

From Married Life to the Monastery

Matrona came from a wealthy family of Perge in Pamphylia and was given in marriage to a wealthy man named Dometian. Following the birth of her daughter Theodota, the family resettled in Constantinople, where Matrona increasingly gave herself to attending churches and keeping night vigils. Her husband grew suspicious and jealous of these practices and, according to the account of her life, falsely accused her of immoral behavior.

Determined to pursue an ascetic vocation, Matrona left her household and placed her daughter in the care of an acquaintance named Susanna. To escape her husband's search she cut her hair, put on men's clothing, and presented herself at the monastery of Saint Bassianus under the male name Babylos, claiming to be a eunuch. The monks received her into the community, where she labored in the garden for about three years until her identity was discovered.

Abbess and Ascetic Wanderings

After Bassianus learned her true identity, Matrona at first returned to Susanna. When her husband persisted in searching for her, Bassianus advised her to enter a women's monastery in Emesa in Syria, where she is said to have become abbess and to have become known for a gift of healing. Her husband continued to pursue her, and the accounts describe her travels through Jerusalem, Syria, and Beirut, where she lived ascetically for a time in an ancient pagan temple.

Bassianus later established a small monastery near his own for Matrona and the community of nuns she had gathered. By tradition he granted them the unusual privilege of wearing men's wide black leather belts and men's white mantles rather than the customary women's monastic garb. Matrona is also remembered for opposing the Monophysite religious policies of the Emperor Anastasius I. She is said to have died around 524 at roughly one hundred years of age.

Sources and Historical Note

Matrona's life is preserved in an early vita of uncertain authorship and date. The hagiographical scholar Hippolyte Delehaye judged this life to be, in his assessment, of dubious value, and many of its narrative details are transmitted through hagiographic tradition rather than independent record.

The Orthodox Church in America's synaxarion identifies her as Venerable Matrona, Abbess of Constantinople, and records her fifth-century origins in Perge, her marriage to Dometian, the birth of her daughter Theodota, and the family's move to Constantinople, confirming her transition from married secular life to monastic leadership of a women's community in or near the capital.

Related Saints1 saintShowHide

Saints connected to her life, mission, and place in Orthodox tradition.

Who likewise entered a men's monastery in disguise, as the eunuch Babylas.

Venerable Mary (Marinus) and her father Eugeneof Alexandria

Browse similar saints by calling and place.

More Asia Minor361 More Byzantine Saints1282 More Monastics1353

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints