20 March ~ St. Photini the Samaritan Woman

In many of the encounters of Jesus with other people in the Gospel not much is revealed of them sometimes their name is not even mentioned.  That is not the case with the saint for today, Saint Photini the Samaritan Woman.

We meet her in the Gospel of St. John 4:5-42.  She has a gentle but firm encounter with Jesus and comes to a point of conversion in her life.  She leaves Jesus and goes into town to tell everyone about the man she just met.  In many circles, St. Photini is seen as the first evangelist of the Church.  She converted her sisters Ss. Anatole, Photo, Photis, Paraskeve, and Kyriake and her two sons, St. Photinos, formerly known as Victor, and St. Joses who all became evangelists for Jesus.

After the Apostles Paul and Peter were martyred, St. Photine and her family left their homeland of Sychar, in Samaria, to travel to Carthage to proclaim the Gospel of Christ there. In 66 AD, under the persecutions of Emperor Nero, they all achieved the crown of martyrdom, along with the Duke St. Sebastianos, the close friend of St. Photinos.

O Almighty Saviour, Who did pour forth water for the Hebrews from a solid rock: You did come to the Land of Samaria, and addressed a woman, whom You did attract to faith in You, and she has now attained life in the heavens everlastingly. (Kontakion of St. Photini)

2 Comments

  1. I’m still on milk in the word of God and I want to know where in the bible can I find the name of the Samaritan woman. I keep reading that she was given a name on the day of penecost after she was baptized but I can’t find it in the bible. How can this be proven?

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